I hate to burst everyones bubble but John Ripley command decision and heroics are an imagination of his mind and told by himself and reflects nothing he actually did. If decisions and lack of decisions were known by a higher command at the time of each incident, Ripley would have surely faced courtmartial instead of self glorification. I know because I was Ripley Company Radio operator and was with him step by step and monitored every word spoken by Ripley. His exploits as described in No Shining Armor and Ride the Thunder are exagerated to the least. Most of his marines question his decisions but being highly trained Marines done what they had to do without any direct supervision from the commanding officer. His Marines acted on their own ability and the task at hand. Ripley in short was a HotDogger puting his men at risk to benefit his future military career. He had little care for his command and it shows in his decision making. In short he was a lier.