DARK RONIN Films is honored to bring this gripping true story to the big screen. Follow the men who fought the last major battle of Vietnam. Nealy forgotten by back home, fighting for their lives against impossible odds, the heroes of RIPCORD withstood the advancement of more than 30,000 enemy troops. The siege of Ripcord cost the lives of hundreds of American soldiers and thousands of those on the opposite side. This is their story.
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I hope this picture does justice to the best book I have ever read concerning a battle. Part Seven: The Storm, pages315 to 401, especially 315 to 374 ending in "When I opened my eyes, I was staring into the face of a dead North Vietnamese......." is impossible to put down.
Keith Nolan’s research, his comprehension of the political as well as
the military actions, his careful concern for those who were there, and,
most of all, his writing, are superb. Indeed, I’ve never read a better
account of a battle, and I’ve never been prouder of the American
fighting man, nor more scornful of his political and high ranking
military leaders. To those who want to know what it was like to be a
grunt in Vietnam, I recommend Ripcord without stint or reservation.
--Stephen Ambrose
--Stephen Ambrose
Brock, Et Alii:
ReplyDeleteA fellow resident here at the Armed Forces Retirement Home gave me the book, which I read, and it now sits on my bookshelves.
After having been in the Republic of Viet Nam since 12 December 1969 serving in Saigon with the Phu Lam Signal Battalion, and later at Dong Ha with the 178th Maintenance Company, I went to the 101st Airborne in late June of 1970, completed my "P" training at S.E.R.T. on Camp Evans on 04 July (when we were attacked by 122 mm rockets), and then went to my unit, the 501st Signal Battalion.
I was not on Fire Base Ripcord, but a friend of mine, Gary Tolman, was there, and his entire mortar crew got wiped out, including his boyhood friend, Ronald Allgood.
Gary Tolman would have also been killed, but he momentarily left the mortar pit to go to the privy.
Some years ago, both Gary, and his brother, Chuck, who were both in the 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne), passed away from Huntington's Chorea, a genetic neural disorder.
I was told that my unit, the 501st Signal Battalion, lost five (05) men in that battle.
I was told that a CH-47 was shot down and crashed right on top of the radio relay rig, pinning a man who was being burned alive, and screaming in agony for someone to shoot him.
I wasn't there, so maybe that was just one of those G.I. rumors at Camp Eagle, for the book doesn't mention that incident.
Thank you.
John Robert Mallernee
Armed Forces Retirement Home
Gulfport, Mississippi 39507
Thank you for the information and the incident you mentioned may have very well happened since, as the author mentioned, most all of those he interviewed only gave their permission hesitantly and the majority of all he asked didn't even reply. Too bad the author is gone, but he did leave some wonderful books on Vietnam.
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