Eugene Mead Caffey was born in Kirkwood, Georgia, on December 21, 1895, son of Lochlin Washington and Helen (Mead) Caffey. He was admitted to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1914 and graduated 47th in his class on June 12, 1918, at which time he was commissioned as a Captain in the Corps of Engineers. In 1933 he received a law degree from the University of Virginia and then transferred to the Judge Advocate General's Department where his assignments included several as counsel for the Secretary of War. As war broke out in Europe and the Far East, Caffey returned to the Corps of Engineers and was named executive officer, and then commander, of the 20th Engineer Combat Regiment. At the end of the North Africa campaign, in May 1943, Caffey was transferred and made the commanding officer of the 1st Engineer Special Brigade. This highly specialized unit executed the most difficult beach assaults. On D-Day, at H-Hour on 6 June 1944, Colonel Caffey landed among the first waves of assault troops and was the first Army colonel to reach the beachhead. He later was Commander of the Utah District for five months. After the war, in 1948, Eugene Caffey returned to the Judge Advocate General Corps and was the Staff Judge Advocate of 3rd Army until 1953. Caffey was promoted to major general and served as Judge Advocate General for the United States Army from 1954 to his retirement on December 31, 1956.