|
“When I started out on the bridge, I knew the likelihood of my being successful was minimal. The enemy was in such preponderance on the other side of the river, I knew they weren’t going to let me go out there and be there very long,” he said.
Ripley swung on the girders under the bridge as small-arms fire, heavy machine-gun fire and even fire from the main gun of a North Vietnamese Army tank searched him out.
“We had disabled the tank turret so it couldn’t turn, but the [North Vietnamese] driver was able to turn the tank itself and they started shooting at me. One round hit the bridge, but was at such a severe angle that it ricocheted off the bridge and exploded on the bank. And, boy, when that 100 mm round went off with me in the steel of the bridge, what a racket,” he said.
Ripley credited the company commander of one of the two Vietnamese Marine rifle companies supporting him with “reading [his] mind” when he was on the bridge, providing covering fire when possible as he attempted to destroy the bridge.
“Demolition training from Ranger school taught me one very important thing, and that’s how to cut steel. My Marine explosives training consisted, for the most part, of using half-pound blocks of explosives to blow up something,” said Ripley.
From the Rangers, he said he learned how to use minimum explosive charges for maximum effect.
“I learned how to place charges on opposite sides of a rail so the blast twisted a critical support. It would have never been successful had I not known that. I have to credit my Ranger training and also my British Royal Marine commando training,” he added.
 |
| From left: Sergeant Major Randy Harlan, USA, 75th Ranger Regiment operations sergeant major; Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Stone, USA, 75th Ranger Regiment executive officer; Col Ripley; COL Greg Hager, USA, Commander, Ranger Training Brigade; and Command Sergeant Major John Burns, Ranger Training Brigade sergeant major. |
For his actions at the Dong Ha bridge, Ripley was awarded the Navy Cross. In addition, a book, “The Bridge at Dong Ha,” was written about his exploits, and a diorama in Memorial Hall at the Naval Academy, titled “Ripley at the Bridge,” was devoted to the actions of all academy graduates who fought in Vietnam.
Ripley was awarded six awards for valor and 14 personal decorations during his Marine career, including the Navy Cross, the Silver Star, two awards of the Legion of Merit and two awards of the Bronze Star with combat “V.”
Read his biography and the word hero comes to mind.
“I find that [being called a hero] humbling and somewhat embarrassing because there are so many, so, so many Marines that fit that category perfectly, but they never get the recognition,” he said.
“The best that I can do is hope that I represent those men by my demeanor and the way I conduct myself the rest of my life.”
He pointed out that the men who provided covering fire for him while he was on the bridge paid a high price. Most of the Vietnamese Marines didn’t survive the battle.“When we finally got out of there and returned to Hue City, we had 52 [Vietnamese] Marines out of 735 with us. All of those men who protected me were lost. Did they get the recognition? No,” he said. “It’s something that straightens your backbone forever. You just cannot lose sight of that.”
While in the process of destroying the bridge at Dong Ha, “it took everything that I had inside me,” Ripley said.
And he credited his Ranger training, when he was exhausted, hungry and cold during that winter in 1965 at Ft. Benning, for preparing him to reach inside and find a “second effort,” one that went beyond a tired body and an exhausted mind and allowed him to overcome physical weariness and accomplish the mission.
Later in his career, Ripley became involved in education, serving at the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md., and with the Navy-Marine Corps ROTC program at Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Va. He also was selected to serve as the director of Marine Corps History and Museums and as director of the Marine Corps Historical Center, Washington, D.C., a position he held until his final retirement from the Marine Corps in 2006.
His daughter Mary Ripley was at the Ranger Hall of Fame induction ceremony to support her dad.
“This recognition couldn’t have come at a better time in his life—a wonderful end to the winter. He never talks much about things like this; he classically underplays all of his accolades. He does talk about the value of his Army training during the actions at Dong Ha, and what an honor it is to be recognized by the Rangers,” she said.
“This is a very big deal,” Lieutenant Colonel Jeff Knudson, commanding officer of the Marine Corps Detachment at Ft. Benning, said, regarding Ripley’s induction into the Ranger Hall of Fame.
“The selection process has the entire history of the Rangers to look at,” said Knudson, whose staff of 18 supports approximately 1,200 naval service students who attend schools at Ft. Benning each year.
“The cream rises to the top, and as they [members of the selection committee] continue to look at Rangers for the Hall of Fame, Marine Rangers will continue to be recognized,” said Knudson.
Editor’s note: Art Powell is a public affairs specialist at Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, Ga.
