CW2 Louis Richard Rocco, Vietnam War Medal of Honor Recipient

Louis Robert Rocco enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1955. After his basic training at Fort Ord, California, he then trained at the medical school at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Following his medical training, Rocco became a medic, first with the 82nd Airborne Division and then the 11th Airborne Division.

His first overseas assignment was in West Germany, from May 1965 to October 1965, where he received his high school equivalency diploma.

From November 1965 through November 1966, Rocco served in the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) with the Army of the Republic of Vietnam’s 7th Infantry Division. Rocco, at this time, attended the Advanced Medical Specialist Course.

After his first tour to Vietnam, Rocco attended the Medical Specialist Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) Course in 1967, then returned to Germany from September 1968 to September 1969.

In November 1969, Rocco began his second tour to the Republic of Vietnam. During this tour, Rocco served with MACV Advisory Team 162.

The Red Hats

MACV Advisory Team 162, nicknamed the “Red Hats,” was the longest-serving U.S. advisory team in the Vietnam conflict, arriving in 1962 and finally departing in 1973. The “Red Hats” were a result of President Kennedy’s expansion of American military support to the South Vietnamese government of President Ngo Dinh Diem.

Approximately 1,200 soldiers were assigned to Team 162 during their 11 years of service, which made them the largest U.S. advisory effort of the Vietnam War. Airborne experience was a prerequisite for assignment. Most team members had served with the 11th, 82nd, or 101st Airborne Divisions.

Crash Landing and Chaos

On May 24, 1970, then Sergeant First Class Rocco volunteered to “catch a ride” on one of the UH-1C Huey helicopters of the 1st Cavalry Division for a medical evacuation mission to extract eight wounded soldiers of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN).

Before the helicopter could land, it began to draw intense enemy fire.

The Huey crash-landed in an open field between the People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and ARVN forces.

Rocco fired back, but the helicopter soon erupted into flames. He remembered the horrific scene, stating, “The aircraft caught fire. One of the pilots had…received an AK round through his leg. Another, the other pilot had his arm ripped off. It was hanging. The medic had his back and hip broken, and his jaw completely ripped off. And one gunner was trapped in the chopper. The other one was in shock.”

On the second day, two American helicopters were shot down attempting to evacuate Rocco and his fellow soldiers. It was not until the third attempt, when Cobra helicopters flew in, that the soldiers were evacuated to a hospital in Saigon. Rocco prioritized his fellow soldiers’ lives before his own, saving the lives of his comrades.

Rocco’s First Medal: The Medal of Honor

For his actions on May 24, 1970, President Gerald R. Ford awarded WO1 Rocco the Medal of Honor on December 12, 1974.

Rocco stated, “The president told me it was the first live medal he had placed on any soldier. I told him that it was the first medal I had ever got.”

Continued Service

Rocco made a career in the Army and earned an associate degree. He was a member of the United States Army Physician Assistant Program, class number one in 1972.

After 22 years of military service, Rocco retired in 1978 as Chief Warrant Officer Two (CW2). Returning to New Mexico, Rocco was named director of New Mexico's Veterans Service Commission. During his tenure, he established the Vietnam Veterans of New Mexico organization, opened a Veterans' Center which provided peer counseling to Vietnam veterans, started a shelter for the homeless and a nursing home for veterans, and persuaded New Mexico legislators and voters to waive tuition for all veterans at state colleges.

In 1991, Rocco again volunteered for active duty during Operation Desert Storm and trained medics at Fort Sam Houston.

In 2002, he passed away after a battle with lung cancer attributed to Agent Orange exposure. Rocco is buried in the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas.