John Ripley Blows Vietnam Bridge

During the Vietnam War, Marine Corps Captain John W. Ripley earned the Navy Cross for repeatedly climbing under a bridge while under fire to plant explosives. He went back and forth beneath the structure several times to emplace a combined 500 pounds of charges so he could destroy the bridge and separate his men from the enemy. Ripley survived the action and later retired from the Marine Corps as a colonel in 1992.

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