ARVADA, CO, U.S.A.
U.S. ARMY
CPT, CO A, 3RD BN, 75TH RANGER REGIMENT, FOPRT BENNING, GA
04/03/2004, VICINITY OF HADITHAH DAM, IRAQ
CPT Russell Brian Rippetoe was born July 21, 1975. He is a native of Colorado. He was commissioned into the Army as a Field Artillery officer on August 9, 1999. In April 2002, he was assigned to Company A, 3d Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, GA where he served as a fire support officer.
CPT Rippetoe’s military education includes the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course, the Basic Airborne Course, and Ranger School.
From October 2001 until January 2002, CPT Rippetoe deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
CPT Russell Brian Rippetoe was killed trying to help a pregnant Iraqi woman yelling for help. He never thought that the woman was luring him and two other Rangers into the killing zone of a massive car bomb. CPT Rippetoe was killed April 3, 2003, while the ground war was still raging in Iraq.
Russell Rippetoe was a fire support officer. The unit had parachuted into Iraq to secure a checkpoint 18 kilometers southwest of the Hadithah Dam on the Euphrates River.
That “Rusty” Rippetoe died trying to help someone else came as no surprise to those who knew him. “His whole family is like that,” said a neighbor Palmer Mason.
“He was very outgoing, strong, sensitive, a person you always wanted to be around. He made you feel good,” Jim Mason added. “It was Rusty running to help. He was always there for you.”
Russell Rippetoe joined ROTC during his junior year at Metro State College in Denver. He was a natural leader quickly gaining responsibilities in the unit, explained CPT Steve Walker
“Folks just respected him. At 5 in the morning he had a smile on his face and was ready for a workout,” CPT Walker said.
CPT Rippetoe’s military education includes the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course, the Basic Airborne Course, and Ranger School.
From October 2001 until January 2002, CPT Rippetoe deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
His awards and decorations include two Army Commendation Medals, the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Ranger Tab and the Parachutist Badge. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal for valor and the Purple Heart.
Rippetoe is survived by his parents, Joe and Rita Rippetoe (U.S. Army ret) of Gaithersburg, Maryland. Joe Rippetoe is a retired Army Colonel. He is also survived by his sister, Rebecca, her husband, Tom Kim and their daughter.