Described as "the most revered war hero that no one has ever heard of," Col. John W. Ripley of Annapolis, MD. died on 28 October at the age of 69. Col. Ripley was renowned within the Marine Corps for single-handedly thwarting an attack by a huge North Vietnamese force. The description in The New York Times obituary sounds like Rambo meets Bridge Over the River Kwai. No telling how many lives his amazing heroics saved.