'Ride the Thunder' story 'deserves to be told'

A new Marine Corps Gazette review of "Ride the Thunder," a WND Books release by Richard Botkin that documents an amazing and largely untold story of courage and camaraderie against overwhelming odds in Vietnam, says it is a story that "deserves to be told."

The Gazette, which describes itself as the "Professional Journal of U.S. Marines," concludes the book has "stories that current Marines should hear."

"Their stories tell current-day Marines that they must uphold the high standards that they have inherited," said the review by Maj. Gregory A. Thiele, a faculty adviser and teacher at Expeditionary Warfare School.

WND previously reported when "Ride the Thunder" was named by Leatherneck magazine as its "Book of the Month" for December.

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"Botkin's 'Ride the Thunder' is a well-crafted masterpiece of military history, human endurance and commitment," wrote Leatherneck book reviewer Robert B. Loring. "This story of the brave Vietnamese Marines and their advisers is little known in the American public."

Realizing how deeply academia and pop culture have revised history to distort Americans' understanding of the Vietnam War, Botkin, who described the Leatherneck designation as "humbling," aimed to tell a different tale.

"What I wanted to do is affirm the warrior who fought honorably," said the Marine infantry captain, "and share the role of the Vietnamese, which has been so mis-portrayed."

He accomplished that mission with "Ride the Thunder," which documents how Vietnamese Marines and their U.S. advisers were actually winning the war. But in the early 1970s, as Nixon's "Vietnamization" strategy was employed, U.S. troops were scaled back, transferring power to the Vietnamese people.

An instant hit with critics and readers since its July release, "Ride the Thunder" remains ever relevant. It's a cautionary tale, particularly amid President Obama's new troop surge in Afghanistan announced alongside a set withdrawal date.

"People will be willing to fight for their own freedom but they have to think they have a chance at success," said Botkin. "The people we're trying to support will not be inclined to throw in with us if they think we're going to leave."

The new review from the Marine Corps Gazette said, "Botkin chose the characters whose stories he would tell with some care. He conducted numerous interviews to ensure that he got these stories right. The primary characters in the book are men with names familiar to many Marines – John Ripley and Gerald Turley. Other, less familiar, names are Le Ba Binh (an RVN Marine officer), George Philip, and Chuck Goggin (both U.S. Marines), just to name a few. These are all people whose stories deserve to be told; they are stories that current Marines should hear.

"Ride the Thunder discusses a phase of the Vietnam War about which most Marines know very little … The men and women portrayed by Richard Botkin are people with whom Marines ought to be familiar. For Marines who desire to learn more about the U.S. Marine Corps' involvement in Vietnam, this book is an easy read despite its length," the review said.

The Vietnam War's final, fear-filled days of chaos and cruelty provide the setting for Botkin's lost chapter of unsung heroism.

With U.S. soldiers leaving, the North Vietnamese sensed a shot at victory and launched the massive Easter Offensive. The onslaught scorched its way through the demilitarized zone and into a northern province of South Vietnam.

That's where they ran smack into Maj. Le Ba Binh, his 700 Marines and their U.S. Marine advisers, who bravely held back more than 20,000 North Vietnamese troops.

This gripping page-turner also leads readers through Col. Gerry Turley's decisive action that helped thwart the offensive. With the South Vietnamese abandoning overrun positions, Soviet tanks lurched forward, leaving a flattened path of destruction in their wake. Turley made a bold move to stave off a near-guaranteed conquering of the endangered South Vietnamese Republic.

He called on Capt. John Ripley and his legendary "Ripley's Raiders." Readers trace Ripley's daring mission to detonate the Dong Ha Bridge and stymie the advancing horde.

Botkin fears that if the U.S. commitment to Afghanistan flags, the nation will repeat a painful chapter of history that this time poses the very real possibility of arriving on American soil.

"The communists, the NVA, the Chinese did not attack the United States," said Botkin. "The radical Islamists did. And if they had a base to operate, they'd do it again."