John ripley movie

John Ripley (USMC)

United States Marine Corps officer (1939–2008)

John Ripley

Birth nameJohn Walter Ripley
Nickname(s)"Rip"
Born(1939-06-29)June 29, 1939
Radford, Virginia, U.S.
DiedOctober 28, 2008(2008-10-28) (aged 69)
Annapolis, Maryland, U.S.
Place of burial

United States Naval Academy Cemetery

AllegianceUnited States of America
Service / branch United States Marine Corps
Years of service1957–1992
RankColonel
Commands4th Platoon, 2nd Force Reconnaissance Company, FMFLANT
Lima Company 3rd Battalion 3rd Marines
1st Battalion 2nd Marines
2nd Marine Regiment
Battles / warsVietnam War
AwardsNavy Cross
Silver Star
Legion of Merit (2)
Bronze Star (2)
Purple Heart
Other workSouthern Virginia University
Hargrave Military Academy
USMC History & Museums Division, Director

John Walter Ripley (June 29, 1939 – October 28, 2008) was a decorated United States Marine CorpsColonel who received the Navy Cross for his actions in combat during the Vietnam War. On Easter morning 1972,

An American Knight: The Life of Colonel John W. Ripley, USMC - Hardcover

Synopsis

This first cradle-to-grave biography of Colonel John W. Ripley provides readers with the complete story about a great man who is considered by Marines, such as General Carl Mundy, former Commandant of the Marine Corps, to be on the same level as legends Chesty Puller and Dan Daly.

Colonel Ripley is most commonly known for his heroics in Vietnam during the Easter Offensive of 1972, where Colonel Gerald Turley ordered him to hold and die, in the face of over 30,000 North Vietnamese and 200 enemy tanks. John Ripley proceeded to blow the Dong Ha bridge, preventing the enemy from crossing. He unhesitatingly obeyed and earned the nation s second highest honor, the Navy Cross.

As stunning as the Dong Ha story is, there was much more to Colonel John Ripley. An American Knight: The Life of Colonel John W. Ripley, USMC narrates his early life and the influences which shaped his personality.

In youth, he was a rambunctious Huckleberry Finn who spent his days getting into all kinds of mischief

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John Walter Ripley
Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps

John Walter Ripley was born on 29 June 1939 in Radford, VA. Ripley joined the U.S. Marine Corps after high school graduation and was appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy a year later. He graduated and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1962. His initial duty was aboard the USS Independence.

In 1965, he was assigned to the Second Force Reconnaissance Company, and deployed for his first tour in Vietnam. He commanded Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, and was wounded in combat. Captain Ripley gained his place in Marine Corps legend on Easter Sunday, 2 April 1972 when, for three hours, he crawled back and forth under enemy fire placing crates containing 500 pounds of TNT on the I-beams under the Dong Ha bridge. He then ran a fuse several hundred feet in length, and blew up the bridge. His actions bottled-up 20,000 North Vietnamese troops, blunted the Easter Offensive, and earned him the Navy Cross.

He was the subject of John Grider Miller's book "The Bridge at Dong Ha" and is honored at the Naval Academy with a dior

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