Valor In The Line of Fire: The Amazing Story of US Army SFC Louis Rocco, Medal of Honor Recipient

Intro

Welcome back everyone, on this episode of Duty & Valor you’ll the story of a man who fought to change the course of his life.  He was a man who, without regard for his own safety, volunteered for a risky mission during the Vietnam War.  He was a man who jumped into action, and fought through intense pain, to save his fellow men from certain death.  This is the story of Medal of Honor recipient US Army SFC Louis Rocco.    

Early Life

Born on November 19th, 1938, Louis Richard Rocco was the third oldest of nine children born to parents Louis and Lita.  Though originally from Albuquerque, his family moved to California when he was ten years old, and they eventually settled in the Wilmington neighborhood in Los Angeles.  As a teen Louis was running with a bad crowd and was continually in trouble with the law.  In 1954, he was sixteen and a member of a local gang when he was arrested for armed robbery.

The seriousness of the situation was not lost on him and he knew he needed a drastic change in his life.  On the day that Louis was in court for sentencing an opportunity arose.  He was on break when he decided to walk into an Army recruiter's office to see if there was any way he could enlist.  There he met Sgt. Martinez, who was impressed with Louis’ honesty, so he returned with Louis to speak to the judge.  

The judge decided to give Louis a chance to change his ways.  He suspended his sentence and allowed Louis to enlist in the Army when he turned 17 as long as he left his gang and obeyed an imposed curfew.

Louis stayed focused on his goal and enlisted in 1955.  He received basic military training at Fort Ord in California before receiving advanced infantry and medical training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.  His first duty assignment was in Germany, and it was there that Louis received his GED.

Army Career

Louis served with the 504th and the 11th Airborne before finding himself serving in Vietnam.  His first tour was from November 1965 to November 1966 where he served as a medical advisor to the Vietnamese 7th Division.  He returned for his second tour in November 1969 again as a medical advisor of the Military Assistance command, but this time to the Vietnamese Airborne, where he trained the South Vietnamese soldiers in basic medical care.

On May 24th, 1970, Louis, who was now a sergeant first class, volunteered to assist in medically evacuating eight badly wounded South Vietnamese soldiers.  He was aboard a 1st Cavalry helicopter approaching their objective when they received word from the personnel on the ground that they were being fired upon from the North, South, and East.  Obviously this left only one approach, but when the pilot was taking the helicopter in from the West, they were fired upon from all directions.  

During their approach to the landing zone, the men aboard the helicopter were firing back at the North Vietnamese.  Louis and another medic aboard were firing their M-16’s, while the gunners opened up on the enemy with M-60 machine guns.

They made it to the LZ and began to hover down under heavy fire.  The situation was so bad that those on the ground urged the pilot to get out of there, but they were committed to land.   

The pilot took an AK-47 round to the leg and the helicopter was damaged so badly that it crashed to the ground.  It came down on its side in an open field between the opposing fighters.  With the helicopter on fire, Louis jumped into action, even though he was badly injured himself.  During the crash he had sustained a fractured wrist and hip, as well as a painful back injury. 

Louis grabbed the first injured, and unconscious pilot and carried him to a large tree which offered only minimal protection from enemy fire.  Dodging enemy rounds, he returned to the crash site and grabbed the next unconscious pilot and brought him to the same tree.  He then repeated this in an attempt to retrieve the two gunners.  He was able to get one man out, but the other was unfortunately trapped within the wreckage and didn’t survive.  By the time he made it to the helicopter to save the last man, who had a broken back and hip, it was nearly totally engulfed in flames and Louis sustained burns to his face and hands.  

Now back behind the tree, Louis began to treat the injured men.  It took some time, but eventually the South Vietnamese were able to reach their position and move them back into their perimeter.

They were under intense fire the rest of that day and into the next.  The North Vietnamese forces were so close that they had to call in fire support dangerously close to their position.  During this time, Louis continued to treat the injured men until he fell unconscious due to the pain of his own injuries.  

On that next day, two more helicopters were shot down while attempting a rescue.  It wasn’t until they came in full force with air strikes, and artillery support, that a third helicopter was able to follow two AH-1 Cobra gunships into the area to evacuate the injured men.

The helicopter's co-pilot, Lt. Lee Caubareaux successfully fought to see that Louis was properly recognized for his heroism on that day.  And on December 12th, 1974, President Gerald Ford bestowed the Medal of Honor upon SFC Louis Rocco.

After the War

During the years after he left Vietnam, Louis continued his education and became a Physician's Assistant, before retiring as a Warrant Officer in 1978.  The following years saw him return to New Mexico as the director of the state’s Veterans Service Commision.  While in that position he established the Vietnam Veterans of New Mexico organization.  He also set up counseling services for Vietnam Veterans, as well as opening homeless and nursing homes for veterans.   

In 1991 Louis returned to active duty during the Gulf War, and he served at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio, Tx, as Physician’s Assistant until the following year.  He then moved to Mexico where he lived with his wife until 1998.

He returned to San Antonio, where he passed away on October 31st, 2002 and he is buried at the Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery.

Louis Rocco stands as a symbol of the extraordinary lengths to which individuals can go when driven by the will to serve and protect others.  Despite the chaos of battle and the imminent danger surrounding him, Rocco willingly placed himself in harm's way to rescue fallen comrades in Vietnam.  He demonstrated that valor is about an indomitable spirit that refuses to yield when others are in need.  His actions went beyond the call of duty, reflecting an unwavering commitment to the principles of compassion, loyalty, and sacrifice.

Outro

Thank you for listening to this episode of Duty & Valor.  If you have not done so already, I kindly ask you to leave a review and follow us wherever you're listening, as this small act helps us reach a wider audience.

For those interested in learning more about Louis Rocco, I've provided links to all sources used in today's episode in the show notes and on our website, dutyandvalor.com.  Don't forget to join us for our next episode where I’ll tell the story of another incredible American hero.