Humbert “Rocky” Versace was a remarkable young man right from the start.  The son of a career Army officer, and the oldest of five children, Rocky debated between a career in the military or entering the priesthood.

Ultimately he chose to follow his father, and after graduating from West Point and an initial tour of duty in Korea, in 1962 Rocky became one of the first military advisers to the fledgling South Vietnamese Army.

Rocky fell in love with Vietnam – its people, and especially its children.  As in Korea, he became deeply involved during his off duty hours in helping to build an orphanage, this time with the Maryknoll Priests in the Mekong Delta.

But as the war intensified, so did his commitment to helping the struggling South Vietnamese Army preserve a democratic country – a cause in which Versace was totally committed.

So too was he committed to his plan to become a priest after his military service and return to help the Vietnamese orphans he had grown to love.

With his service obligation coming to an end, Rocky volunteered to extend for two additional months.  And with less than 3 weeks remaining before starting his new career, the Viet Cong ambushed the South Vietnamese battalion Rocky was helping.

When the South Vietnamese troops were scattered by overwhelming enemy fire, Versace and two other Americans stood their ground and held off the superior Viet Cong force as long as possible, until they were finally overwhelmed and taken prisoner.

As told by his captured comrades, from the beginning of his imprisonment, Rocky demonstrated a level of courage simply never seen before – openly defying his captors, demanding humane treatment for his men, and, with fluency in both French and Vietnamese, vehemently challenging their communist propaganda.

This continually focused his captor’s wrath onto himself and away from his men, and led to month after month of unrelenting beatings and unspeakable torture.  Four times he tried to escape only to result in more months of torture. 

With the beatings and deprivation having finally reduced his body weight in half, emaciated and with bones protruding, Versace was paraded through villages on a leash to prove the vulnerability of the Americans. 

In September of 1965 – after nearly two years of captivity, Rocky was a mere shadow of his former self, yet his men said, “He never gave in – his stubborn defiance never faltered.”

On September 26, 1965, the Viet Cong came for Rocky Versace.  And as they led him off to the swamps for execution, Rocky Versace, courageous and faithful to the very end, was heard by all singing “God Bless America” at the top of his lungs.

Today there remains a modest statue of Rocky Versace at a small recreation center for children in Alexandria, Virginia.  His Medal of Honor is enshrined there as well.  Inscribed beneath his likeness are the simple words, “A kid from the neighborhood who had the faith, and never gave in”  - profound words that will inspire the children that Rocky loved for generations to come.