Paul Van Riper and his twin brother were born in Brownsville, Pennsylvania in 1938. They enlisted together in the Marine Corps in 1956 through a Reserve program. After graduating from California State College (in Pennsylvania) and receiving his commission in 1963, Van Riper went to OCS and The Basic School at Quantico. During his first tour in Vietnam in 1965-1966, Van Riper served as an assistant adviser to the 3rd Battalion of the Vietnamese Marine Corps, mainly controlling supporting arms, bringing in helicopters, gunships, artillery, close air support, and also medevacs when the South Vietnamese were unable to get their own medical evacuation helicopters. He describes watching the South Vietnamese Marines attack a hill with fixed bayonets. He also describes being shot through the stomach, and returning under protest to the United States where he was hospitalized for a month recovering. Van Riper returned to Vietnam in 1968-1969 to command a rifle company near Da Nang in I Corps. He tells of a Chinese communist grenade exploding near him, and of shrapnel very nearly penetrating his helmet, “about as close as you can come without coming.” He also tells of witnessing great courage and heroism on February 21-23, 1969. For Van Riper, one of his best days was the day he got shot, “because if I ever had any doubt there was a God, I lost all doubts that particular morning, no doubt. In a fraction of a second, I knew there was a Lord. So that was a good day.”

Key Words: Silver Star, Military Assistance Training Adviser course (MATA), Vietnamese Marine Corps, ChiCom grenade, post-Tet Offensive, 141st NVA Regiment