Rocky Versace, a POW War Hero who WILL RECEIVE a MOH!!

STAFF REOMMENDATION FOR MOH ^ | December 21, 2001 | Jeff Head

[Jeff Head]

There is a REAL American Hero, Captain Rocky Versace, who deserves a Medal of Honor. His actions while fighting the Viet Cong in Vietnam and then after his capture are the stuff that heroes, role models and legends are made of.

A number of us on FR, along with a great number of his compatriots in the Armed Services, have been pushing, lobbying and seeking for years that this man be presented the MOH he so richly deserves. Here is an earlier thread from early 2000 regarding the same:

Rocky Versace, A Real American Hero who deserves a Medal of Honor

I just spoke this morning a short while ago to Duane E. Frederic who wrote the:

MEDAL OF HONOR RECOMENDATION STAFF STUDY FOR ROCKY

and I am PROUD to say that a citiation has been recommended and approved and that the legislation enabling the MOH for Rocky has just passed the House and Senate and is in the Defense Appropriation legislation going to the Presidents desk for signature!

Barring a veto (and we should all write the President specifically over this issue to urge him to sign the legislation) there should be a ceremony this spring for ROcky, 39 years after the fact.

Here is the CITATION wording:

The President of the United States of America in the name of The Congress takes pride in presenting the Medal of Honor posthumously to:

CAPTAIN HUMBERT ROQUE VERSACE
UNITED STATES ARMY

CITATION:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while a prisoner of war during the period of 29 October 1963 to 26 September 1965 in the Republic of Vietnam.

While accompanying a Civilian Irregular Defense Group patrol engaged in combat operations in Thoi Binh District, An Xuyen Province, Republic of Vietnam on 29 October 1963, Captain Versace and the CIDG assault force were caught in an ambush from intense mortar, automatic weapons, and small arms fire from elements of a reinforced enemy Main Force battalion. As the battle raged, Captain Versace fought valiantly and encouraged his CIDG patrol to return fire against overwhelming enemy forces. He provided covering fire from an exposed position to enable friendly forces to withdraw from the killing zone when it was apparent that their position would be overrun, and was severely wounded in the knee and back from automatic weapons fire and shrapnel. He stubbornly resisted capture with the last full measure of his strength and ammunition.

Taken prisoner by the Viet Cong, he demonstrated exceptional leadership and resolute adherence to the tenants of the Code of Conduct from the time he entered into a prisoner of war status. Captain Versace assumed command of his fellow American prisoners, and despite being kept locked in irons in an isolation box, raised their morale by singing messages to popular songs of the day, and leaving inspiring messages at the latrine. Within three weeks of captivity, and despite the severity of his untreated wounds, he attempted the first of four escape attempts by dragging himself on his hands and knees out of the camp through dense swamp and forbidding vegetation to freedom. Crawling at a very slow pace due to his weakened condition, the guards quickly discovered him outside the camp and recaptured him. Captain Versace scorned the enemy’s exhaustive interrogation and indoctrination efforts, and inspired his fellow prisoners to resist to the best of their ability.

When he used his Vietnamese language skills to protest improper treatment of the American prisoners by the guards, he was put into leg irons and gagged to keep his protestations out of earshot of the other American prisoners in the camp. The last time that any of his fellow prisoners heard from him, Captain Versace was singing God Bless America at the top of his voice from his isolation box. Unable to break his indomitable will, his faith in God, and his trust in the United States of America and his fellow prisoners, Captain Versace was executed by the Viet Cong on 26 September 1965.

Captain Versace’s extraordinary heroism, self-sacrifice, and personal bravery involving conspicuous risk of life above and beyond the call of duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Army, and reflect great credit to himself and the U.S. Armed Forces.

Here are important links regarding Rocky:

A SOLDIERS STORY - A FILM ABOUT ROCKY [20 Minute online, Requires RealPlayer]

MEDAL OF HONOR RECOMMENDATION STAFF STUDY

FRIENDS OF ROCKY VERSACE

ALEXANDRIA VIETNAM MEMORIAL AND CAPTAIN ROCKY VERSACE PLAZA

[Grampa Dave]

Thanks for the ping!

[Chapita]

The MoH for Versace is the epitome of "doing the right thing"!

[sneakypete]

The MoH for Versace is the epitome of "doing the right thing"!

I'll never understand why it wasn't done long ago. If there has ever been a case of "slam-dunk MOH",this is it.

[Chapita]

Everybody wanted to forget about Vietnam, don't mention it, don't engage in any conversations, taboo subject!

[sit-rep]

Thanks for the ping...

Gald to see this. With regard to bubba2 however, I wonder how strong the lobby was for these MOH awardees. Had to be pretty strong.

bttt...

SR

[sneakypete]

With regard to bubba2 however, I wonder how strong the lobby was for these MOH awardees. Had to be pretty strong.

Well,you never know. A lot of people believe the only reason Rocky didn't get his earlier is that people were tired of hearing about VN. i'm thinking that awarding a few of these would work in Bubba-2s favor,as no preseident has ever looked bad handing out medals.

[Snow Bunny]

Thanks Sneakypete for the bump to this.

[Snow Bunny]

BUMP!

[in the Arena]

God bless and rest Rocky, God bless and rest his mother ... and God bless and rest Colonel Nick Row who was true and faithful to Rocky, his duty and his country until the very end.

Well said Jeff...

[Jeff Head]

I also pray that our nation is blessed in rich abundance with many more men like them ... men like Roy Benavidez ... because I fear we are going to need all we can get for what lies ahead.

Somehow, in our need, such cream has always risen to the top when necessary. Despite the best efforts of our advesaries ... external and internal ... the foundational principles for the liberty that we enjoy in this Republic are still in place amongst the people and therefore still capable of producing such individuals IMHO.

Regards.

[sneakypete]

I also pray that our nation is blessed in rich abundance with many more men like them ... men like Roy Benavidez

Jeff,men of the caliber of Roy and Rocky are rare,indeed. ANY nation that could manage to have just 1% of their military composed of dedicated men of honor like this would be a VERY rich nation. Rich in the things that matter the most. People like them go right past "brave",and straight to "awe-inspiring". I honestly can't think of Rocky standing in that hole in the rain and singing "God Bless America" at the top of his lungs without tearing up. And as for Roy,how many people do YOU know who charge into hundreds of machine gun bearing enemy troops while armed with only a Bowie knife?

I've heard some misinformed people state," There is no such thing in real life as a "Rambo"." I tell them there were real-life people who did things that would make the fictional Rambo faint from fear. People like Rocky,Roy,Bob Howard,Ola Mize,and hundreds of others. All REAL people. Hollywood can only pretend.

[in the Arena]

We are rich indeed.

By dumb luck or design, on separate occasions I had the privilage and honor to meet two MOH recipients. Joe Foss and Leo Thorsness. I was at a loss for words when trying to verbalize my respect. As I stumbled along each replied in much the same manner..."It was a different time, different place". Such humble responses.

Versace, Benavidez, Rowe...Lance P. Sijan...When I see or hear their names I cannot help but hold myself cheap. Men like these epitomize the spirit of the Medal Of Honor. Then there are men like James Wayne Herrick Jr. whose actions did not warrant national recognition but served with the same spirit. We as a nation truely are rich to have all of them as our sons.

[blackie]

MOH Bump !!

[sneakypete]

Versace, Benavidez, Rowe...Lance P. Sijan...When I see or hear their names I cannot help but hold myself cheap. Men like these epitomize the spirit of the Medal Of Honor

I don't think Nick Rowe got a MOH. He was a fellow POW with Rocky,and one of the original guys to push for awarding the MOH for Rocky. He escaped after being a POW for around 5 years,when the VC/NVA who were moving him came under fire from a American helicopter gunship who was just taking shots at a target of opportunity. He almost gunned Rowe down when he stood up in the elephant grass wearing black,but when he spotted the beard he figured the guy wasn't a VN. He landed to pick him up,and recogonized him instantly. Ironically enough,he and Rowe had been classmates and friends at West Point.

[in the Arena]

You're correct...In my haste I listed them together...I still have my tattered and torn copy of Five Years To Freedom, it's been an inspiration to me...Thanks for keeping me honest.

Jim

[csvset]

I saw this in today's local paper. Thought you'd be interested.

http://www.pilotonline.com/mil itary/ml0706pow.html

Local captain to get Medal of Honor





By MATTHEW DOLAN, The Virginian-Pilot


© July 6, 2002

Humbert R. Versace, an honors graduate of Norfolk's Catholic High School and prisoner of war who loudly demanded humane treatment for his fellow soldiers for almost two years before the Viet Cong executed him, will receive the nation's highest award for military valor, the White House confirmed Friday.

Versace, a 27-year-old Army captain known as Rocky, will be awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously in an East Room ceremony on Monday, more than 30 years after he was first denied the combat award. A fellow POW, an Alexandria-based group of friends, classmates from West Point, the Army's Special Forces Command and a devoted researcher struggled for years to secure the rare honor for Versace.

Unlike the Air Force, Navy and Marines, the Army never before has awarded a Medal of Honor to a POW from Vietnam for heroism during captivity.

``Most win it for a battle over a five-hour span or over a day,'' said John Gurr, one of his classmates from West Point and a member of the grass- roots Friends of Rocky Versace. ``Rocky won the medal of honor for every day of his 23 months in captivity.''

Living with his grandmother and aunt, Versace spent his senior year at Catholic High while the rest of his family was stationed in Germany. ``He wanted to get into West Point,'' Stephen V. Versace, one of his younger brothers, said in an interview Friday. ``Norfolk Catholic was a bit more challenging than the schools in Germany.''






In 1955, Rocky Versace graduated fourth in
his class at the school, which has since moved to Virginia Beach.

Strong-willed was the common way friends and loved ones described Versace.

Born on July 2, 1937, he was the oldest of five children. His father's career in the Army meant the family moved often. Versace filled the void left by his father's regular absences, his family said.

``He could pretty much drive anybody crazy,'' said Stephen Versace, a professor at the University of Maryland. ``There was no gray for Rocky and he lived that way. Right is right. Wrong is wrong.''

As the end of high school approached, Rocky Versace struggled with a choice: West Point or the priesthood.

He picked the Army.

The first call to rise at West Point came every morning at 5:45, said Gurr, who is now retired outside Charlottesville. Most of the cadets slid back toward their bunks after the first rise and shine.

Not Versace. He'd walk over toward the chapel.

``Into the cold, dark winter,'' Gurr remembered. ``And there he goes.''

At 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds, Versace excelled at sports, too, winning the intermural wrestling championship at West Point.

After graduation, he went to Korea, then Vietnam in 1962 as a military adviser. He asked for and received a six-month extension of his Vietnam tour in the Mekong Delta.

``He was so eager to accomplish his mission of gathering intelligence that it was bound to get him into trouble sooner or later,'' retired Lt. Gen. Howard G. Crowell Jr., who bunked with Versace, told a historian preparing the Medal of Honor application.

By 1963, Capt. Versace had had enough. Scheduled to return home, Versace planned to leave the Army and study to become a priest with the Maryknoll Order missionaries.

But Versace was captured on Oct. 29 by the Viet Cong, sustaining three bullets to one leg, shrapnel wounds and a blow to his head. As the senior member of the imprisoned Americans, Versace insisted that his captors follow the Geneva Convention rules on humanitarian treatment, according to his fellow prisoners.

He sang popular American songs to lift morale. He berated his guards, who in turn shackled and gagged him.

His captors tied a rope around his neck and dragged his emaciated, jaundiced body from village to village to show locals they had defeated this strong American soldier, witnesses told Versace's historian.

But the dog and pony show only steeled Versace's resolve.

``He wouldn't just say nothing,'' Gurr said. ``Rocky's nature was combative and stubborn. He would yell and curse. They were wrong, communism was wrong and he wasn't afraid to say so.''

Adding to the Viet Cong's ire, Gurr said, Versace rebuked them in French and Vietnamese.

``And he paid the price,'' Gurr said.

He was kept hungry. His captors placed him in a tiger cage, its bamboo walls only 6 feet long, 2 feet wide and 3 feet high.

``Like a coffin,'' Gurr said.

For other prisoners, the guards thatched only the top to beat back the heat. For Versace, they covered the sides to turn up the temperature.

``He went from 185 pounds down to something over 100,'' Gurr said.

He attempted to escape three times. But in September 1965, North Vietnamese radio announced that he and another American prisoner had been executed in reply to the death of three terrorists in Da Nang.

His remains have never been found.

Testimonials about his valor came first from James ``Nick'' Rowe, who escaped from Viet Cong captivity in 1968. Rowe secured an audience with Richard Nixon. Awestruck at Versace's heroism, the president reportedly ordered the deceased Army captain be given the Medal of Honor.

But the Army awarded Versace the Silver Star instead, enraging supporters who argued that his refusal to give in helped protect other captured Americans from the Viet Cong's abuses.

After a group of Alexandria men tried and failed to have a local school named after Versace, the Army's Special Forces Command joined up with Versace's classmates at West Point to resurrect the effort to award him the highest medal.

Today, supporters will unveil a bronze statue of Versace accompanied by two children in Alexandria. His achievement on Monday will be enshrined at the Pentagon in its Hall of Heroes.

``There is no bitterness in the end about the wait,'' Gurr said. ``There is instead a marvel that it happened.

``Our system did work,'' he said. ``Rocky would be proud.''

Reach Matthew Dolan at mdolan@pilotonline.com or 446-2322.

[Jeff Head]

As you may know, a number of us here on FR have joined the efforts and have written, posted, mailed, emailed, talked and prayed for what will occur on Monday.

I only wish the Presidenet would make much more of a media event out of this. Rocky is the epitome of the American spirit and all of the qulities that have made it what it is ... faith in God, courage, stamina, charitable, independent and fiercly resistant to the enemy ... his story should be taught to all the rising generations IMHO, particularly at this time.

I also wish dearly that I could have been there, if not for the ceremony then for the reception that follows. Unfortunatley, other considerations got in the way for the trip from Idaho.

But I have been and will be thanking God for the fact that it is happening ... should have been done long ago.

You should consider a seperate thread for this article. Post it under BREAKING NEWS. It would get quite a bit of attention.

[Ligeia]

Today, supporters will unveil a bronze statue of Versace accompanied by two children in Alexandria.

The local Fox affiliate covered the unveiling. The reporter had put together a moving bio on Vercace. The bronze statue is Versace with two children. It was a fitting tribute and brought a tear to the eye.

[MadelineZapeezda]

You can read Pat Buchanan's article about Rocky here

[Squantos]

Was this MOH issue brought up last month in Fayetville NC SF Convention ? Did you get to attend ? Have you ever seen a baby pigeon ? (OK,.... too many question from me this AM :o)

Stay Safe Pete !