Talk:John Ripley (USMC)

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This article was automatically assessed because at least one article was rated and this bot brought all the other ratings up to at least that level. BetacommandBot 17:52, 27 August 2007 (UTC)

Death of John Ripley

Reported by the AP http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081103/ap_on_re_us/obit_ripley —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.175.66.94 (talk) 02:37, 3 November 2008 (UTC)

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misunderstanding or error regarding colours?

Article states that "John Ripley died suddenly at his home" but "was visited by the commandant at his hospital bed". There is something lacking here. Did he leave hospital to die at home (which would not make it suddenly), or is the commandant story from when he got his liver transplant? 176.11.45.153 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 17:43, 17 September 2019 (UTC)

Why no mention of Huynh Van Luom?

Curiously missing from the narrative of Ripley's remarkable achievement is any mention of the soldier whom he praised as having saved the day. That would be RVNMD Sergeant Huynh Van Luom who, before Ripley began the process of emplacing explosives under the bridge, took two ammunition crates filled with dirt (as makeshift cover) and two M72 single-shot anti-tank, shoulder-fired rockets with him onto the south end of the bridge, facing the file of about 225 pieces of NVA armor preparing to cross from the opposite side, 300 yards away. SGT Luom pushed the two crates forward bit-by-bit until he was within what he considered to be accurate firing distance from the Soviet-made T-54 tank (the effective range of the M72 is about 225 yards). Luom fired his first M72, which missed the lead tank. His second (and final) M72 was better-aimed and struck the lead tank at the ring between the turret and body of the tank, damaging the turret's ability to traverse or elevate. The tank's commander ordered it to be backed into a ditch and out of the way of the line of armor behind it. The second tank, another T-54, began advancing onto the bridge. A second M72 fired from one of Luom's fellow RVN Marines on the south bank of the river, struck the second tank, putting it entirely out of commission and consequently blocking the procession of armor from being able to cross the bridge. This bought Ripley enough time to lay the explosives to blow the bridge. Ripley later said of Luom's actions that they were "the bravest single act of heroism I've ever heard of, witnessed or experienced" and he credited Luom with "single-handedly stopping the momentum of the entire enemy attack". (NB: "Huynh" was the SGT's family name, but in Vietnamese convention, he would have been addressed by his given name, "Luom".) Sources: 1, U.S. MARINES IN VIETNAM: THE WAR THAT WOULD NOT END; 1971-1973 by Charles D. Melson and Curtis G. Arnold, USMC Press, 1991 2 pages 50-58, 3 pages 36-41, 4 page 12. Bricology (talk) 00:56, 13 June 2021 (UTC)