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Article: Ripley's Believe It or Not! On Easter Sunday 1972, one Marine stopped 20,000 NVA troops in their tracks--and kept South Vietnam alive for three more years.(Marine Captain John Walter Ripley)
- Article from:
- Vietnam
- Article date:
- October 1, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 Weider History Group. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
"Je-sus Ma-ry get me there. Jesus-Mary-get-me-there. Jesus Mary get me there!" Marine Captain John Walter Ripley repeated this rhythmic chant over and over as his fingers gripped the flanges of the "I" beam under the bridge and he swung himself, hand-over-hand, toward the boxes of explosives carefully nestled in the steel girders.
For three grueling hours. Ripley had clung to the underside of the bridge, dragging some 500 pounds of explosives along the steel beams, meticulously preparing the structure for destruction, all the while under often-intense enemy fire.
Fighting complete exhaustion, he was now willing himself ...