Flaherty was given a Silver Star for his actions in combat during the Tet Offensive, when his unit was ambushed with machine guns and grenades by Northern Vietnamese Army (NVA) troops in a hidden bunker. Giant Killers are among us-- author David Yuzuk walked with one and returned with this tale." The United States conducted two major campaigns to search and destroy the tunnel system: Operation Crimp (1966) and Operation Cedar Falls (1967). 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). How can we help? There are some interviews with the men that served under him and they talk about him ordering soldiers to kill civilians and surrendered VC. A friend of his from high school told me he had fond memories of watching Richard breaking boards with his hands when he walked past the Flahertys garage. But then everything we know about him gets lost in a blur of fragmentary vignettes. During the course of two tours in Vietnam, because of his size, Flaherty often did tunnel rat searches. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism (Petty Officer 2nd Class . Some of the basic combat training (BCT) soldiers undertook helped though. Join IrishCentrals Book Club on Facebook and enjoy our book-loving community. The two maintained a long friendship. You can view the full DCAS record for an individual named in the list via the Access to Archival Databases resource, or AAD. At the end of him career he had such bad PTSD that he pretty much couldn't function in a normal way and spent for the most part the remainder of his life homeless. Putting people in that situation changes them. he said. American soldiers were often prepared for traps that may be on the ground, but they had not prepared for those coming from above. Current standards for men is 60-80 inches tall. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. Vietnam War. Between February and March 1973, 591 American servicemen were released by the North Vietnamese. He wasnt flat-footed, he had no debilitating conditions, and he was an otherwise perfectly healthy young man. He agreed to cooperate, but said that once we got started, I had to promise to finish the project, Yuzuk said. Photo credit: USMC Archives. Proceeding cautiously, they moved in enough until a fellow soldier could fit into the tunnel with them. It turned out to be a lot. Pictured left to right: Topsy, Fatty, Cotton (killed fitty men and got his shins blowed off), Brooklyn, Stinky, and Fatty. Not only was he the shortest Green Beret to serve in Vietnam, he was also the shortest US serviceman in history. . A former TV Reporter. Well anything under 4'10" is legally a disability under the law. The US army now sought alternate measures. 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. Captain Flaherty's Irish lineage is traced back to his grandfather Joseph Patrick Flaherty who was born in the Aran islands and his grandmother Bridget Smythe was born in the village of Feakle next to the Sliabh Aughty Mountains. High 64F. Vietnam Veterans represent the largest cohort of American Veterans in . Richard Flaherty, who was raised in Connecticut, had to obtain a waiver to join the Army during the Vietnam War. Yuzuk said it was not long after he moved to Florida in 1999 and joined the Aventura Police Department that he noticed Flaherty. He was the shortest US serviceman in history. All of that ends when hes arrested for possession of gun silencers. Thus, when Richard was born, he was different. Here are some of the most powerful pictures taken by Larry Burrows during his coverage of the Vietnam War. Related: See what its like to jump out of a C-17 with the Armys 82nd Airborne. Why they volunteered varied person to person, but one American soldier speculated volunteers were trying sometimes to make up for problematic lives back home or to prove their manhood in truly testing conditions. The same soldier noted that once rats conquered their fear, assuming they survived, some even came to like their work for the rats, the light at the end of the tunnel was usually a VC with a candle.. Doctors from Stamford Connecticut's Regional Hospital worked intensely to save the newborn as his mother wasn't aware of her blood group of Rh-negative. The exact figure, however, remains unknown as there were no extensive records kept on this exact type of engagement with the enemy. This required him to put on even more weight and get another waiver signed to excuse him from the height requirements. 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. Chance of rain 90%. He showed his fearsome warrior spirit during the Vietnam War, and later entered the roster of the Army's elite task . What it also doesn't mention in the video is how absolutely ruthless this dude was. Similarly, one soldier recalls how an encounter with the biggest rat he had ever seen led him to continually fire his gun. A Soldier's Thoughts. Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Texas) represents Texas' 3rd congressional . [6] After Flaherty's death, Yuzuk went to look into his history and uncovered troves of information from Flaherty's storage unit, such as his passport with stamps from Cambodia, Venezuela, Iraq and Jordan. His height was no object, however, and he put . Saddest to me is that Flaherty was a man who had done much and who could have offered so much more, but he got lost in ways well never understand. A soldier holding a small but venomous snake. He served as an A Detachment Commander and Liaison Officer. when a soldier had approximately two months remaining on his tour in Vietnam, he might take a long stick and notch it for each of his remaining days in-country. Richard Flaherty was just a kid I knew briefly in high school. 10,422 Vietnam War Soldiers Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images. Flaherty was the shortest of these elite soldiers, standing at only four feet, nine inches tall. If the army located an entrance and needed it explored, the team lowered a tunnel rat into the area to scout out the surroundings. I have been stewing over it for several months now. Comprised of 12 Special Forces soldiers, an ODA can operate independently behind enemy lines for long periods of time without supervision. 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. These guerrillas were fighting the colonial power of France. Since last May I have thought about him off and on and finally felt that I needed to tell his story, or as much of it as I could find out. 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. The enemy used this to their advantage. February 24, 2023. In Britain, during the Nap. Unless medical issues had something to do with it. 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. His unit in the 101st was ambushed as it passed a hidden North Vietnamese bunker. Thankfully, Richard Flahertys story lives on, as he shared it with David Yuzuk, a local police officer, before his death. lkunl/Shutterstock. It is here that his story begins to take many twists and turns. Another particularly horrific tactic became known as the spike ball or the mace. One of his men got stung and came out screaming, refusing to ever go into a tunnel again. When it came time to weigh in, Flaherty barely tipped the scale of 100 pounds. Soldiers who are not fluent in another language will attend six to 18 months at the Defense Language Institute (DLI) prior to AIT. He was a Special Forces Green Beret Captain and was . Yuzuk started digging and discovered that Flaherty had worked undercover with the Feds during the 80s. The primary focus of his time in the CIA was supplying the Nicaraguan Contras in Nicaragua. Vietnam, 1967. Some volunteered to go to Vietnam. After Vietnam, he did contract work for the CIA all over the world. However, they were not popular among tunnel rats as the light was unnecessary, and the silencers were too long and did not function well. Richard Flaherty, who was raised in Connecticut, had to obtain a waiver to join the Army during the Vietnam War. The stakes would then spear any soldier that fell into the pit. Capt. One soldier would crawl about five meters behind the other to minimize the chance of death or injury if their leader activated a trap or a mine. 75,000 Vietnam veterans are severely disabled. 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. During the same tour of duty, Flaherty was also awarded two Bronze Stars for valor and two Purple Hearts. Communications, public relations, and marketing professional, and content creator during free time. When the Vietnam War heated up, Flaherty volunteered for the Army. Equally, these countries failed to understand how difficult it would be to detect and neutralize such networks. He had spent his last years alive homeless. He also fell below the Army's weight requirement of 100 pounds. He came home from Vietnam after his second tour and moved to Hallandale, Florida, where he worked for a time with the U.S. But due to the Vietnam draft they would have likely taken him anyway if that was his only disqualifier from serving. In 1970, Flaherty was reassigned to the 10th Special Forces Group, where he commanded another ODA and then an Operational Detachment Bravo (ODB), a headquarters element. That way, when a soldier fell into a pit and became trapped, he would call for a colleague who would rush to his aid and collapse into the trap next to it. This network connected villages, cities, and districts. The life expectancy of a radio operator in the Vietnam War ranged between five to six seconds all the way up to a slightly-more-optimistic thirty seconds, depending on your source. This would-be Captain America was just 49, three inches too short for Army service. Despite the superior firepower of the American military, the determination of the Viet Cong was on another level entirely. The Lone . 4' 9" 97lb Vietnam War Vet Green Beret Captain Richard J. Flaherty was the smallest US soldier to ever serve in the military. On the other hand, combat troops had nearly an even chance of getting wounded, roughly 50%. The 'Hanoi Hilton' Is No Trump Hotel. He deployed with the Screaming Eagles to Vietnam and served as a platoon and recon platoon leader. U.S. Air Force pararescuemen and a simulated 'survivor' watch as an HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter comes in for a landing. the shortest have one line. Next, the Viet Cong would dig a pit and jam the punji stakes upright in it. BTS will be on hiatus until all seven members complete their mandatory military service in South Korea. With a passion for historical learning and historical education, her writing interests include social history, and war history, especially researching obscure facts about the Second World War. Start your free trial today. Owing to the need for a flashlight, it was essential that soldiers could aim and fire their weapon with one hand. To even attempt Special Forces training, Flaherty had to gain six pounds and get another height waiver. Unbeknownst to his parents, Richard and his mother, Beatrice Rose, shared incompatible blood types (Richard, Rh-Positive; Beatrice, Rh-Negative). The Veterans Site asks that you take a moment out of your day to consider donating to help house homeless veterans. According to studies conducted during the war, after one year of service, the hearing and smell of a typical tunnel rat became sixty percent better than that of an average man. The US Army Special Forces, commonly referred to as the Green Berets, are one of the countrys most elite fighting forces. It's an exclusive offer for our viewers! 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. Not until 1995 did Vietnam release its official estimate of war dead: as many as 2 million civilians on both sides and some 1.1 million North Vietnamese and Viet Cong fighters. Network news was filled with the stories of young men dying in combat to stem the spread of Communism to South Vietnam. Photo credit: Pinterest. As a man, he stands tall in my book. Soon after, Flaherty is killed by a hit-and-run driver. Submitted photo. M. Flaherty returned to the U.S. later that year, and graduated from the Armys Special Warfare School at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, becoming a member of the elite Green Berets. Men most often explored these tunnels in pairs. Indirect Fire Infantrymen (MOS 11C), Combat Engineers (MOS 12B), and Bridge Crewmembers (MOS 12C) also have short . Each panel is numbered from "1" to "70" at the base, with West Panel 1 and East Panel 1 . And, is this general or do several different troop branches have different requirements? Flaherty attended Infantry Officer Candidate School and was commissioned a 2Lt on August 31, 1967. Though this article will explore specific examples later, these traps were particularly brutal in the tunnels. The following year, 1971, he was discharged from active duty and transferred to the Army Reserves, where he served until 1983. 11 talking about this. Primary Source. Capt. Tho claims the Viet Cong prepared both the necessary troops and assembled the supplies needed in these tunnels to conduct the Tet Offensive of 1968. It included an article about Flahertys tragic death in Aventura, Florida. Another method frequently used attempted to flood the area so badly that the enemy desperately sought to escape to avoid drowning. Finally, some of the unique training centers would provide tunnel system replicas. Published March 04, 2022 06:48:08. world war ii. Archives held in Texas revealed this happened to one unfortunate soldier. Flaherty served with the 101st Airborne & the 3rd Special Forces Group. After all, it was a very stressful and dangerous job. This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Soldiers learned to carefully probe the sides, roof, and floor of the tunnels attentively listening and trying to smell the enemy or look for trap doors. His life may have ended tragically, but it was also a life that included real heroism and self-sacrifice. Richard J. Flaherty with two classmates at Officer Candidate School in 1967 (Photo: David Yuzuk / Laptrinhx.com ). We can imagine that it may have had something to do with his Vietnam combat experiences. 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. . . *Warning: Some people may find these pictures disturbing.*. These tunnels hugely impacted American morale as it was difficult to comprehend that the enemy could be hiding just feet away yet were undetectable and unreachable. Photo credit: Peter Alan Lloyd Website. Retired, David enjoys writing, walking on hikes, and spending time with his dog Simon. In most cases, tunnel rats were engineers, infantrymen, cavalry scouts, or chemical specialists. Richard Flaherty, was certainly a standout. This page is to honor the memory of Green Beret Captain Vietnam veteran Richard Flaherty. These soldiers made punji stakes out of heated and sharpened wood or bamboo. [5] Fifteen years before Flaherty's death, he was befriended by Miami Police officer David Yuzuk after Flaherty became homeless. At 4-foot-nine-inches tall and 97-pounds he was the. It was the result of his mothers rare blood type that left him vulnerable to oxygen deprivation as an infant. If it did not force the enemy out, those inside the tunnels often suffocated to death instead. The bombs caused earthquakes that destroyed the tunnels and their ventilation shafts. Weve got a clip from the movie that details Richards ruthlessness in combat. An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account. Be Proactive. Infantry Advanced Individual Training also helped them to deal more in-depth with other issues. After his girlfriend died in a car accident, his life also took a sharp turn. A lot of the time it really depended on the size of the soldiers in the infantry division. A colleague dragged him out before he grabbed a frag and threw it into the hole too. We'd love to hear eyewitness T he man in the picture keeps his eyes to the ground. When interviewed he stated: We often wondered how things happened in the night and we never saw what was going on, guys getting their throat cut. A colleague he worked with recovered his body by dragging his violet-colored corpse out of the tunnel. Later that year, he was reassigned to the 10th Special Forces Group at Fort Devens. According to newspaper files, her grandparents operated a restaurant in Milton. Reach Rick Steelhammer at rsteelhammer@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5169 or follow. He was still denied entry into the Army. Capt. Medically speaking, Richard would be considered a proportionate dwarf. Not only was he the shortest Green Beret to serve in Vietnam, he was also the shortest US serviceman in history. Reads: 47 Comments: 1. . 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. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. His ODA was tasked with training the Royal Thai Army in counterinsurgency operations and prepare them for a deployment to Vietnam. By REP. SAM JOHNSON. The first point to keep in mind is that there was a lot of "tail" in Vietnam. They belong to us. When he finally got past the 100-pound mark, he petitioned his Congressman to obtain a waiver for the Armys height restrictions. By April 1968, Flaherty was a paratrooper and a platoon leader with the 101st Airborne Division. Richards future, therefore, was sealed before he took his first breath. After all, many soldiers are have said to prefer the M14 to the M16 during the Vietnam War, and the rifle has been described by other authors as a "phoenix" rising again and again when the U.S . 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 . Capt. He would see Flaherty and talk with him every day; they would even eat lunch together. If they were feeling particularly cruel they may point the sticks downwards at an angle. Hed traveled a lot, read a lot and was interesting to talk with.. Already well-adapted to subterranean life, many insects and animals of the Vietnamese jungle found the underground tunnels to be a worthy living environment. Mai Chi Tho, brother of Le Duc Tho (a prominent Hanoi Politburo member) highlights how they used the tunnels to infiltrate Saigon. saigon 1975. army soldier. You have permission to edit this article. Got the VC screaming "we said no Oddjob! Richard Flaherty returned to the U.S. and trained at the Army's Special Warfare School at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, becoming a member of the Green Berets. In a contemporary interview, he had said that Ive taken a lot of kidding about my size. Richard James Flaherty was born on November 28, 1945. Tools of the trade metal tin sign. A retired Miami cop spends three years trying to unearth the truth about a homeless gentleman he'd befriended. 4' 9" 97lb Vietnam War Vet Green Beret Captain Richard J. Flaherty was the smallest US soldier to ever serve in the military. too light. Both known as the shortest soldiers in their units, each would serve in numerous battles as soldiers. Sergeant Arnold Gutierrez of the 25th Division stated that after a while they became so tuned to what was happening that when the other person would flick an eyelid up or down, you really knew he was there, in the corner, not even hiding anymore. 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. Initially, America used hunting dogs to locate the enemy. Flaherty led his platoon in a flanking assault on the enemy position, during which an NVA bunker was spotted. Because of this, they often targeted their legs instead. A life warrior. He would also earn two Bronze Stars, a Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross, and five Purple Hearts during his two tours in the Nam. A young man emerging from his journey in a Viet Cong tunnel. A cemetery employee said the appropriate relatives have been contacted and a marker has been ordered and is expected to be set in place early next year. They became known as some special forces who skied into battle against enemy forces. The oldest man killed was 62 years old. Thank you! When you used to stack bodies, but your 15 yo great grandson keeps calling you "Piper Perri" and you don't know why. The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user. 45 calibers with a seven-round magazine as they were readily available. Col. Floyd J. Thompson, who endured nearly nine years of torture, disease and starvation in Vietnam as the longest-held prisoner of war in American history, has died. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. On February 12 the first of 591 U.S. military and civilian POWs were released in Hanoi and flown directly to Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines. According to archives held by the US government, there were 58,220 US military deaths overall as a result of the Vietnam War. On January 27, 1973, the Paris Peace Accords were signed, officially bringing to an end the American war in Vietnam. Richard Flaherty, was certainly a standout. Flaherty was tasked with training the Royal Thai Army in counterinsurgency, in preparation for being sent to Vietnam. He actually had a pretty sad ending. When he graduated from high school, Flaherty was 4 feet, 9 inches tall three inches too short to meet the Armys height requirement at the time. 66F. How many men and women have we lost to the anonymity of our city streets? The link to . When he graduated OCS and his Special Forces training, he volunteered for combat duty with the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam. One of the prerequisites for and provisions of the accords was the return of all U.S. prisoners of war (POWs). Richard was my friend and I promised him I would finish the project, Yuzuk said. 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. In 1970 he was reassigned to the 10th Special Forces Group at Fort Devens. When he reached adolescence, Flaherty was small compared to his peers. His mother didnt know at the time of his birth that her blood type was Rh-negative which may lead to serious health problemsand deathin a second-born fetus. . Get your SPECIAL OFFER for MagellanTV here: https://try.magellantv.com/simplehistory. The Viet Cong built drain pipe ventilation shafts every 20 to 30 meters at an oblique angle to prevent flooding. This is similar to the selection effect of underwriting requirement provision in the insurance industries. All rights reserved. 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. "The true story of the smallest Green Beret soldier who became a war hero-only to be killed homeless and alone, whose life and death are shrouded in mystery." Share with Us. After 15 years of friendship, Flaherty finally confessed, Its time I tell you who I really am. Only 10 days later Flaherty would be killed in a bizarre hit and run. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you. Again, those inside suffocated. The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes. The CIA? May they rest in peace. 1968 the A Shau Valley of South Vietnam. Richard Flaherty had to get a waiver to join the Army during the Vietnam War. He knew he wanted to enlist, but was faced with a problem: he was too short. Provide food and supplies to veterans at The Veterans Site for free! Marine Corps: (Accession and Regular Standards) Male - 18%. A particular Special Forces member, Capt. Phil Bucklew: The Father of US Naval Special Warfare. Be Nice. We won't share it with anyone else. In the end, his life has as much mystery in it as it does accounts of real grit and heroism. Click #isupportlocal for more information on supporting our local journalists. In 2018 David was forced to retire due to a back injury sustained as a police officer. Every group would do things differently. Tunnel rat soldiers often used flashlights to guide the way and thus warned the enemy of their presence. The Veterans Site is dedicated to helping to provide awareness to the problem of homelessness among our veterans. Due to his small stature (he was just 4feet 9inches (1.45m) tall), he was known as "The Giant Killer". More from us: Phil Bucklew: The Father of US Naval Special Warfare. Miami Police officer David Yuzuk befriended Richard J. Flaherty when the former soldier was living on the streets as a homeless man. As a Vietnam veteran he is my brother. Similarly, Operation Ceder Falls attempts to uncover and destroy the tunnel system. Active military action was carried out for almost 20 years, from 1 November 1955 to 30 April 1975.The Vietnam War is also referred to as the Second Indochina War, due to the involvement of all three countries previously constituting the French territory of Indochina. A particular Special Forces member, Capt. The average Liberian is 159.66cm (5 feet 2.85 inches) tall. Postal Service. Please support The Veterans Site by adding us to your ad blockers whitelist ads help us to provide food and supplies to veterans. His stint with the CIA came to an end when he was arrested for possessing silencers. None of these wars were longer than the Afghan war, anyway.] Lauri Trni (Larry Thorne) in his three military uniforms. There is, in fact, a waiver for everything. When triggering a tripwire, a plank weighted with barbed metal spikes and bricks would fall rapidly from the earth squashing the soldier below. 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. I didnt know.. Neither family, nor friends know why. [1] Answer (1 of 27): Back in the days of siege wars, artillery would be used to blow a hole in the defence walls. When the soldier tripped the wire, the ball would swing down the tunnel and strike into the face of anyone in the way. When he graduated high school in 1966, the 4-foot-9-inch man . Photo credit: The Chive. Photo credit: Funker530. John Zander in Chu Lai, Vietnam in 1965. Flaherty was killed during a hit and run attack on May 9, 2015, in Miami. Shortest US soldier in Vietnam War was not short in courage. After being removed from the CIA, Flaherty helped catch a smuggling ring at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and worked undercover for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as an informant. We often look at college students as punk kids, lazy frat guys or any other kind of social stereotype. Of course, the local Vietnamese population designed the tunnels with their own size in mind. It was a horrendous ordeal to face and brought even the toughest of men to tears. The tunnels also hosted armament workshops, training depots, headquarters, and a variety of other facilities. Approximately 2.7 million American men and women served in Vietnam. The documentary is supposed to come out sometime this year and I have included a trailer for it here. 58,169 were killed and 304,000 wounded out of 2.59 million who served. After being discharged, Flaherty did private and military contract work in Rhodesia and Angola in Africa. Remote-controlled explosive charges and small smoke grenades kits were primarily to signal exit locations to fellow comrades. Some 385,000 American troops were sent to Vietnam in 1966, the year Richard Flaherty graduated from high school. 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