Saturday, November 21, 2009

Current
Weather
41°F

War hero's family calls book a 'dishonor'

Charge author with using Ripley to push political agenda

By EARL KELLY, Staff Writer

Published 11/10/09

On this, the 234th birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps, a new book about Annapolis - and national - hero Col. John Ripley is coming under fire from the late Marine's family.

Earl Kelly — The Capital Norman J. Fulkerson is the author of a controversial new book about Annapolis resident and Vietnam War hero Marine Col. John Ripley.

Ripley's children say the author is using their father's image to push a narrow anti-gay, anti-women social agenda.

Norman J. Fulkerson, author of the newly published "An American Knight: The Life of Colonel John W. Ripley, USMC," volunteered in an interview last week that he wrote about Ripley because the Vietnam War hero shared the writer's views that homosexuals should not be allowed to serve in the military and women should be banned from combat.

Fulkerson said Ripley, whose funeral was a year ago last Saturday, made an excellent subject for a book because of the Marine's bravery and dedication.

"A knight would fight to defend women and children, those who cannot defend themselves," Fulkerson said in explaining his book's title.

Ripley was famous for his combat bravery, which included slowing a large enemy force's advance by single-handedly blowing up the bridge at Dong Ha, South Vietnam, on Easter Sunday 1972.

Fulkerson recounted how Ripley, who survived withering machine-gun fire to accomplish his mission, risked his life yet again that day when he ran into the open to save a little Vietnamese girl from the explosion.

"He ran toward her and swooped her up and sprinted her to safety," Fulkerson said.

Fulkerson, who writes for the Pennsylvania-based American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property, which published the book, said his is the "first cradle-to-grave biography" of Ripley.

Fulkerson also said that his book makes no pretense at scholarship.

"It is an easy read," he said. "My target audience was just your average hero-worshipping American, (the) students and the housewives."

The first 100 or so pages are a glossy morality tale account of Ripley's life, while the second half of the 218-page book is dedicated to demonizing "liberal politicians." The last half of the book repeats time and again Fulkerson's mantra that gays and women don't belong in the military.

Ripley's statements and congressional testimony, made while he headed the ROTC program at Virginia Military Institute and later served as chancellor of the Southern Seminary College for Women and the president of Hargrave Military Academy, provide fodder for Fulkerson's writing.

Women should be "placed upon a throne," wrote Fulkerson, whose book contains idyllic portrayals of rural Virginia of 1957, with its "white-gloved young ladies going on a Sunday stroll with beautiful hats."

Fulkerson, 47, was forthright in saying that he is not a historian, but instead studied mechanical design. He seems to worship the military, but said he never elected to serve in uniform, and he glorifies home and hearth, but said that he is single. As for the 1950s, which Fulkerson idealizes, he wasn't alive then to witness the injustices that fueled some of the turmoil of the 1960s, for which Fulkerson has complete disdain.

Family objections

Ripley's daughter, Annapolis resident Mary Ripley, called Fulkerson's picture of her father "a dishonor" to his memory.

"It is a dishonor to our father to turn the things he said - about women in the military and women in combat, and about gays in the military - into a personal view about a hatred of gays and a misogynistic view of women," Mary Ripley said.

"This is real for us, and more importantly, it is real for my dad," she said. "My dad wasn't against homosexuals in the military because he hated homosexuals, but because he was concerned about military readiness. And that was in a different time and place."

Fulkerson said he wrote "An American Knight" after meeting several times with various members of the Ripley family, and never has heard any objection from them about the book.

The colonel's oldest son, Stephen Ripley, wrote an introduction for the book.

Stephen Ripley said his family cooperated with Fulkerson "with our eyes wide open."

"I wrote the introduction trying to give people an idea of my father; TFP was going to write this book anyway, so we tried to participate to make sure it was factually accurate," he said.

Stephen Ripley said he is disappointed in the book.

"My hope and intention is that this book will slide off into oblivion, and never be heard from again," Stephen Ripley said last week. "My dad took some unpopular positions ... (but) he never belonged to the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property, even though he had some parallel beliefs."

Another of the four Ripley children, John Michael Ripley, said of Fulkerson's writing, "It's the little details about the real man that get lost when he creates this fictional evangelizer."

"They don't need our permission to write a book about our dad," he said in resignation, "and they can write whatever they want."

Professional historian

The Ripley children have found themselves in a dilemma common to families of all great historical figures, said University of Maryland historian Julie Greene, who heads her department's graduate program.

"The closer (in time) we are to an event, the more politicized it will be," Greene said of Ripley's life.

Greene noted that the Founding Fathers, and nearly all presidents, get interpreted and reinterpreted continuously, and sometimes the interpretations have more to do with the writer than with the original person.

"People are still using George Washington and Teddy Roosevelt to make different points about what our country should be like," Greene said. "We know that our personal views shape our views of history."

Fulkerson's book likely will not be the last word on John Ripley, a man who loved reading history books himself.

Retired Vietnamese Marine Corps Lt. Col. Le Ba Binh, who was with Ripley at the Dong Ha bridge, said at Ripley's burial that he and Ripley used to enjoy discussing history when they served together 37 years ago, and would analyze historical battles to "come up with ways to fight the enemy."

"An American Knight: The Life of Colonel John W. Ripley, USMC," by Norman J. Fulkerson, may be purchased from www.americanknight.org for $14.95 plus shipping and handling.

YOUR COMMENTS

RULES OF PARTICIPATION

If you encounter other problems, please email ewiffin@capitalgazette.com and include your name, username, and any errors or messages that are displayed. The more information you can provide, the better able we will be to assist you.

In order to post or vote on a comment, you must be signed in with a hometownannapolis account.

Take a look at a summary of Commenting Guidelines.

Report Abuse or Vote In order to allow the user community the ability to collectively rank the value of comments posted on the Capital Gazette websites we have implemented a thumbs-up/down system. All logged-in users may participate by voting up/down each comment. If others vote on your comment, your individual score will go up/down depending on the votes. Initially, everyone starts with a score of zero, and must earn credits to have significant voting weight. Individuals with higher scores will have more voting weight. +4

To Beth - 2009-11-19 11:54:14

Mary Ripley is very aware of her father's statements to Congress all those many years ago. She is also aware of his intent and the context.

You don't know her, but I do and I assure you that NO ONE could pressure Mary Ripley to speak anything other than her true and honest opinion.

You do not need to worry about your third option, Col. Ripley's children know and honor their father.

unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?

Maggie Miller - Kingston, MA - Karma: Neutral

Col. Ripley's Quote - 2009-11-13 17:16:40

Is there a link available that provides Col. Ripley's Congressional testimony? I would like to read his full testimony to get the full context of what he said.

unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?

Rick Wilmes - Beaverton, Or - Karma: Neutral

Let's hear it directly from Col. Ri - 2009-11-13 16:22:12

This article leaves me with more questions than answers. Either Col. Ripley's daughter knows nothing about her father's Congressional testimonies or she received enormous political pressure to make that statement.

As a military wife I've followed this debate for almost 20 years, and back in the day followed Ripley's actions. He could not have been more stalwart in trying to preserve the integrity of this hollowed institution.

It's probably better not to think about the third option: Could some of Ripley's family actually dislike his non PC positions?
I would've liked to see the (or an) article actually quote Ripley's testimonies and then logically counter his arguments. I will be getting Fulkerson's book. Thank you!

Beth

unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?

Beth Sanders - Hanover, pa - Karma: Neutral

Better Coice - 2009-11-12 11:45:09

If you want to read a good book about Col. John Ripley get a hold of
The Bridge at Dong Ha by John Grider Miller
http://www.alibris.com/search/books/qwork/803524/used/The%20Bridge%20at%20Dong%20Ha

unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?

Maggie Miller - Kingston, MA - Karma: Neutral

Gee, what's in Spring Grove? - 2009-11-11 15:46:33

I'm not surprised that you can pull 26 year old quotes out of thin air.

Col. Ripley was a great man, leave him out of your homophobic rants.

unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?

Maggie Miller - Kingston, MA - Karma: Neutral

Director quote from Col. Ripley's t - 2009-11-11 11:19:35

This quote is for Maggie Miller. Since Col. Ripley's full statement would be too long to include in this short comment, here is a sample taken from government records, which demonstrates that my reading comprehension is not that bad after all.

Here it is:

"Americans are decent, God-fearing people. They do not consider homosexuality to be decent, normal or acceptable, and they will not permit their children to be around those who have a propensity or even exposure to this type of conduct; therefore, your military will become one of deviants, deviant from the American norm. It may be called an alternative life style; we call it a perversion of normality. It is a perversion of nature, it is a perversion of God's law, it is a perversion of statutory law."

Excerpt from:
Statement by Col. John W. Ripley USMC for the House Armed Services Committee; The Preservation of the Ban of Homosexuals in the Armed Forces; 4 May 1993.

unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?

Christine Fernandez - Spring Grove, pa - Karma: Neutral

Col. Ripley Quote - 2009-11-11 11:08:34

The following is a quote from a statement by Col. Ripley for the House Armed Services Committee:

The Preservation of the Ban of Homosexuals in the Armed Forces

"I can tell you as a Marine you will virtually destroy the Marine Corps by imposing on us this deviation of values [allowing homosexuals in the military]which we hold dear, which we have fought for and which we know to be proper. You are attacking our personal integrity, you are attacking our honor and no military organization can exist without honor and personal integrity. You are asking us to look the other way ignoring a practice we feel deviant, destructive and in conflict with American and God-fearing values. We cannot do this."

unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?

Cesar Franco - Spring Grove, PA - Karma: Neutral

Christine - 2009-11-10 19:12:45

Please keep working on that reading comprehension, you have a way to go!

You may have read Mr. Fulkerson's book, and you may agree with Mr. Fulkerson's views. However, you do not know that Col. Ripley felt that homosexuality was a vice. All that is in the public record is that Col. Ripley felt homosexuals should not openly serve in the military. There is not any place, except in Mr. Fulkerson's imagination, where you can find Col. Ripley giving any reason for that stance other than the expected impact such policies would have on combat effectiveness.

Whatever Col. Ripley's private thoughts on homosexuality...they were just that....private.

Mr. Fulkerson has turned one casual meeting with Col. Ripley into some sort of fantasy.

I think Col. Ripley's family is a more trustworthy source when it comes to his views, don't you?

unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?

Maggie Miller - Kingston, MA - Karma: Neutral

Family values - 2009-11-10 16:58:51

Since I read the book, I'd like to make a comment regarding this article, which appears to be somewhat biased.

First off, it's no revelation that most Americans agree with Col. Ripley and Fulkerson: homosexual vice is not good for the family, society or our military. There are volumes of serious academic studies, as well as ample sociological research to support this. The family unit (mother, father united in marriage, open to new life) is the building block of western Christian civilization. For Mr. Kelly to characterize that reality, which is rooted in both natural and divine law, as a shifting "political agenda" or some sort of hate-mongering is just not honest.

As for woman in combat, why can't men just be men and woman just be woman?

unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?

Christine Fernandez - Spring Grove, pa - Karma: Neutral