The Bridge at Dong Ha

By John Grider Miller

Subjects: Biography, United States. Marine Corps, HISTORY, Vietnam War, American Personal narratives, Naval battles, United States, Vietnam War, 1961-1975, Dong Ha, Battle of, Đông Hà, Vietnam, 1972, Battle of Dong Ha, Naval history, History

Description: On Easter morning 1972 Marine captain John Ripley, the sole U.S. adviser to the tough Third Battalion of the South Vietnamese Marines, braved intense enemy fire to blow up a bridge and stop a major invasion form the north. The story of "Ripley at the Bridge", a legend within the Marine Corps, is captured by a fellow Marine who lays bare Ripley's innermost thoughts during his desperate struggle to keep 20,000 enemy soldiers and 200 tanks at bay. The introduction to this first-time recording, Ripley talks about what drove him to singlehandedly attempt such a feat and tells how he now views the act that brought him the Navy Cross.