Captain John Ripley USMC Nam Vietnam

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I’ve often wondered who would be the last man standing when I decided to wean myself of my 1/6 th collection. Here he is: Marine Corps Captain John Ripley, whose action during the Easter Offensive in 1972 made him a legend, and the man whose heroics was selected as the single act to memorialize the actions of all Naval Academy graduates during the entire Vietnam War. My Ripley sculpt is the rarest of the rare Dragon figures, the Cyber-Hobby exclusive “Arnold” (Schwarzenegger) , 1 3th Mountain Division "Handschar". He’s equipped as he would have been in 1972 including some extremely rare 1/6 th items and homemade pieces. He’s carrying the proper Dragon CAR-15 and some extremely rare 1//6 th pieces and gear, and as well as homemade items and the uniform and equipment Ripley would have been equipped with in 1972 during the Easter Offensive. The VNMC developed and adopted tiger-stripe camouflage clothing in 1960. Eventually, any unit with a claim to “elite” status was able to procure locally manufactured tiger-stripe uniforms in a wide range of style, patterns, and fabrics. Captain Ripley’s tiger stripes have name and U.S. Marines name tapes, which were unique to the USMC Advisory Group, a color insignia of the VNMC on his left shoulder, and the Vietnam Marine Division patch on his right pocket. Vietnamese Marines used Navy rank insignia with Army titles, reflecting a French influence. Ripley’s Vietnam Captain rank tab was typical of field use, with a single shoulder rank device fastened to a shirt button. To avoid confusion, covans wore both American and Vietnamese rank insignia. His beret is worn in the Vietnamese (French) fashion, pulled down to the left. A black web belt was also exclusive to VNMC advisory duty. At noon on March 30, 1972 the North Vietnamese Army launched its Easter Offensive, a massive assault dwarfing Tet ‘68. The North Vietnamese rolled into South Vietnam with 30,000 troops, supported by 200 tanks, artillery, and a sophisticated air defense system. Poor weather and low visibility initially limited the South’s air power advantage. Early action turned the battle into a near rout. ARVN units collapsed and fled, abandoning vital equipment and weapons, while Vietnamese Marines and their covans (the Vietnamese name “co-van” means “trusted friend”) fought with tenacity and gave ground grudgingly, sometimes fighting to the last man against overwhelming odds. Covans, typically young U.S. Marine Captains and Majors on their second tour in Vietnam, were the rising stars of the Marine Corps. As advisors, a covan’s closest counterparts would be his Vietnamese radio operator and a VNMC Battalion Commander. The common history of the VNMC and USMC dated to 1954, when Vietnam was partitioned into a communist north and democratic south. U.S. Marine covans were there from the beginning and their impact and influence was felt well out of proportion to their numbers. As the invasion entered its 4 th day, it became clear the bridge over the Cam Lo-Cua Viet River at Dong Ha would be a strategic target for the NVA, as it was the only bridge capable of supporting Soviet T-54 tanks. The unit closest to Dong Ha was the Vietnamese 3 rd Marine Battalion, commanded by Major Le Ba Binh. The covan for the 3 rd Battalion was Captain John Ripley. Besides previous combat experience as a rifle company commander, Ripley served three years in force recon, completed the Army’s airborne and ranger courses, and the navy’s underwater swimmers course. He’d also been an exchange officer in the British Royal Marines, an extremely competitive posting. The ferocity of the offensive caused all manner of problems with allied command and control and U.S. Marine Lt. Col. Gerry Turley, who had only recently been assigned as Assistant Senior Advisor to the Vietnam Marine Corps, ended up in charge of the Third Arvin Division Tactical Operations Center. As the situation deteriorated, Turley ordered Ripley to destroy... read more

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