Friday, March 6, 2026

Here's another mighty man

The extraordinary bravery and resourcefulness of Captain John Ripley, USMC.

A Marine who single-handedly destroyed a major bridge in Vietnam, swinging hand-over-hand across its steel girders to plant explosive charges even as an enemy tank fired at him, now appears set to receive the Medal of Honor.

3 comments:

  1. Stephen A SkubinnaMarch 6, 2026 at 4:26 PM

    There was a book about it, The Bridge at Dong Ha. I remember when the USNI Press published it back in the day. Wonder if it's still available?

    Just checked, and yes, in paperback:
    https://www.usni.org/press/books/bridge-dong-ha

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  2. Why wait until the man's been dead nearly twenty years? Couldn't the process have been accelerated enough to get the award to him while he was still alive?

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