SFC Michael DiRocco
US Army 5th Special Forces Group
US Marine Corp 1954-1959
Vietnam 1960-1973
US Army 5th Special Forces Group
US Marine Corp 1954-1959
Vietnam 1960-1973
Mike DiRocco was born in 1938 into a family of Italian Immigrants in Camden NJ. His father spoke only Italian but his mother had a good command of the English language. Mrs. DiRocco was a wonderful cook in the Sicilian style. Mike always wanted to be a soldier. “I liked the uniform and was I drawn to adventure”. His mother wanted him to be a chef. One day Mike’s mom asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up. “I want to be a solider.” She hit him over the head with a wooden spoon.
Mike enlisted in the Marine Corp in 1954 when he was only 16. He had to forge a Baptismal Certificate to get in and his parents were very angry. Mike went to boot camp at Parris Island. “It was a real cultural shock.” He remembers his boot camp drill sergeant who was a very tough guy. “He came from Bucket-of-Blood, TX. and he really had it in for me”. Mike served as a tank commander and an Italian interpreter for NATO and the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. At that time, the Marines were downsizing, and Mike wanted to get an education. Mike told his commanding officer of his plans and his XO gave him advice that changed his life. He told him to join the Army because they had a budget for education. Mike left the Marines in 1959 and in 1960 he enlisted with the Army.
Mike was first sent to Ft. Bragg in NC. It was there he decided he wanted to be in the Special Forces. If he couldn’t get into the Special Forces, he wanted out. “Special Ops people are unique. They want to be special and complete important difficult work.” Mike passed all of the physical and aptitude tests and was accepted into the Special Forces program. He then went through 18 months of training to become a Green Beret. To qualify he had to attend jump school where all of his jumps were at night. He had to become proficient in foreign languages and learn to scuba dive. He spent 18 months learning demolition, operations and intelligence, light weapons, heavy weapons and how to be a medic. During this time Mike was also able to complete his college degree.
In the early ‘60’s the Green Beret were on loan to the CIA. Those were the formative years for Special Forces with little more than 300 members. JFK was a big proponent of the Special Forces, particularly the Green Beret. Mike remembers meeting President Kennedy who presented him with his Green Beret. Mike was eventually assigned to one of the first 12 man “A Teams” and shipped out to Vietnam.
When he arrived at the Tan Son Nhut Air Base in Vietnam, the first thing they did was take his passport. The Green Beret presence was top secret and if captured, under no circumstances was anyone to know he was with the US. From there he was taken to a CIA safe house to be briefed. I asked Mike what first struck him when he got off the plane in Vietnam. “How hot it was and the smell of rotting vegetation.”
Initially, Mike and his team worked with the Khmer Rouge. They were mercenary soldiers from Cambodia and willing to fight for whatever side paid them. They were biding their time until the political climate was right in Cambodia for them to begin a war there. However, the overwhelming majority of Mike’s time was spent working with the Montagnards.
This was a tribe of 750,000 people located in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. The CIA determined that these tribesmen could be recruited and trained to help the South Vietnamese cause. The 12-man Green Beret teams’ mission was to equip, organize, train and lead the Montagnards against the North Vietnamese. The Green Beret lived with the Montagnards in their villages. They learned their customs and adapted to their everyday way of life so they left no trace of an American presence. “We ate with them. We lived with them, we dressed like them. We did whatever they did. I still have my loin cloth.”
Mike said that the Montagnards were a 9th century people trying to hold off the 20th century. They hunted with spears and cross bows, did not have a very long life span, were very family oriented and they were not happy with the South Vietnamese telling them what to do. They simply wanted to be left alone to live in their culture.
Mike’s team developed a very strong relationship with the Montagnards. They treated their sick, delivered their babies and helped them with their farming. They also trained them to defend their hamlets from Viet Cong death squads, to serve as a rapid response force and to gather intelligence. When the Green Berets would take the Montagnards out on patrol, the Americas were always out front. After a while the Montagnards became protective of the Americans and would surround the Green Berets so they would not get wounded.
Mike recalls the Montagnards becoming a fierce fighting force with tremendous loyalty to the Special Forces soldiers.
While they were working with the Montagnards, there was a North Vietnamese leader, Li Son Nutt, and two lieutenants that were causing mayhem among the Montagnards. “They were absolute terrorists. Viscious” Mike recalls. ”They were killing innocent non-combatants.” At one point they moved into the area where Mike and his team were operating. The CIA provided intelligence on these three and Mike’s team developed a plan to neutralize them. Mike’s team conducted an operation which resulted in killing all three. The Montagnards enjoyed relative quiet for quite some time after that. “We learned that if you counter-punched them, they would stop.”
After the mission Mike and a friend received an invitation from a Montagnard district chief for a celebratory dinner. During the dinner, which included a small bird fully cooked with the head and feathers still intact, the chief explained that their tradition is that the honored guest eats the head of the bird before anyone else eats. They asked Mike if he would do them such an honor. Mike used his chopsticks to pick up the bird and took a big bite. The Montagnards cheered. Mike drank a lot of rice wine to was down the delicacy. “We had great respect for them, and they had great respect for us.”
In 1964 Mike and his team were conducting a series of ambushes and during one operation Mike was hit with shrapnel that severed his right femoral artery. Mike’s radioman called for help but could not make contact with US forces. He was able to make contact with an Australian helicopter crew that medevacked Mike to Saigon where he was stabilized and then flown to Clark Air Force Base. There he went through a series of secondary procedures before he was flow back to the hospital at Ft Bragg.
After his recovery Mike became a Special Forces instructor and later went to Germany where he was a Liaison Officer for the 10th Special Forces Group. Mike also conducted training in Greece and taught at the Mt. Climbing School in Italy.
Mike returned to Vietnam for his third tour of duty. He worked with a mixture of Montagnards and Chinese Nuns. His tour was cut short due to complications from his injury which made it impossible for him to walk. He returned to the US and was sent to Walter Reed Hospital to recover. He had multiple surgeries and had to learn to walk again. He was medically discharged as a Sergeant.
Mike settled in Florida where he learned the restaurant business. He eventually moved to North Carolina where he and his wife opened an Italian restaurant called Chianti’s. Over the course of 10 years, he grew Chianti’s into the largest Italian restaurant in North Carolina when he sold it.
Overall, Mike enjoyed his time in the service and would do it all over again. “The greatest bunch of people I was ever associated with. They came from all walks of life.” The things he took away from his time in the Green Beret were: 1) be loyal, 2) assist anyone who needs help and 3) country first.
Mike was disappointed in how the US treated the Montagnards. When the war ended and the US pulled out of Vietnam, the Montagnards were left without protection from the new Vietnamese government which considered them sub-human. They call the tribesman, “moi”, which is Vietnamese for “savages”. The new government began raiding Montagnard villages and committing Genocide. Many Montagnards were killed but some tried to escape to Thailand. This was a long and arduous journey and many died enroute, but some were able to make it to Thailand where they were housed in Displaced Persons Camps. The Special Forces remained in contact with their Montagnard friends and tried to get the State Department to help in resettling the Montagnard’s in the US. Unable to get any cooperation from the State Department, Mike and his Special Forces buddies formed an organization to help the Montagnards and they were able to bring a little over 200 Montagnards to the US through Charlotte, NC.
Mike has been married to his wife Maggie for 44 years and resides in North Carolina.
Mike, thank you for your selfless services, defending your country and blazing the trail for today’s Army Rangers, Green Beret and other Special Forces.
Mike enlisted in the Marine Corp in 1954 when he was only 16. He had to forge a Baptismal Certificate to get in and his parents were very angry. Mike went to boot camp at Parris Island. “It was a real cultural shock.” He remembers his boot camp drill sergeant who was a very tough guy. “He came from Bucket-of-Blood, TX. and he really had it in for me”. Mike served as a tank commander and an Italian interpreter for NATO and the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. At that time, the Marines were downsizing, and Mike wanted to get an education. Mike told his commanding officer of his plans and his XO gave him advice that changed his life. He told him to join the Army because they had a budget for education. Mike left the Marines in 1959 and in 1960 he enlisted with the Army.
Mike was first sent to Ft. Bragg in NC. It was there he decided he wanted to be in the Special Forces. If he couldn’t get into the Special Forces, he wanted out. “Special Ops people are unique. They want to be special and complete important difficult work.” Mike passed all of the physical and aptitude tests and was accepted into the Special Forces program. He then went through 18 months of training to become a Green Beret. To qualify he had to attend jump school where all of his jumps were at night. He had to become proficient in foreign languages and learn to scuba dive. He spent 18 months learning demolition, operations and intelligence, light weapons, heavy weapons and how to be a medic. During this time Mike was also able to complete his college degree.
In the early ‘60’s the Green Beret were on loan to the CIA. Those were the formative years for Special Forces with little more than 300 members. JFK was a big proponent of the Special Forces, particularly the Green Beret. Mike remembers meeting President Kennedy who presented him with his Green Beret. Mike was eventually assigned to one of the first 12 man “A Teams” and shipped out to Vietnam.
When he arrived at the Tan Son Nhut Air Base in Vietnam, the first thing they did was take his passport. The Green Beret presence was top secret and if captured, under no circumstances was anyone to know he was with the US. From there he was taken to a CIA safe house to be briefed. I asked Mike what first struck him when he got off the plane in Vietnam. “How hot it was and the smell of rotting vegetation.”
Initially, Mike and his team worked with the Khmer Rouge. They were mercenary soldiers from Cambodia and willing to fight for whatever side paid them. They were biding their time until the political climate was right in Cambodia for them to begin a war there. However, the overwhelming majority of Mike’s time was spent working with the Montagnards.
This was a tribe of 750,000 people located in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. The CIA determined that these tribesmen could be recruited and trained to help the South Vietnamese cause. The 12-man Green Beret teams’ mission was to equip, organize, train and lead the Montagnards against the North Vietnamese. The Green Beret lived with the Montagnards in their villages. They learned their customs and adapted to their everyday way of life so they left no trace of an American presence. “We ate with them. We lived with them, we dressed like them. We did whatever they did. I still have my loin cloth.”
Mike said that the Montagnards were a 9th century people trying to hold off the 20th century. They hunted with spears and cross bows, did not have a very long life span, were very family oriented and they were not happy with the South Vietnamese telling them what to do. They simply wanted to be left alone to live in their culture.
Mike’s team developed a very strong relationship with the Montagnards. They treated their sick, delivered their babies and helped them with their farming. They also trained them to defend their hamlets from Viet Cong death squads, to serve as a rapid response force and to gather intelligence. When the Green Berets would take the Montagnards out on patrol, the Americas were always out front. After a while the Montagnards became protective of the Americans and would surround the Green Berets so they would not get wounded.
Mike recalls the Montagnards becoming a fierce fighting force with tremendous loyalty to the Special Forces soldiers.
While they were working with the Montagnards, there was a North Vietnamese leader, Li Son Nutt, and two lieutenants that were causing mayhem among the Montagnards. “They were absolute terrorists. Viscious” Mike recalls. ”They were killing innocent non-combatants.” At one point they moved into the area where Mike and his team were operating. The CIA provided intelligence on these three and Mike’s team developed a plan to neutralize them. Mike’s team conducted an operation which resulted in killing all three. The Montagnards enjoyed relative quiet for quite some time after that. “We learned that if you counter-punched them, they would stop.”
After the mission Mike and a friend received an invitation from a Montagnard district chief for a celebratory dinner. During the dinner, which included a small bird fully cooked with the head and feathers still intact, the chief explained that their tradition is that the honored guest eats the head of the bird before anyone else eats. They asked Mike if he would do them such an honor. Mike used his chopsticks to pick up the bird and took a big bite. The Montagnards cheered. Mike drank a lot of rice wine to was down the delicacy. “We had great respect for them, and they had great respect for us.”
In 1964 Mike and his team were conducting a series of ambushes and during one operation Mike was hit with shrapnel that severed his right femoral artery. Mike’s radioman called for help but could not make contact with US forces. He was able to make contact with an Australian helicopter crew that medevacked Mike to Saigon where he was stabilized and then flown to Clark Air Force Base. There he went through a series of secondary procedures before he was flow back to the hospital at Ft Bragg.
After his recovery Mike became a Special Forces instructor and later went to Germany where he was a Liaison Officer for the 10th Special Forces Group. Mike also conducted training in Greece and taught at the Mt. Climbing School in Italy.
Mike returned to Vietnam for his third tour of duty. He worked with a mixture of Montagnards and Chinese Nuns. His tour was cut short due to complications from his injury which made it impossible for him to walk. He returned to the US and was sent to Walter Reed Hospital to recover. He had multiple surgeries and had to learn to walk again. He was medically discharged as a Sergeant.
Mike settled in Florida where he learned the restaurant business. He eventually moved to North Carolina where he and his wife opened an Italian restaurant called Chianti’s. Over the course of 10 years, he grew Chianti’s into the largest Italian restaurant in North Carolina when he sold it.
Overall, Mike enjoyed his time in the service and would do it all over again. “The greatest bunch of people I was ever associated with. They came from all walks of life.” The things he took away from his time in the Green Beret were: 1) be loyal, 2) assist anyone who needs help and 3) country first.
Mike was disappointed in how the US treated the Montagnards. When the war ended and the US pulled out of Vietnam, the Montagnards were left without protection from the new Vietnamese government which considered them sub-human. They call the tribesman, “moi”, which is Vietnamese for “savages”. The new government began raiding Montagnard villages and committing Genocide. Many Montagnards were killed but some tried to escape to Thailand. This was a long and arduous journey and many died enroute, but some were able to make it to Thailand where they were housed in Displaced Persons Camps. The Special Forces remained in contact with their Montagnard friends and tried to get the State Department to help in resettling the Montagnard’s in the US. Unable to get any cooperation from the State Department, Mike and his Special Forces buddies formed an organization to help the Montagnards and they were able to bring a little over 200 Montagnards to the US through Charlotte, NC.
Mike has been married to his wife Maggie for 44 years and resides in North Carolina.
Mike, thank you for your selfless services, defending your country and blazing the trail for today’s Army Rangers, Green Beret and other Special Forces.