John Joseph William Roden was born on March 2, 1943, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. He was the son of Bernard Gerald Roden and Margaret Mary Richards Roden. He was killed in Vietnam on October 11, 1969.

One of his awards includes the Bronze Star Medal. "Specialist Roden distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on 27 and 28 September 1968 while serving as a Special Forces advisor to Camp Thuong Duc. He constantly exposed himself to withering automatic weapons, mortar, and rocket fire from the enemy as he manned a 106 recoilless rifle bringing effective fire on entrenched enemy positions. Specialist Roden's accurate fire on the enemy relieved pressure on other defense positions within the camp. His accurate fire and his fearlessness in the face of such intensive enemy fire were an inspiration to the men manning the positions near him. When ammunition was getting low in the positions, he left what little cover he had and moved under intensive enemy fire to the ammo bunker to secure ammunition and then moved from position to position distributing it. His timely distribution of ammunition and his complete disregard for his own safety under intense enemy fire gave great encouragement to his comrades. Specialist Roden's personal bravery and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the Special Forces, and the United States Army."

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.vvmf.org