Botkin Richard - Ride the thunder: a Vietnam War story of honor and triumph

RIDE THE THUNDER

A VIETNAM WAR STORY OF HONOR AND TRIUMPH

by Richard Botkin

RIDE THE THUNDER
A WND Books book
Published by WorldNetDaily
Los Angeles, CA
Copyright 2009 by Richard Botkin

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, scanning, or otherwise, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

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First Edition

ISBN 10-Digit: 193507105X
ISBN 13-Digit: 9781935071570
E-Book ISBN 10-Digit: 1935071572
E-Book ISBN 13-Digit: 9781935071570

Library of Congress Control Number: 2008933752

Printed in the United States of America

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Dedicated to those who rode the thunder, but especially to Cam Banh, Moline Ripley, Bunny Turley, and the Marines of Ripleys Raiders and Binhs Third Battalion.

As Ride the Thunder was completed and going to initial publication, Colonel John Walter Ripley USMC, Ret. was taken from us. To all those who knew and loved him, to the Ripley family and the greater family of Marines he touched in ways too numerous and impossible to chronicle, his light will never dim. To his memory, Ride the Thunder is further dedicated.

President Theodore Roosevelt

President Richard Nixon

Ride the Thunder has captured the spirit and determination of an extraordinary band of brothersa small group of U.S. Marine advisors and their Vietnamese Marine counterparts during a particularly desperate time.

Richard Botkin chronicles the exploits of the American Marines and their Vietnamese allies who were largely responsible for thwarting the North Vietnamese invasion of the northern portions of South Vietnamknown as the Easter Offensive of 1972 in the Westthat was intended to bring the nation to its knees.

Although everyone who was there during that period was personally locked in combat as or more intense as any experienced during previous tours, and individual acts of heroism and leadership abounded, Botkin focuses on three men in particular. Lieutenant Colonel Gerry Turley arrived in the area two days prior to the invasion to conduct what was supposed to have been a routine visit during a quiet time. As circumstances would have it, the unusual set of forces suddenly catapulted Gerry into the leadership role of his life. He would face annihilation from tenacious NVA hordes as well as challenges from an American and South Vietnamese military bureaucracy which initially failed to trust his judgment.

Excepting for those who already are familiar with the story of Captain John Ripleys actions at the Dong Ha Bridge, it is not possible to overstate the strategic impact his blowing of the bridge had on the remainder of all combat in Vietnam subsequent to that Easter Sunday afternoon.

Botkin highlights for the reader the special relationship American Marine advisors had with those Vietnamese Marines they served. The bond of genuine brotherhood and friendship between Captain Ripley and Major Le Ba Binhwho commanded Third Battalions seven hundred men facing more than twenty thousand NVA troops bent on their destruction at Dong Hatranscended language and culture. The story of two great warriors serving together with a single purpose is evident. Had there been more men like Le Ba Binh the wars outcome would surely have been different.

In a departure from most books of this type, Botkin follows in some detail the families of each warrior, and tells the wars history through their personal experiences. In studying the history of war it is often easy to focus solely on the warriorand get only half the story.

As someone who was there through these battles, as someone who witnessed many of the challenges chronicled during that particularly savage period, I was still largely unaware of what followed for our friends when the American portion of the war ended. For the officers of the Vietnamese Marine Corps, and their families, the seemingly unending nightmare of reeducation brutally imposed in the period after April of 1975in the case of Le Ba Binh nearly twelve yearsshowcases the tenacity, resilience, and triumph of the human spirit.

America is blessed to have had at its service warriors like John Ripley and Gerry Turley. Our nation is doubly blessed to now count men like Binh among its citizens. Ride the Thunder is a fascinating, riveting read. It is history not yet told.

Brigadier General James Joy USMC, Ret.
Senior advisor to Vietnamese Marine Brigade 147 during 1971-1972

As I began research and uncovered the set of stories which have become Ride the Thunder, I was drawn in by the characters and how each of them, in their own unique circumstances, demonstrated implacable, unbending moral and physical courage. I was fascinated by how John Ripley, Le Ba Binh, Gerry Turley, and the others fought, suffered, bled, endured, and ultimately triumphed against what were often truly impossible odds.

In a world where most citizens celebrate the insipid and meaningless, where the traditional definition of hero and heroism has for years been utterly devalued and perverted, Ride the Thunder celebrates these men, and the women who stood by them, for their humanity, and most importantly for being the warriors they are.

Many people had a positive hand in the production of Ride the Thunder. I wish to thank my wife, our sons, my parents, and my sisters for their ongoing, unwavering encouragement and support. I also need to specifically thank Joseph Farah and Hugh Hewitt, without whose initial involvement the book never would have been written.

Among Marine friends, the list is too long to include them all, but recognition and thanks above the exceptional goes to Colonel Andrew R. Finlayson USMC, Ret.; Lieutenant Colonel John W. Bowman, Jr. USMC, Ret.; and Lieutenant Colonel George W.T. Digger ODell USMC, Ret.; who were three Marines with a special impact on the author. In addition, General Carl Mundy USMC, Ret.; General Walter Boomer USMC, Ret.; General Anthony Zinni USMC, Ret.; Major General John Grinalds USMC, Ret.; Brigadier General Jim Joy USMC, Ret.; Colonel Willard Buhl USMC; Colonel Geff Cooper USMCR, Ret.; Colonel Craig Huddleston USMC, Ret.; Colonel William Hutchison USMC, Ret.; Colonel J. Andrew Hutchison USMCR, Ret.; Colonel Clarke Lethin USMC, Ret.; Colonel William Wischmeyer USMC, Ret.; Lieutenant Colonel Andrew DeBona USMC, Ret.; Lieutenant Colonel David Randall USMC, Ret.; Lieutenant Colonel Robert Sheridan USMC, Ret.; Captain Ed Machete Eddie McCourt USMC, Ret.; First Sergeant Brad Norman USMCR, Ret.; Pete Andresen; Jim Angelis; Ken Crouse; Mike Etter; Ken Hendren; Frank Nowasell; O.D. Pinkerton; Tim Rickard; John Rivisto; Harry Warren; Alexandra Le; and the entire cast of U.S. Marine advisors who served with the Marines of the Republic of Vietnam all own a portion of the work. From the Navy side, thanks to Rear Admiral Jeremiah Denton, USN, Ret.; Captain E. Chipman Higgins, SC, USN, Ret.; Captain George Oatis, Jr., DC, USN, Ret.; Captain B.L. Recher, SC, USN, Ret.; Commander Harry Heatley, USN, Ret.; and Jan Haldeman formerly of SEAL Team One and UDT 11. Hue Tan was always available to happily translate for me, Nguyen Luong, and the family of Le Ba Binh. Special thanks also to Colonel John G. Miller USMC, Ret., author of