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Alexandria veterans, Gold Star families and local officials gathered Nov. 11 at the Mount Vernon Recreation Center to honor the city’s Vietnam War dead and missing—and to remember seven Alexandrians who remain unaccounted for in Southeast Asia.
The Veterans Day ceremony took place at Captain Rocky Versace Plaza and Vietnam Veterans Memorial, named for Alexandria native Capt. Humbert Roque “Rocky” Versace. A West Point graduate, Versace endured nearly two years as a prisoner of war before he was believed to have been executed on Sept. 26, 1965. His remains have never been recovered.
Versace’s resistance during captivity and devotion to duty led to a posthumous Medal of Honor in 2002. The plaza, dedicated that same year, also bears the names of 68 Alexandrians killed or missing in action during the Vietnam War.
Members of six Alexandria Gold Star families attended, including relatives of Army 1st Lt. Lawrence Lilly, Air Force Capt. Barry Lockhart, Army Capt. Henry Spengler, Army Pvt. Jeron Valentine and Versace. State Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley, City Councilman Kirk McPike and former Mayor Allison Silberberg also joined the observance.
Gold Star relatives and veterans read aloud the names of Alexandria’s fallen. Melissa Spengler Hendrickson read the name of her father, former MIA Capt. Henry M. Spengler III, a member of West Point’s Class of 1968.
Father Ray Goins, a newly assigned priest at Blessed Sacrament parish and a 2014 West Point graduate, read the name of Capt. Robert Walters of the academy’s Class of 1964. Goins represented that class’s 50-year affiliation group.
Kevin Rue of Friends of Rocky Versace reminded those gathered that seven of the 68 people named at the memorial remain missing in action: 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.
At the time of the ceremony, 1,566 U.S. service members from the Vietnam War remained unaccounted for in Southeast Asia.
The program included a tribute to Versace written by fellow prisoner of war Maj. James N. Rowe and published in Rowe’s memoir, Five Years to Freedom.
St. Rita American Heritage Girls Troop 1381 opened the ceremony with the Pledge of Allegiance. Bishop Ireton High School student Catherine Cassidy performed “The Star-Spangled Banner,” “America the Beautiful” and “God Bless America.”
Rue said Versace frequently sang patriotic songs, including “God Bless America,” to strengthen the morale of other prisoners. Rue and members of the audience joined Cassidy in singing the song in his memory.
The memorial’s statue shows Versace with two Vietnamese children, reflecting his hope of working with Vietnamese orphans after the war. He was the first member of the U.S. Army awarded the Medal of Honor for actions performed in Southeast Asia while held captive.
Inside the recreation center, a Gold Star flag in the Versace display case carries the number 68, representing Versace and the other Alexandria Vietnam War fallen whose names appear on the plaza’s benches.
During the ceremony, Rue presented Department of Defense Vietnam War lapel pins to two Navy veterans who served in Southeast Asia and nearby waters during the war.
Six members of Versace’s West Point Class of 1959 and one member of its 50-year affiliation Class of 2009 placed a wreath at his statue. They saluted as bugler Lt. Col. Stephen Tracy concluded the observance with Taps.
The city’s Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities Department is expected to coordinate a refurbishment of the memorial in spring 2027. Community members have already contributed $10,500 toward repairs and preventive maintenance for the 23-year-old site.