Pages

1

Media Type

Photograph

Physical Location

Stacks

Language(s)

English

General Note

Captain John W. Ripley's Navy Cross citation and medal.

Image Captions

Caption Description

The paper reads: "THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY WASHINGTON The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the NAVY CROSS to CAPTAIN JOHN W. RIPLEY UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS for service as set forth in the following CITATION: For extraordinary heroism on 2 April 1972 while serving as the Senior Marine Advisor to the THIRD Vietnamese Marine Corps Infantry Battalion in the Republic of Vietnam. Upon receipt of a report that a rapidly moving, mechanized, North Vietnamese army force, estimated at reinforced divisional strength, was attacking south along Route 41, the THIRD Vietnamese Marine Infantry Battalion was positioned to defend a key village and the surrounding area. It became imperative that a vital river bridge be destroyed if the overall security of the northern provinces of Military Region ONE was to be maintained. Advancing to the assignment, Captain Ripley located a large amount of explosives which had been prepositioned there earlier, access to which was blocked by a chain-link fence. In order to reposition the approximately 500 pounds of explosives, Captain Ripley was obliged to reach up and hand-walk along the beams while his body dangled beneath the bridge. On five separate occasions, in the face of constant enemy fire, he moved to points along the bridge and, with the aid of another advisor who pushed the explosives to him, securely emplaced them. He then detonated the charges and destroyed the bridge, thereby stopping the enemy assault. By his heroic actions and extraordinary courage, Captain Ripley undoubtedly was instrumental in saving an untold number of lives. His inspiring efforts reflected great credit upon himself, the Marine Corps, and the United States Naval Service. For the President, John W. Warner Secretary of the Navy" Below the sheet of paper is a Navy Cross

Caption Person(s)

John W. Warner Cpt John W. Ripley