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Vietnam War Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient
Captain Humbert Roque "Rocky" Versace
**President Bush signed the Bill to bestow the
Congressional Medal of Honor on Rocky Versace
Steve Versace shows his brother's medal to the audience
In a quiet, dignified ceremony on 8 Jul 2002, more than 27 years after the evacuation of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon on the night of 2930 Apr 1975, President George W. Bush presented the Medal of Honor to Humbert Roque Versace for his bravery as a prisoner of war prior to his execution by the Viet Cong on 26 Sep 1965. Rockys brother Steve accepted the award on behalf of the Versace family. Since 1969, when Nick Rowe 60 escaped from his Viet Cong captors and related the story of Rockys bravery in captivity and recommended him for the Medal of Honor (downgraded to a Silver Star in 1971), Rockys friends and family have sought to have his uncommon valor in captivity recognized.
In 1977, a second recommendation for the Medal of Honor was prepared by Special Forces Command, but it was lost until 1999. In February 2000, a replacement recommendation was forwarded to Senator John Warner. In October 2000, Rocky was inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame at Ft. Benning, GA. In January 2001, Army Secretary Louis Caldera approved the recommendation. On 6 Jul 2002, the CPT Rocky Versace Plaza and Viet Nam Veterans Memorial in Alexandria, VA, was dedicated. After the presentation of the Medal of Honor on 8 July, Rocky was inducted into the Pentagons Hall of Heroes on 9 Jul 2002.
Many friends of Rocky Versace joined forces in early 1999. Mike Faber, the de facto leader, was made an honorary member of the Class of 1959 on 21 Apr 2002, as was Duane Frederic, the primary researcher of Rockys record. MAJ Bob Seals, former Special Forces Command G-1, actually wrote the final recommendation and became the authority on Rockys military record.
BG (Ret.) Pete Dawkins 59, Class President, was involved from the beginning. David Speck, Alexandria, VA, City Councilman, rallied to the cause and led the way on the Plaza-Memorial after a recommendation to name a new public elementary school in Alexandria after Rocky was not favorably considered. Toby Mendez, the sculptor of the Rocky statue in the Plaza-Memorial, became an advocate as well. Steve Versace, of course, was involved from the beginning. Two classmates, COL (Ret.) Bill Luther and COL (Ret.) Bill Schwartz, worked together to have Rocky inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame while classmate John Gurr acted as point of contact for the friends since April 1999.
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
July 8, 2002
President Awards Posthumous Medal of Honor to Vietnam War Hero
Remarks by the President at Presentation of Medal of Honor
The East Room
3:07 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, and welcome to the White House. It's a -- this is a special occasion. I am honored to be a part of the gathering as we pay tribute to a true American patriot, and a hero, Captain Humbert "Rocky" Versace.
Nearly four decades ago, his courage and defiance while being held captive in Vietnam cost him his life. Today it is my great privilege to recognize his extraordinary sacrifices by awarding him the Medal of Honor.
I appreciate Secretary Anthony Principi, the Secretary from the Department of Veteran Affairs, for being here. Thank you for coming, Tony. I appreciate Senator George Allen and Congressman Jim Moran. I want to thank Paul Wolfowitz, the Deputy Secretary of Defense; and General Pete Pace, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs; Army General Eric Shinseki -- thank you for coming, sir. I appreciate David Hicks being here. He's the Deputy Chief of Chaplains for the United States Army.
I want to thank the entire Versace family for coming -- three brothers and a lot of relatives. Brothers, Dick and Mike and Steve, who's up here on the stage with me today. I appreciate the classmates and friends and supporters of Rocky for coming. I also want to thank the previous Medal of Honor recipients who are here with us today. That would be Harvey Barnum and Brian Thacker and Roger Donlon. Thank you all for coming.
Rocky grew up in this area and attended Gonzaga College High School, right here in Washington, D.C. One of his fellow soldiers recalled that Rocky was the kind of person you only had to know a few weeks before you felt like you'd known him for years. Serving as an intelligence advisor in the Mekong Delta, he quickly befriended many of the local citizens. He had that kind of personality. During his time there he was accepted into the seminary, with an eye toward eventually returning to Vietnam to be able to work with orphans.
Rocky was also a soldier's soldier -- a West Point graduate, a Green Beret, who lived and breathed the code of duty and honor and country. One of Rocky's superiors said that the term "gung-ho" fit him perfectly. Others remember his strong sense of moral purpose and unbending belief in his principles.
As his brother Steve once recalled, "If he thought he was right, he was a pain in the neck." (Laughter.) "If he knew he was right, he was absolutely atrocious." (Laughter.)
When Rocky completed his one-year tour of duty, he volunteered for another tour. And two weeks before his time was up, on October the 29th, 1963, he set out with several companies of South Vietnamese troops, planning to take out a Viet Cong command post. It was a daring mission, and an unusually dangerous one for someone so close to going home to volunteer for.
After some initial successes, a vastly larger Viet Kong force ambushed and overran Rocky's unit. Under siege and suffering from multiple bullet wounds, Rocky kept providing covering fire so that friendly forces could withdraw from the killing zone.
Eventually, he and two other Americans, Lieutenant Nick Rowe and Sergeant Dan Pitzer , were captured, bound and forced to walk barefoot to a prison camp deep within the jungle. For much of the next two years, their home would be bamboo cages, six feet long, two feet wide, and three feet high. They were given little to eat, and little protection against the elements. On nights when their netting was taken away, so many mosquitos would swarm their shackled feet it looked like they were wearing black socks.
The point was not merely to physically torture the prisoners, but also to persuade them to confess to phony crimes and use their confessions for propaganda. But Rocky's captors clearly had no idea who they were dealing with. Four times he tried to escape, the first time crawling on his stomach because his leg injuries prevented him from walking. He insisted on giving no more information than required by the Geneva Convention; and cited the treaty, chapter and verse, over and over again.
He was fluent in English, French and Vietnamese, and would tell his guards to go to hell in all three. Eventually the Viet Cong stopped using French and Vietnamese in their indoctrination sessions, because they didn't want the sentries or the villagers to listen to Rocky's effective rebuttals to their propaganda. Rocky knew precisely what he was doing. By focusing his captors' anger on him, he made life a measure more tolerable for his fellow prisoners, who looked to him as a role model of principled resistance.
Eventually the Viet Cong separated Rocky from the other prisoners. Yet even in separation, he continued to inspire them. The last time they heard his voice, he was singing "God Bless America" at the top of his lungs.
On September the 26th, 1965, Rocky's struggle ended his execution. In his too short life, he traveled to a distant land to bring the hope of freedom to the people he never met. In his defiance and later his death, he set an example of extraordinary dedication that changed the lives of his fellow soldiers who saw it firsthand. His story echoes across the years, reminding us of liberty's high price, and of the noble passion that caused one good man to pay that price in full.
Last Tuesday would have been Rocky's 65th birthday. So today, we award Rocky -- Rocky Versace -- the first Medal of Honor given to an Army POW for actions taken during captivity in Southeast Asia. We thank his family for so great a sacrifice. And we commit our country to always remember what Rocky gave -- to his fellow prisoners, to the people of Vietnam, and to the cause of freedom.
Now, Major, please read the citation.
(The citation is read, and the Medal is presented.) (Applause.)
END 3:15 P.M. EDT
born: 02 July 1937
loss: 29 October 1963
Watch Rocky's Story on Video - A True American Hero!
A Soldier's Story: CPT Humbert Roque Versace
NBC Today Show - Rocky Versace Memorial Day
CITATION
*VERSACE, HUMBERT R.
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, March 3, 1863, has awarded in the name of The Congress the Medal of Honor to
CAPTAIN HUMBERT R. VERSACE
UNITED STATES ARMY
for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty:
Captain Humbert R. Versace distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism during the period of 29 October 1963 to 26 September 1965, while serving as S-2 Advisor, Military Assistance Advisory Group, Detachment 52, Ca Mau, Republic of Vietnam. While accompanying a Civilian Irregular Defense Group patrol engaged in combat operations in Thoi Binh District, An Xuyen Province, Captain Versace and the patrol came under sudden and intense mortar, automatic weapons, and small arms fire from elements of a heavily armed enemy battalion. As the battle raged, Captain Versace, although severely wounded in the knee and back by hostile fire, fought valiantly and continued to engage enemy targets. Weakened by his wounds and fatigued by the fierce firefight, Captain Versace stubbornly resisted capture by the over-powering Viet Cong force with the last full measure of his strength and ammunition. Taken prisoner by the Viet Cong, he exemplified the tenets of the Code of Conduct from the time he entered into Prisoner of War status. Captain Versace assumed command of his fellow American soldiers, scorned the enemy's exhaustive interrogation and indoctrination efforts, and made three unsuccessful attempts to escape, despite his weakened condition which was brought about by his wounds and the extreme privation and hardships he was forced to endure. During his captivity, Captain Versace was segregated in an isolated prisoner of war cage, manacled in irons for prolonged periods of time, and placed on extremely reduced ration. The enemy was unable to break his indomitable will, his faith in God, and his trust in the United States of America. Captain Versace, an American fighting man who epitomized the principles of his country and the Code of Conduct, was executed by the Viet Cong on 26 September 1965. Captain Versace's gallant actions in close contact with an enemy force and unyielding courage and bravery while a prisoner of war are in the highest traditions of the military service and reflect the utmost credit upon himself and the United States Army.
Pacific Stars and Stripes
Five Star Edition
Vol. 19, No. 304
Friday, Nov. 1, 1963
3 Aides Seized in Vietnam Battle
Saigon (AP)
Communist guerrillas smashed a Republic of Vietnam task force after disrupting its radio communication Tuesday, and probably captured all three U.S. Army advisers with the 120-man Saigon outfit.
The three Americans listed as missing and believed captured were two officers and an enlisted medic. Stragglers returning from the rout said both officers had been wounded early in the fight--one in the head and the other in the leg.
The Army identified the three as Capt. Humbert R. Versace, Baltimore; 1st Lt. James M. Rowe, McAllen, Tx; and Sgt. Daniel L. Pitzer, Spring Lake, N.C.
A second government force of about 200 men operating only a few thousand yards from the main fight, learned of the disaster too late to help. U.S. authorities said the communist radio jammers had knocked out both the main channel and the alternate channel on all local military radios.
Rocky Versace in High School
Rocky Versace Early in Career
Rocky Versace loved children
Five Years To Freedom
by Nicky Rowe
Tribute To A Hero - Captain Rocky Versace US Army
Captain Humbert Roque "Rocky" Versace Biography
Captain Humbert Roque "Rocky" Versace receives his 90-day combat infantry
badge from his father, Col. Humbert Joseph Versace.
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