Representatives from Rocky Versace’s West Point Class of 1959 are joined by USMA 2009 veterans in salute during the wreath laying and playing of Taps at the Veterans Day ceremony at Mount Vernon Recreation Center. Photo by Allison Silberberg
The City of Alexandria and the nonprofit Friends of Rocky Versace gathered Nov. 11 at the Mount Vernon Recreation Center to commemorate Veterans Day with a solemn ceremony at the Captain Rocky Versace Plaza and Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
The memorial is named for Alexandria native Captain Humbert Roque “Rocky” Versace, a West Point graduate and Medal of Honor recipient who was executed as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War after nearly two years of captivity. His unwavering resistance and devotion to duty earned him the nation’s highest military honor posthumously in 2002. The plaza, dedicated the same year, also bears the names of 68 Alexandrians who were killed or remain missing in action in Vietnam.
Members of six Alexandria Gold Star families were in attendance: Gold Star Sister Susan Lilly Harvey
Alexandria Gold Star Daughter Melissa Spengler Hendrickson reads the name of her Fallen Hero Father, former MIA Capt. Henry M. Spengler III (USMA Class of 1968) at the Veterans Day ceremony at Mount Vernon Recreation Center.
Also in attendance were Virginia Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, Alexandria vice Mayor Sarah Bagley, City Councilman Kirk McPike and former Mayor Allison Silberberg.
Gold Star families stood alongside veterans as the names of Alexandria’s fallen were read aloud. Among the veterans was Fr. Ray Goins, a newly assigned priest at Blessed Sacrament parish and West Point Class of 2014 graduate. Goins read the name of USMA Class of 1964 Capt. Robert Walters as a representative of the 50 Year Affiliation Class for USMA 1964.
Following the reading of the names, Friends of Rocky Versace representative Kevin Rue emphasized that seven of the 68 men whose names are on the Versace Memorial remain Missing in Action in Southeast Asia from the Vietnam War. They are: Capt. Rocky Versace; Seaman Apprentice John Winkler; Sgt 1st Class Douglas Blodgett; Maj. Morgan Donahue; 1st Lt Leland McCants; Maj. Joseph Davies; and 1st Lt Larry Lilly. The current number of U.S. military still unaccounted for in Southeast Asia from the Vietnam War is 1,566.
A tribute to Versace written by his fellow Vietnam War POW, Maj. James N. Rowe and found in Rowe’s POW Memoir, Five Years to Freedom, was read during the ceremony.
The St. Rita American Heritage Girls Troop 1381 opened the ceremony with the Pledge of Allegiance, while Bishop Ireton High School student Catherine Cassidy delivered renditions of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” “America the Beautiful,” and “God Bless America.”
“Rocky Versace frequently sang ‘God Bless America’ and other patriotic songs while a prisoner of war to boost the morale of his fellow POWs,” noted Rue, who organized the event. Rue and audience members joined in as Cassidy sang the patriotic anthem in tribute to Versace.
The memorial’s statue depicts two Vietnamese children with Versace, who had dreamed of working with Vietnamese orphans after the war. The first member of the U.S. Army to be awarded the Medal of Honor for actions performed in Southeast Asia while in captivity, Versace is believed to have been executed on Sept. 26, 1965. His remains have never been found.
“A Gold Star Flag hangs in the Capt. Rocky Versace display case in the foyer of the Mount Vernon Recreation Center,” Rue said. “It bears the numeral 68 below the Gold Star on the flag to represent Versace and Alexandria’s 68 Vietnam War fallen heroes whose names are on the benches in the Versace Plaza.”
Rue presented two U.S. Navy veterans who were on duty in Southeast Asia and contiguous waters during the Vietnam War with the Department of Defense Vietnam War Lapel Pin.
Six classmates of Rocky Versace’s USMA Class of 1959, together with one member from USMA 1959’s 50 Year Affiliation Class of 2009 presented a wreath at the statuette of Versace and saluted as bugler Lt. Col. Stephen Tracy closed the observance with Taps.
In his closing remarks, Rue noted that the Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Department will coordinate the refurbishment of the Capt. Rocky Versace Memorial in spring, 2027.
“Patriotic Americans in the community have already donated $10,500 towards the cost of repairs and preventive maintenance for the 23-year-old Memorial,” Rue said. “The Plaza is a testament to the resilience, honor, and valor of Versace and all veterans willing to serve and, if necessary, to give their lives to safeguard our freedom.”
For more information on the refurbishment or the Friends of Rocky Versace organization, email FoRV59@gmail.com.