Ralph William Christopher JR., volunteered to serve in the United States Navy from March 1967 to October 1970. He made three West Pac cruises to Yankee Station in the Gulf of Tonkin, and Operation Market Time off the coast of South Vietnam. In 1970 he volunteered for duty in-country Vietnam and was assigned to the Brown Water Navy on Operation SEALORDS, on border interdiction operation’s Barrier Reef and Slingshot with Task Force 116. He participated in the Cambodian Incursion of May, 1970, by direct order of the President of the United States, Richard Nixon. He is one of the few men in the history of the United States Navy authorized to wear the Black Beret.
After service, he returned home to Richmond, Virginia and attended classes at Virginia Commonwealth University. In 1982, he graduated the Musician Institute of Technology in Hollywood California. As a lobbyist in Carson City, Nevada in 1992, he helped pass the Bill, HR 1147 in Washington D.C. with Senator’s Bryan and Reed’s help, releasing war records of all MIAs in the Vietnam War to their families. He is co-builder on the Nevada State Veterans Memorial in Carson City Nevada, located behind the Nevada State Capital. He was the secretary for the State of Nevada, for the Vietnam Veterans of America, and is an active member of Gamewardens of Vietnam, the oldest Vietnam veteran’s organization in America, formed in 1968 with over 900 River Rat members. He attended classes at Southern Nevada Community College under master writer Bob Cawley, and is author of the novel RIVER RATS, a true story of the River Rats of Vietnam. He is now a veteran performer and recording artist of over 30 years. He lives with his family in Nevada and works with young adults, music, and Veterans affairs.
Ralph Christopher
8516 Lansdale RD
Las Vegas, NV 89123