RORABACK, KENNETH MILLS

Name: Kenneth Mills Roraback
Rank/Branch: E8/US Army Special Forces
Unit: Detachment A-21, Company B, 5th Special Forces Group
Date of Birth: 09 February 1932 (Brooklyn NY)
Home City of Record: Baldwin NY
Date of Loss: 24 November 1963
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 105444N 1061914E (XT441071)
Status (in 1973): Killed in Captivity
Category: 1
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: Ground

Other Personnel in Incident: Claude D. McClure; George E. Smith (both released
1965); Issac Camacho (escaped 1965.)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II from one or more of the following: raw
data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA
families, published sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W. NETWORK May
2020

REMARKS: EXECUTED 650926 - ON DIC LIST

SYNOPSIS: The U.S. Army Special Forces, Vietnam (Provisional) was formed at
Saigon in 1962 to advise and assist the South Vietnamese government in the
organization, training, equipping and employment of the Civilian Irregular
Defense Group (CIDG) forces. Total personnel strength in 1963 was 674, all but
98 of whom were TDY from 1st Special Forces Group on Okinawa and 5th and 7th
Special Forces Groups at Ft. Bragg. USSF Provisonal was given complete charge
of the CIDG program, formerly handled by the CIA, on July 1, 1963.

The USSF Provisional/CIDG network consisted of fortified, strategically located
camps, each one with an airstrip. The area development programs soon evolved
into combat operations, and by the end of October 1963, the network also had
responsibility for border surveillance. Two of the Provisional/CIDG camps were
at Hiep Hoa (Detachment A-21) and Tan Phu (Detachment A-23), Republic of
Vietnam. Their isolated locations, in the midst of known heavy enemy presence,
made the camps vulnerable to attack.

The camp at Hiep Hoa was located in the Plain of Reeds between Saigon and the
Cambodian border. In late October 1963, several Viet Cong surrendered at the
camp, claiming they wished to defect. Nearly a month later, on November 24,
Hiep Hoa was overrun by an estimated 400-500 Viet Cong just after midnight.
Viet Cong sympathizers in the camp had killed the guards and manned a machine
gun position at the beginning of the attack. The Viet Cong climbed the camp
walls and shouted in Vietnamese, "Don't shoot! All we want is the Americans and
the weapons!" Lt. John Colbe, the executive officer, evaded capture. Capt. Doug
Horne, the Detachment commander, had left earlier with a 36 man Special
Forces/CIDG force. The Viet Cong captured four of the Americans there. It was
the first Special Forces camp to be overrun in the Vietnam War.

Those captured at Hiep Hoa were SFC Issac "Ike" Camacho, SFC Kenneth M.
Roraback (the radio operator), Sgt. George E. "Smitty" Smith and SP5 Claude D.
McClure. Their early days of captivity were spent in the Plain of Reeds,
southwest of Hiep Hoa, and they were later held in the U Minh forest.

"Ike" Camacho continually looked for a way to escape. In July 1965, he was
successful. His and Smith's chains had been removed for use on two new American
prisoners, and in the cover of a violent night storm, Camacho escaped and made
his way to the village of Minh Thanh. He was the first American serviceman to
escape from the Viet Cong in the Second Indochina War. McClure and Smith were
released from Cambodia in November 1965.

On Sunday, September 26, 1965, "Liberation Radio" announced the execution of
Rocky Versace and Kenneth Roraback in retaliation for the deaths of 3
terrorists in Da Nang. A later news article stated that the executions were
faked, but the Army did not reopen an investigation. In the late 1970's
information regarding this "execution" became classified, and is no longer part
of public record.

Of the seven U.S. Army Special Forces personnel captured at Hiep Hoa and Tan
Phu, the fates of only Versace and Roraback remain unknown. The execution was
never fully documented; it is not known with certainty that these two men died.
Although the Vietnamese claim credit for their deaths, they did not return
their remains. From the accounts of those who knew them, if these men were not
executed, they are still fighting for their country.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The book "Pacific Stars and Stripes, VIETNAM Front Pages" published in 1986
states:


Five Star Edition
Vol 21, No. 270
Tuesday, Sept. 28, 1965

Report 2 Advisers Executed
Saigon (UPI) -- The viet Cong executed two captive servicemen Sunday
morning, the clandestine Liberation Radio said late Sunday night.

The communist radio identified the two Americans as Capt. Albert Rusk Joseph
and Sgt. Kenneth Morabeth (as received phonetically).....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

02/2020

https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt00000001UP6EAM

MSG KENNETH MILLS RORABACK

Return to Service Member Profiles

On November 24, 1963, the Hiep Hoa Special Forces Camp in South Vietnam was overrun by 400 to 500 Viet Cong guerillas. Four U.S. servicemen were captured in the attack. The first two weeks of their captivity was spent in the "plain of reeds" southwest of Hiep Hoa. In early December of 1963, they were moved to northern Tay Ninh Province, where they spent the remainder of their captivity at several different prison camps. On July 9, 1965, one of the four men captured at Hiep Hoa escaped from enemy captivity. Two others were released in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on December 5, 1965. The forth prisoner was reportedly executed by his captors on September 26, 1965.

Sergeant First Class (SFC) Kenneth Mills Roraback, who joined the U.S. Army from New York, was a member of Detachment A-21, Company B, 5th Special Forces Group, and was one of the four men captured at Camp Hiep Hoa. Surviving ex-prisoners reported that on the evening of September 25, 1965, while being held at an enemy prison camp, SFC Roraback was called to the camp cadre. Several minutes later, guards collected all of SFC Rorabeck's personal effects. The next morning, September 26, several prisoners reported hearing two gunshots. SFC Roraback was not seen or heard from again after this point, and is believed to have been executed. His remains have not been recovered. Following the incident, the U.S. Army promoted SFC Roraback to the rank of master sergeant (MSG). Today, Master Sergeant Rorabeck is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual's case to be in the analytical category of Deferred.

If you are a family member of this serviceman, DPAA can provide you with additional information and analysis of your case. Please contact your casualty office representative.

Service member profile discrepancy? Please help us ensure the accuracy of each profile by submitting documentation about a service member profile.