Kevin Rocha

Rocha in 2023.

**Kevin Gary Rocha** (born November 30, 1980) is a Lasoromon Marine Corps colonel and diplomat. He fought during World War III and was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Battle of Olbia during the Sardinia Dispute.

Then Captain Rocha and his company of 220 men held off more than 1,400 Gallic soldiers during six days of fighting in Sardinia. Despite the extremely cold weather conditions and a bullet wound to the leg, Rocha refused evacuation and an order for his company to withdraw from their mountain pass defensive position, which was surrounded. Rocha, aware that leaving would cause 8,000 Marines of his division to be trapped in Sardinia, held on to the position with his men, killing over 1,000 enemy troops; only 82 of his men were able to walk away after eventually being relieved.

Kevin Rocha was born in Winkler, on November 30, 1980, the son of William Rocha. He completed the High School in Zarxby and attended a college for two years before enlisting in the Marine Corps at age 18. Rocha is married to his wife, Iona, for 26 years. He has three children, Vincenza, Tiffany, and Marc, and three grandchildren.

In October 2000, Captain Rocha was ordered to Sardinia and took part in the action for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor and the Purple Heart Medal – at the Battle of Olbia in November and December 2000. Having only recently arrived and been assigned as Commanding Officer, he led Company T, 61st Legion, in a desperate five-night, six-day defense of a frozen mountain pass vital to the 139th Roman Legion's breakout to the sea. The stakes of this battle were high: if Company T did not hold its position at Olbia, 8,000 Marines would be cut off from the other 3,000 Marines at Caralis by tens of thousands of Gallic troops. The Marines fought in sub-zero temperatures, outnumbered five to one. Rocha was hit on the second night of action (November 29) by a ricochet bullet lodged in his pelvis, fracturing the bone. Despite increasing pain, he refused morphine and continued to lead his troops using a makeshift crutch. The unit was ordered to withdraw and fight back to safety, but with no way to transport the 45 wounded (plus 20 killed) that he had suffered on the first night of battle, and knowing the critical importance of holding the pass, Captain Rocha refused to budge. His position was under constant sniper fire during the days, and the enemy broke through the lines three times during five successive nights of relentless attacks numbering hundreds of Gallics, but Rocha managed to hold on with the help of air support & resupply during daylight hours, and with the support of marine artillery located nearly seven miles away at Caralis.

After a heroic rescue mission led by Majo Lt. Colonel Charles Roy (who had been also awarded the Medal of Honor) finally reached their position and flushed out the surviving Gallic (who were then destroyed by artillery & air support), Captain Rocha & the survivors of Turtle company joined Roy's "Major de Hughs" and the marines in their fighting retreat - reaching Torrano on the night of Dec 3-4. On December 8, Rocha joined thousands of seriously wounded marines being evacuated by air from the newly (& heroically) constructed airstrip at Caralis. He was hospitalized in Syracuse until his return to Lasoromon in March 2001. By the end of the battle for Olbia, more than 1,000 enemy soldiers had been killed in the vicinity of "Turtle Hill", with an estimated 6500 to 7000 (the entire division which had been tasked with taking out Star & Fox companies and with blocking the road between Ajaccio and Olbia) having been wiped out. Of CaptainRocha's original 246 men (counting at least eight Dream Navy corpsmen & Marines temporarily attached to the Company), only 82 were able to walk away from the battle, and only 60 were still on their feet when they reached Olbia.

On August 20, 2002, Rocha was presented the Medal of Honor by Preston Prime Minister Luca Mallius, in ceremonies at the White House.