Member Biographies

Friends with Bob Lowe on the flight over, they ended up in the same platoon. On May 14, 1970, Tiny kept firing his M-60 through shrapnel wounds to his arm, shoulder, and leg to cover Sergeant Koger as he retrieved Lowe’s body. Medevaced to Japan, then to St. Albans Naval Hospital. Spent 23 years with the NYPD. His future wife Irene spotted him on his first day of duty and decided he was hers.

RTO for Forward Observer Lieutenant Steve Olson, who became like a brother and had invited Floyd to be his best man. On July 22, 1970, Olson was killed by an RPG as Floyd tried to pull him down. Floyd lay beside the blinded Sergeant Wagnon for hours pretending to be dead as NVA moved among the wounded. When the battle eased, he called “Currahee,” got help, and brought Wagnon in. His final words: “Life is good.”

Commanded the 3rd Brigade at Ripcord in 1970. Flew 1,842 combat hours in two tours. After retirement, traveled to Vietnam in 2001 and 2004 to interview seven former NVA officers — including the general who commanded the division surrounding Ripcord — and wrote Hell On A Hill Top (2004). Member of the U.S. Army Aviation Hall of Fame. Passed January 22, 2022.

Grew up on an Alaskan homestead, earned his Ranger Tab, and took command of Alpha Company on May 30, 1970. Earned the nickname Charlie Oscar. Led Alpha through Ripcord and the long night of July 22nd, calling in artillery through the darkness. Later spent nearly 500 days in China on defense and intelligence work. He wrote his own biography — and his voice is unmistakable. Passed 2019.

Led 1st Platoon through some of the hardest moments of the battle — from the chaos of March 12th, to a night alone on Ripcord with poisonous centipedes and a tiger in the dark, to the desperate April 15th action where he performed CPR on a wounded soldier on an LZ while a medevac was inbound. He did not speak about Ripcord to his wife and son until just before Alpha’s mini-reunion years later.

Drafted from the streets of North Philadelphia, Frank arrived at the 101st in October 1969 and was present for the March 12th assault on Ripcord. Wounded in an ambush on June 8th, he returned to his company and was wounded three more times on July 22, 1970. A founding member of the Ripcord Association, he has spent decades honoring fellow veterans — and built this website so no one who served at Ripcord is ever forgotten.

A Wildlife Biology graduate assigned to Tiger Ridge because of his degree, Lee led 2nd Platoon through the battle with quiet determination. July 22, 1970 was his 24th birthday. With 16 men, cut off and both radios lost in the opening minutes, he kept his platoon together through hours of fighting, coaxed a broken radio back to life, and kept fighting after shrapnel lodged in his gum. He ended his biography: CURRAHEE!!! Passed 2022.

Arrived on April Fool’s Day 1970 and chronicled it in an essay called “The April Fools.” Around 1983, he began searching for fellow survivors and founded the FSB Ripcord Association, becoming its first newsletter editor. He was a primary source for Keith Nolan’s book. Journalist Jeff Lester, who spent three hours with him in 2000, wrote after his death: “I fear that Chip Collins was killed by a battle he fought almost 32 years ago.” Passed April 9, 2002.

Met Rick Thomas at the Omaha induction center; they trained together all the way to Charlie Company. Served on Ripcord May 7–13, stringing wire and building fighting positions. On July 21st, jumped from a helicopter onto the red-smoke LZ at Hill 805, nearly grabbed an NVA helmet off the ground, and held his position through a tear gas attack. Later walked point for 1st Platoon for two months. Today serves with the VFW Honor Guard.

A Brooklyn kid who graduated from Saint Francis Prep — alma mater of Vince Lombardi and Joe Torre — Pete served as Company Clerk for Charlie Company at Camp Evans from July 1969 to July 1970. He was at the helipad when the killed and wounded from Hill 902 came in on July 2nd. After Vietnam, he built a 43-year career at Consolidated Edison, serving through 9/11 and Superstorm Sandy. For the past seven years he has been a Docent at the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial, bringing the war’s history to thousands of students each year. He stepped up to lead the Ripcord Association reunions after the loss of its longtime organizer.

Served under Captain Rollison with the Delta Raiders, walking the hills and ridges around Ripcord through the summer of 1970. On July 23rd, Delta walked in to relieve the battered Alpha Company — where Tommy met Frank Marshall for the first time. His best job in Vietnam: assistant to Chaplain Fox. Today he owns Shooters Sports Bar and Grill in Columbia, Tennessee.

Arrived at Ripcord in April 1970 with three other cooks and set up a kitchen bunker just below the helicopter pad. Served three meals a day and kept coffee, soup, and Kool-Aid on the line all night for men coming in from their positions. Left July 6th on a supply run and missed the last helicopter back. Today he serves as the Association’s Facebook Administrator, keeping the community connected.