Focusing on three Marine heroes â Colonel John W. Ripley, USMC, Lieutenant Colonel Gerald Turley, USMC and Vietnamese Lieutenant Colonel Le Ba Binh â Botkin tells the real history of the Vietnam War with the grainiest of detail he captured through scores of interviews and thousands of hours of tireless research in Vietnam, Cambodia and the US. Now the inspiration for a ⦠After the end of the war, more challenges awaited the devastated South, including persecution from their Northern captors. His expectations were shattered when, on a four-day visit to I Corps Tactical Zone, the Easter Offensive broke out. He happened to be at 3rd ARVN Division forward headquarters at Ai Tu when the Army officer in charge there began suffering nervous problems, abandoned his post and ordered Lieutenant Colonel Turley to take the helm. Ride the Thunder includes the story of how Lieutenant Colonel Le Ba Binh was forced to spend more than eight years in one such camp, during which time he was allowed less than two hours total visit time with his family. The fact is that American forces did not lose a single battle of any consequence in the entire war, in spite of their self-defeating policy that allowed the enemy free communications along the Ho Chi Minh trail and safe havens in Laos, Cambodia and North Vietnam. Even the oft-touted Tet Offensive of 1968 was a very real defeat for the NVA. However, readers should be warned that Mr. Botkinâs book, while less offensive than many military volumes, does have its share of profanity, which he mostly limited to the contents of direct quotes from characters in the book. Similarly, there are references, though not graphic, to those activities that have unfortunately been so closely linked with soldiers throughout history. Secretary of State Kerry views the Gaza Conflict through the prism of his Vietnam experience, https://drrichswier.com/wp-content/uploads/ride-the-thunder.jpg, http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png, Film a death blow to vicious lies about the Vietnam War -- 'Believe it or not, we were the good guys'. I think that ⦠Author: Douglas R. Satterfield Because there are positive roles models too! Fortunately for the South, the Communist troops met unbelievable resistance that was greatly aided by the actions of three tough Marine officers who refused to give up. At Dong Ha at 16°49â²50.2â³N 107°5â²51â³E  /  16.830611°N 107.0975°E  /  the South Vietnamese 3rd Marines Battalion, under the command of Major Le Ba Binh, faced the tremendous task of stopping, or at least delaying a huge force of over twenty-thousand North Vietnamese troops well-equipped with tanks and armoured Le Ba Binh stands in Quang Tri prior to being wounded for the 9th time, 1972. The first was Vietnamese Lieutenant Colonel Binh, whose battalion (known as Soi Bien or âWolves of the Seaâ) held the ground defending a bridge across the Cua Viet River at the city of Dong Ha. His work is painstakingly researched, yet highly readable. Houston, TX â The movie, âRide The Thunder â A Vietnam War Story of Honor & Triumphâ will be showing May 29, 2015 at the Edwards Houston MarqâE Stadium 23 IMAX & RPX. The bridge was highly strategic because it was the only crossing in the area sturdy enough to support the more than 200 tanks the NVA had assembled on the north side of the ⦠Nevertheless, Ride the Thunder is an exciting and highly informative read. No oneâs military library is complete without it. 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