Humbert Rocky Versace, Medal of Honor recipient, uncover his plaque Capt. On his way to his death, he sang “God Bless America.” Brothers of Capt. On September 26, 1965, Versace left his cage for the last time. Then, after four unsuccessful escape attempts and with no sign of breaking or converting to Communism, the Viet Cong decided to do away with the troublesome American. The enemy was unable to break his indomitable will, his faith in God, and his trust in the United States of America.” Related: ST IDAHO: THE SPECIAL FORCES TEAM THAT DISAPPEARED IN THE JUNGLEĭuring 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. 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.”
“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. According to local villagers, the worse the Viet Cong treated the American captain, the more joyful and defiant he became, always denouncing Communism and holding fast with the help of his Christian faith.Īn empathetic man of deep faith, Captain Rocky Versace loved the people of Indochina (U.S. He kept rallying his comrades even from isolation. They put him into isolation in a bamboo cage and kept him shackled with chains, providing scant food and water as an additional form of pressure. The Viet Cong sought to alienate him from the other prisoners of war and thus break his spirit. For his defiance, Versace was repeatedly interrogated and tortured. While a prisoner of war, Versace took command of his fellow American captives and fought the North Vietnamese’s efforts to indoctrinate him and his comrades into Communism tooth and nail. His actions enabled most of the patrol to retreat from the area safely, but it was at that point that the American captain’s ordeal would begin-an ordeal that would end up costing his life, while his actions would elevate him to immortality. In the end, the Viet Cong battalion overpowered the patrol, and Versace and two of his comrades-including legendary Green Beret and father of the Survival, Evade, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) course Colonel Nick Rowe-were captured despite their genuine attempts not to be captured alive.
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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.” “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. Versace was wounded twice but kept fighting and encouraging his comrades.
The heavily armed Viet Cong battalion poured machine-gun fire and mortars into the American-Montagnard patrol, inflicting heavy casualties. During that routine mission in October, a Viet Cong force ambushed the CIDG patrol.
The Special Forces operators and their Montagnard fighters were targeting strong forces of Viet Cong insurgents in the area of the U Minh Forest. This joint unit was comprised of a combination of Green Berets and local Montagnard fighters who hated both the North Vietnamese and Communism dearly. Then, in October 1963, with his tour ending in just two weeks, Versace went on another combat patrol with the Civilian Irregular Defence Group (CIDG).