Ride the Thunder

Ride the Thunder & Project Blue Light Film Block

Who would have thought that two men from two opposing cultures – America and Vietnam – would come together despite the odds to take down a bigger enemy – Communism. Ride the Thunder: A Vietnam War Story of Victory and Betrayal will have you questioning who is a friend and who is an enemy in this real life tale of two friends on opposite sides of the fences. Feel the sadness, the struggle, the betrayal and even the camaraderie as two unlikely friends unite ironically on the battlefield.

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May 29th, 2016 | 10:30 am

The Angelika Film Center at Mosaic

2911 District Ave., Fairfax, VA, 22031

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Ride the Thunder: A Vietnam War Story of Victory and BetrayalDirected By Fred Koster | Documentary Feature

Ride The Thunder is the true heroic story of a friendship between American military legend and recipient of the Navy Cross, John Ripley and one of South Vietnam's most decorated Heroes, Le Ba Binh. The film is based on a book by the same name by Richard Botkin, former Marine Infantry Officer (1980-1995) The storyline follows Ripley's and Binh's fight together against the communists at the Battle for Dong Ha during the Vietnam War and the aftermath of the fall of Saigon, as Ripley goes home to a divided America while Binh is imprisoned in a communist re-education camp. After the war, their wives struggle to adjust to their changed lives. Immersed in this true story are interviews and rare historical footage that educates the moviegoers on the truth of the war along with the heroes who fought in it, while exposing the opportunists who betrayed them. The main Vietnamese actors in the film are Vietnamese refugees.