Summary of Keith William Nolan's Ripcord

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

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#1 The NVA drew more fire than they delivered. The 105mm howitzers of Captain David F. Rich’s B/2-319th and the 155s of Captain Gordon A. Baxendale’s A/2-11th Field Artillery were booming in response to the NVA.

#2 The allies had the firepower, but the terrain favored the enemy, who remained mostly unseen under the jungle canopy as they alternated their fire from numerous locations. The key terrain features around Hill 927, atop which Ripcord was built, included Hill 805, situated across a sharp draw from the southeast end of the firebase ridgeline at four o’clock.

#3 The enemy concentrated his fire on Captain Rich’s battery on the highest part of Ripcord. The artillerymen continued to fire, and the enemy only put about thirty rounds in the air, half of which overshot Ripcord.

#4 The attack on Hill 805 was carried out by Company B, commanded by Captain William J. Williams. The troops were not anxious to go into battle under him, but they had to obey his orders. He was a pugnacious, highly experienced combat officer.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Mar 28, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669373094

IRB Media

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Insights on Keith William Nolan's Ripcord

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The NVA drew more fire than they delivered. The 105mm howitzers of Captain David F. Rich’s B/2-319th and the 155s of Captain Gordon A. Baxendale’s A/2-11th Field Artillery were booming in response to the NVA.

#2

The allies had the firepower, but the terrain favored the enemy, who remained mostly unseen under the jungle canopy as they alternated their fire from numerous locations. The key terrain features around Hill 927, atop which Ripcord was built, included Hill 805, situated across a sharp draw from the southeast end of the firebase ridgeline at four o’clock.

#3

The enemy concentrated his fire on Captain Rich’s battery on the highest part of Ripcord. The artillerymen continued to fire, and the enemy only put about thirty rounds in the air, half of which overshot Ripcord.

#4

The attack on Hill 805 was carried out by Company B, commanded by Captain William J. Williams. The troops were not anxious to go into battle under him, but they had to obey his orders. He was a pugnacious, highly experienced combat officer.

#5

The landing zone was hot, and the captain gave the troops on his slick an enthusiastic thumbs-up as if to say, let’s go, the game is on. As his Huey made its approach, Sergeant Rubsam saw a muzzle flash and caught a quick glimpse of somebody among the boulders on top of Hill 805.

#6

The landings were chaotic, but the attacks went as planned. The only discordant note was a man named Foster, who was sitting on the slope below the landing zone, looking away from the action, his rifle between his knees. He was mumbling to himself.

#7

The attack pressed on. Wallace’s well-trained troops operated with an alertness not seen in the average platoon. When moving as a company, they moved like the enemy, creeping through the jungle.

#8

Wallace, a college dropout who had volunteered for Officer Candidate School, was assigned to lead a platoon in Vietnam. He quickly asked for another platoon, as it was absolutely insane to pull lieutenants out of the field as soon as they figured out what was going on.

#9

After weeks of getting shot at and never seeing the enemy, it was nice to finally get one kill. The only thing that mattered was that the enemy was dead, and the platoon took pleasure in propping him up next to his bunker and taking pictures with him.

#10

The 2-17th Cavalry was sent to the ridgeline known as Triple Hill, a kilometer north of Hill 1000, to destroy the mortar and recoilless rifle that had been firing on Ripcord. They were unsuccessful, but did destroy the gun.

#11

The action continued after dark. The 105s and 155s fired around the firebase to deter any possible sapper attack. A trip flare went off on the knoll between Ripcord and Hill 1000, and the mortar platoon fired a salvo on the spot. The ground attack was launched not against the firebase but Company B atop Hill 805.

#12

The company was hit hard the night of the attack, and many casualties were sustained. The battalion commander, Lucas, left Hewitt in place, assuming that the NVA would not attack during the night. However, the sappers were able to sneak inside the lines during the night and destroy the positions of the platoon commander and other soldiers.

#13

The six-month rule also applied to company commanders. To make room for Captain Hewitt, Colonel Vazquez was wastefully reassigned to a staff position when his time was up. The original intent of the rule had been to spread around as much combat experience as possible in the officer corps,