shortest soldier in vietnam

[7] Flaherty was buried at Forest Memorial Park in Milton. After shooting a maximum of three bullets, soldiers would typically reload to avoid letting the enemy know when they were out of ammo. Somewhere along his path, Flaherty became homeless. Approximately 2.7 million American men and women served in Vietnam. Lieutenant Flaherty immediately called a 90 Millimeter recoilless rifle team to his position after having spotted an enemy bunker position to his front, which was delivering automatic weapons fire on his platoon. Pararescue. This article was originally published 1/7/2021. Theyre known for their specialization in counterinsurgency, a skill that was heavily used during the Vietnam War. One out of every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam was a casualty. One of the other problems soldiers faced is the deafening sound of gunshots echoing through the tunnels. Richard James Flaherty (November 28, 1945 May 9, 2015) was a captain in the United States Army who served in the Vietnam War.Due to his small stature (he was just 4 feet 9 inches (1.45 m) tall), he was known as "The Giant Killer". But he may have left me with more mysteries than Ill ever be able to solve.. Or were his missions something much darker? Another particularly horrific tactic became known as the spike ball or the mace. His friend decides to investigate and finds a passport that shows Flaherty was secretly traveling to dangerous locations like Jordan, Iraq, Thailand, Vietnam, and Venezuela while living as a homeless man. Marines who score 285 or higher on BOTH the PFT and CFT are exempt from height/weight standards. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. He located witnesses and found documentation in a storage unit that revealed that even while homeless, Flaherty was still conducting clandestine missions around the worldCambodia, Iraq, Jordan, Venezuelabut who was he working for? Abandoned by the CIA, Flaherty locates a smuggling ring stealing tons of explosives including a classified weapon from inside a U.S. Army base, and signs on to work the investigation undercover with the Federal law enforcement agency the ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms). The Veterans Site asks that you take a moment out of your day to consider donating to help house homeless veterans. The following year, 1971, he was discharged from active duty and transferred to the Army Reserves, where he served until 1983. too light. It was only after a determined effort, which included the involvement of his local Congressman, that he managed to acquire a waiver. It was the year of the Tet Offensive, where U.S. troop numbers peaked at more than half a million. This early condition stunted his growth. He served as both an A and B detachment Commander. During the Second World War, the Vietnamese first constructed underground tunnels to fight Japanese invasion. Keep it Clean. everyone would watch to see which way the wind would take him. Maybe the best way to do that is to find better ways to deal with the problem of veteran homelessness in our own cities and towns. Low near 45F. What's the minimum requirement in the US army today? David Yuzuk's police radio blared from his shoulder as he leaned against his patrol car outside Boston Market in Aventura. She also worked as a teaching assistant in the History Department. In 1970 he was reassigned to the 10th Special Forces Group at Fort Devens. Id known him for 15 years, and this was the first time he ever mentioned the military. Despite the superior firepower of the American military, the determination of the Viet Cong was on another level entirely. Postal Service. In riveting rifle, rucksack style author, David Yuzuk takes you deep into the jungles of Vietnam to walk in the combat boots of America's smallest soldier, Richard Flaherty. High 64F. Photo credit: Funker530. Using this tactic, they added yellow dye to the water to enable aerial observers to spot any entrances that ground troops had missed. While braving the intense hail of hostile fire, Lieutenant Flaherty displayed astute direction and leadership, leading to the enemy bunker being swiftly destroyed and allowing his platoon to advance and continue its devastating attack on the enemy, according to the citation for the Silver Star Flaherty was awarded for the action. And there was more; he was homeless. He was awarded a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, and two Purple Hearts during his service. One of the prerequisites for and provisions of the accords was the return of all U.S. prisoners of war (POWs). After DNA testing confirmed his identity, the remains were removed from the tomb and returned to Blassie's family, but the Medal of Honor remained as a tribute to those . ODAs are the tactical arm of the Special Forces Regiment. According to federal law, the United States' military involvement in the Vietnam War began in February 1961 and lasted until May 1975. Anness, who died in 2005, was the daughter of an Army captain, and traveled the world with her military family before settling in Miami, where she earned an MBA at the University of Miami and worked as a consultant. Flaherty then called for a 90 millimeter recoilless rifle a shoulder-mounted explosive projectile launcher initially designed to destroy tanks to be brought to his position, and from there, led its two-man crew on an assault of the North Vietnamese bunker. As a result, many tunnel rats often avoided using hearing protection while underground. He served as an A Detachment Commander and Liaison Officer. BTS will be on hiatus until all seven members complete their mandatory military service in South Korea. The Tropic Lightning Tunnel Rat School at Cu Chi base camp provides an example of this. After the military he got into some pretty dicey stuff like gun trafficking. Comprised of 12 Special Forces soldiers, an ODA can operate independently behind enemy lines for long periods of time without supervision. War is hell. Be Nice. Trni was severely wounded after he skied into a mine during 1942, but . Since completing her degrees, she has decided to take a step back from academia to focus her career on writing and sharing history in a more accessible way. Huge bees, gigantic rats, centipedes, spiders, snakes, bats, and fire ants (to name a few) plagued these tunnels. Private contractors? Some even fled to Canada to escape conscription. No offense intended, but most armies have minimal-height, like here in my country you can't go to the army or police when being less than 1.55m as a man (don't know if this is still accurate, but it was in the past. Females have other settings, but still, they're also not allowed when not being tall enough). Finding out about him and what he had done since graduating from high school has put me through a roller coaster of emotions. Tyler Perry wrote and will direct the story of an all-female, all-Black battalion that served in Europe. Flaherty left the Army in 1971 and attended the University of Miami in Florida. Owned and operated by CharityUSA.com, LLC. The Lone Soldier. The Viet Cong built drain pipe ventilation shafts every 20 to 30 meters at an oblique angle to prevent flooding. This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. korean war. The two maintained a long friendship. He deployed with the Screaming Eagles to Vietnam and served as a platoon and recon platoon leader. Yuzuk came to know Richard Flaherty, not just as a homeless man, but as a man of intelligence and goodness. Unbeknownst to his parents, Richard and his mother, Beatrice Rose, shared incompatible blood types (Richard, Rh-Positive; Beatrice, Rh-Negative). In her spare time, Rosemary enjoys spending time with her partner, her cats, and her horse, or sitting down to read a good book. You have permission to edit this article. Photo credit: USMC Archives. Similarly, one American soldier highlighted how they liked to soften things up by throwing in one or more hand grenades before sending in tunnel rats. Flaherty was the shortest of these elite soldiers, standing at only four feet, nine inches tall. It has been well-documented in epidemiology studies . On average, tunnels in this underground network were 1.2 meters wide and only 0.8 to 1.8 metres high. We won't share it with anyone else. The objective is to promote history on Medium and demonstrate the value of historical writing. He was awarded a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, and two Purple Hearts. He had crossed the DMZ back into South Vietnam where he was shot as he was recaptured. For this action he was awarded the Silver Star in 1968. Vietnam, 1967. After graduating from the Special Forces Qualification Course, Flaherty was assigned to the 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) as a detachment commander and sent to southeast Asia with the 46th Special Forces Company. Again, those inside suffocated. What it also doesn't mention in the video is how absolutely ruthless this dude was. While tunnel rats often wanted to wear hearing protection to help lessen the consequences of this noise and avoid damage to their eardrums, they risked not being able to hear the enemy approaching. Join IrishCentrals Book Club on Facebook and enjoy our book-loving community. . Though there are . We here at the Veterans Site offer our sincerest thanks to Richard Flaherty for his service to the nation. Females - 26%. The Viet Cong were experts at creating very sophisticated tunnel systems that would sometimes be so large that they could be used as company-sized staging areas for hiding and for rest, even for hospital facilities. Share with Us. Initially, America used hunting dogs to locate the enemy. The World War Two story of David and Goliath - an Allied 5ft 3in soldier who captured Germany's tallest soldier at 7ft 6in has been uncovered. Friendships sometimes happen casually, the former policeman said. 58,148 were killed in Vietnam, 75,000 severely disabled, 23,214 were 100% disabled, 5,283 lost limbs and 1,081 sustained multiple amputations. MILTON The shortest soldier to serve in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, a highly decorated officer who completed one tour of duty as a platoon leader with an airborne battalion and another as a Green Beret captain, lies at rest in an as-yet unmarked grave in a Milton cemetery. Overall, the Vietnamese were very quick to restore damages and continue as if nothing happened. On March 26, 1964, the first U.S. service member imprisoned during the Vietnam War was captured near Qung Tr, South Vietnam when an L-19/O-1 Bird Dog observation plane flown by Captain Richard L. Whitesides and Captain Floyd James Thompson was brought down by small arms fire. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy. Click #isupportlocal for more information on supporting our local journalists. ", People dont know about Cotton and it shows. Richard Flaherty was just a kid I knew briefly in high school. Tweets from https://twitter.com/heralddispatch/lists/hd-news-4. During these ongoing operations, he gained a reputation for intelligence, and the CIA in the late 1970s recruited him to supply the Contras in Central America with weapons and cash. 75,000 Vietnam veterans are severely disabled. At 4 9 and 97 pounds, Richard J. Flaherty was the smallest and most unconventional man to serve in the U.S. military and needed a congressional waiver just to join the Army. A former TV Reporter. July 21, 2015. Consequently, given the average smaller size of Vietnamese men, tunnel rat soldiers, by necessity, were the shortest, skinniest, and most limber men in the army: a maximum height of 1.58 meters. At the time, Yuzuk was a police officer and Flaherty was a member of Aventuras homeless community, camping under a palm tree off one of the citys main boulevards. . franklin roosevelt. While it covered a lot of the same things as infantry training, it focused more on map reading, knot-tying, navigation, use of hand and power tools, camouflage, constructing barbed-wire obstacles, mine laying, and mine detection. The only reason anything is known about his own past is that he shared it with an Aventura cop before he died. This attempt enjoyed more success than Crimp but was short-lived as the tunnels were in working order again within weeks. It changed Richard, he said, adding that he had found letters in his locker explaining why he needed help to treat his post-traumatic stress disorder. Nguyen Van Vuong started as a soldier in the North Vietnamese Army in 1966 and ended his service in 1971 after contracting malaria. Miami Police officer David Yuzuk befriended Richard J. Flaherty when the former soldier was living on the streets as a homeless man. After Vietnam, he did contract work for the CIA all over the world. The bombs caused earthquakes that destroyed the tunnels and their ventilation shafts. It was the result of his mothers rare blood type that left him vulnerable to oxygen deprivation as an infant. He earned the Silver Star, 2 Bronze Stars (w/V, 3OLC), and 2 Purple Hearts. He'd received two Bronze Stars for bravery and two Purple Hearts for combat wounds during that time. Some of these men were career military officers. A colleague he worked with recovered his body by dragging his violet-colored corpse out of the tunnel. I mean really small. He indicated that while Flahertys survivors had planned on the burial taking place at Arlington National Cemetery, they honored his wish to be buried in West Virginia. Yuzuk learns that this unassuming 69-year-old man was a decorated military veteran. The Giant Killer is available on Amazon Prime and iTunes. These soldiers made punji stakes out of heated and sharpened wood or bamboo. Frank Gutierrez, for example, served with the US Army in Vietnam from 1967 to 1970 as a rifleman, field wireman, and an ordinance specialist at Chu Chi and Long Binh. As you may have guessed, life expectancy was low. He is believed to have worked as a military contractor throughout Africa and most notably in Rhodesia and Angola. There is a story about a fiancee who died in a car accident, and another about Flaherty doing undercover work for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF). Flaherty led his platoon in a flanking assault on the enemy position, during which an NVA bunker was spotted. One Viet Cong soldier highlighted their lack of discreteness. The oldest man killed was 62 years old. A large proportion of the U.S. troops consisted of African American men from the inner cities, the sons of immigrants . Her research focused on military, environmental, and Canadian history with a specific focus on the Second World War. He led a charge, which succeeded in pushing out the enemy. His stint with the CIA came to an end when he was arrested for possessing silencers. Capt. The Giant Killer is one of those stranger-than-fiction tales that would never make it as a movie pitch because its just so unbelievable. The first point to keep in mind is that there was a lot of "tail" in Vietnam. That medically makes you a dwarf (little person). 22 Feb 2018. In fact, on one occasion he was able to save several of his men who had been trapped by heavy enemy fire. As mentioned previously, tunnel rat soldiers were a last-ditch attempt and not the usual go-to solution. In a 1977 interview with the Associated Press, a Vietcong survivor recalled how the Americans wasted so much time pulling their dead back that it gave them time to re-group and prepare accordingly. Though this article will explore specific examples later, these traps were particularly brutal in the tunnels. Operation Crimp hoped to target a key Viet Cong headquarter location believed to be unground. Eugene Debruin: civilian with Air America captured 5 Sep 63 in Laos when C-46 was shot down, Archives held in Texas revealed this happened to one unfortunate soldier. If the stakes pointed downwards, soldiers became unable to remove their limbs without causing severe damage. (Petty Officer 2nd Class . Needless to say, sadly many of those Americans who did enter the tunnels ended up dying. Indirect Fire Infantrymen (MOS 11C), Combat Engineers (MOS 12B), and Bridge Crewmembers (MOS 12C) also have short . His friend, David Yuzuk, used his own money and launched a crowdfunding campaign to produce a documentary about his friends life. In 1968 he was sent to Vietnam in the famous 101st Airborne Division, the "Screaming Eagles". Though Americans, Australians, and New Zealanders claim to know these hideouts existed, they overlooked their size and importance. If they hesitated at all, it is highly likely they would be the ones to die in such close confines. Richard J. Flaherty with two classmates at Officer Candidate School in 1967 (Photo: David Yuzuk / Laptrinhx.com ). The stakes would then spear any soldier that fell into the pit. Major Nguyen Quot, an officer that spent ten years in these tunnels, notes that by 1948 they already dug a tunnel system: each family, each hamlet, had a tunnel communicating it with others. Here are 10 of the most dangerous: 1. Flaherty was killed during a hit and run attack on May 9, 2015, in Miami. All rights reserved. Richard was my friend and I promised him I would finish the project, Yuzuk said. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. He had a few run-ins with the law before becoming a confidential informant for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, perfectly summarised the problem in 1969: The conventional army loses if it does not win, the guerrilla wins if he does not lose. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. is the nonprofit organization authorized by Congress in 1980 to fund and build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. . This kit included a S&W .38-calibre special model 10 revolver with both a silencer and aiming light. Awarded Medal of Honor for escape and resistance as a POW. John Zander in Chu Lai, Vietnam in 1965. MILTON The shortest soldier to serve in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, a highly decorated officer who completed one tour of duty as a platoon leader with an airborne battalion and . These story remain nothing more than bits and pieces of a life that seems to have become shrouded in anonymity. While there was nothing Flaherty could do to increase his height, he doubled down on his eating, climbing past the 100-pound mark, while he sought help from his congressman to obtain a waiver to the height requirement from the Armys surgeon general. Capt. Reach Rick Steelhammer at rsteelhammer@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5169 or follow. Officer Yuzuk had really been taken by the personality of this little homeless man. One Viet Cong technique was to slit a mans throat or garrotte him as he came up through a connecting trap door; this often did not phase the men. When it comes to headgear, some soldiers wore a helmet or a visored cap along with a microphone and/ or transistor radio attached. If you include the near-nine years of fighting that took place during the First Indochina War, add that tally to the 20-year war in Vietnam, you understand why the conflict is sometimes referred to as the Ten Thousand Day War, that number more or less equating to 30 years. Alternate title, "Dating on tinder when you're 5'11" or shorter". I Spent Seven Years as a Vietnam POW. There is a story about Flaherty being involved in a federal investigation that ended in the arrest of two Green Berets in the 1980s. In Britain, during the Nap. In addition to exposing himself to enemy fire while leading the charge on the bunker, Flaherty displayed extraordinary heroism while engaged in close combat with a well dug-in enemy force, in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service.. It is here that his story begins to take many twists and turns. See what its like to jump out of a C-17 with the Armys 82nd Airborne, How to make it through Special Forces selection, How one unusual vehicle helped create Americas Special Forces, Special Forces officer slated to lead NATO special operations, This new Special Forces video mixes history and heroism in the best ways, 8 Green Berets on what it means to be Army Special Forces, ST Idaho: The Special Forces team that vanished in the jungle, Putin has a Problem: Russia can barely build any tanks to fight in Ukraine, Controlling killer swarms of swarms: Inside DARPAs AMASS, The Marine Corps is closing down its Scout Sniper platoons, Get Out: Making The Most of a Duty Station. Clothing-wise, it was a good idea to wear tight waterproof items to stop clothing from snagging on obstructions, leather gloves, and, if possible as mentioned knee pads to assist with crawling around. . All useful to the experiences of tunnel rats. A small donation goes a long way. Naturally, there were only first chances, never second, so some simply killed as they had to. The NVA troops hit the soldiers with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. The unknown soldier from the Vietnam War who was buried in the Tomb of the Unknowns was authorized a Medal of Honor and in 1998 was identified as 1st Lieutenant Michael Blassie. Had to in 1971 after contracting malaria is one of the prerequisites for and provisions of the Viet Cong drain. Short-Lived as the tunnels he ever mentioned the military he got into some dicey. To target a key Viet Cong soldier highlighted their lack of discreteness service in South Korea action he awarded... Tobacco, and this was the first point to keep in mind is that there a... Berets in the 1980s local Congressman, that he shared it with an Aventura cop he. Was arrested for possessing silencers twists and turns wore a helmet or a visored cap along a. 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shortest soldier in vietnam