Colonel John Ripley

Colonel Ripley

Heroism is measured in many different degrees. A person who helps a senior citizen carry groceries to the car is considered a hero, but then again firefighters that valiantly risked or gave their lives on September 11, 2001 are also perceived as heroes. Through the vast spectrum of heroism, I believe that Colonel Ripley, USMC retired, is one of the most heroic soldiers of this era. I have had the privilege of hearing Colonel Ripley speak on two occasions and briefly spoke with him once, and what sticks out in my mind is his introduction on the first occasion. ‘Colonel Ripley single handedly destroyed the bridge of Dong Ha while under enemy fire and in doing so, is credited with delaying the advancement of North Vietnamese troops.’ Colonel Ripley is my hero due to many years of patriotic service as well as his willingness to reach out to the next generation to encourage them to follow in his footsteps to greatness.

The first time I heard Colonel Ripley’s name came when I visited the Naval Academy Preparatory School, NAPS. The old dormitories became condemned and a new one stood at the end of the track, with the title Ripley Hall on it. This name meant nothing to me, but when I reported in, I quickly learned about and met the man this building stood in honor of. On Easter Sunday 1972, Captain Ripley, tasked himself with an almost unachievable task; He was going to destroy the Dong Ha Bridge. This would prove easier with safety harnesses and a system of ropes and pulleys to transport the dynamite, but Captain Ripley did not have any of those commodities. Instead he had to swing himself plus all his gear, hand over hand out to the center, 50 feet above the Cua Viet River. Much to the astonishment of his comrades, Capt. Ripley strapped on a case of dynamite and swung out to the center of the bridge. He made trip after trip until a system was wired and ready for detonation. This event has becoming known as “Ripley at the bridge” and made him revered by all marines.

I feel an interesting connection to what Col. Ripley accomplished on that Easter Sunday. I have always dreamed of achieving a heroic feat like that, and I am not the only child who had this dream. While my generation grew up, we became fascinated with the Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, and many other heroes. In my case, these characters became my idols. Their enemies always fell to the hand of justice with peace always restored. Through their ultimate moves and incomparable strength, I began to think I too could conquer evil. My free time evolved from finger painting to a unique form of karate. My imaginary battles would last for hours and leave me panting in the living room with absolutely no energy.

I grew out of these silly escapades, and began my journey in a new direction: The United States Coast Guard. The Academy felt I needed an extra year of schooling to prepare me enough for the rigorous academics and suggested I attend the Naval Academy Preparatory School. The one year program did not guarantee a spot at the Academy, however. If I did not obtain the required GPA, the year would not count toward anything and that one thought killed my drive towards achieving my appointment. Colonel Ripley refueled my desire during his address at the Naval Academy to the NAPS class of 2007. There, not only did he inspire me with his story Dong Ha, but also with battle stories in which his character seemed heroic as well as magnanimous.

Colonel Ripley relived an amazing war story that I almost couldn’t believe. The exact details are vague in my memory, but if I recall correctly, Colonel needed air support to lift his unit off the front line. While landing, one of the two helicopters became riddled with bullets and the pilot lost his life. Everyone scrambled onto the second helicopter except Colonel, due to lack of room. Instead of putting someone else’s life in danger, he elected to stay behind and wait for the helicopter to return. Shortly after the helicopter took off, the chances of Colonel being able to hold off the enemy long enough for the chopper circle back looked slim. As a last ditch effort, Colonel climbed into the cockpit of the nearly disabled chopper. It is interesting to interject that he had never flown a chopper before and didn’t know if the mangled chopper could generate enough life to get off the ground. Sure enough, Colonel got the bird all fired up and tried to figure out what to do next. He had little time to do so though because the helicopter started to roll forward towards a cliff. While still getting washed with bullets, Colonel muscled enough strength out of the helicopter to lift it out of supreme danger and head back to base. On that day, he selflessly risked his life so others might live and saved United States property by returning the helicopter.

Colonel Ripley is the soldier that every boot camp recruit dreams of someday being. He saved thousands of innocent lives by destroying the Dong Ha Bridge and contributed to the efforts in Vietnam with utmost devotion. But the most impressive reason why Colonel Ripley is a her is that he is humble about everything he has done and encourages others to achieve greatness. I may never experience a greater honor than on May 18th, 2007 when I received my appointment from Colonel Ripley and he said, “Congratulations on a job well done.” Those simple six words made a year that didn’t count, completely worthwhile. After the graduation ceremony I had a chance to talk to my hero briefly, and the most interesting part about that interaction didn’t come from what Colonel said, but rather from the strength of the presence around him; a presence of honor and loyalty that I can only hope to someday achieve.