He was the shortest US serviceman in history. One American man was trying anything to get in. 1,806 U.S. troops killed in action ( source) 2. He had a few run-ins with the law before becoming a confidential informant for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. This way, they smelled the same as the GIs and the dogs became unable to locate the enemy. He was a Platoon Leader and Recon Platoon Leader with companies B, C, D, & E. Flaherty participated in some fierce combat outside of Hue City during the Tet Offensive which earned him a Silver Star, 2 Bronze Stars and 2 Purple Hearts.[4]. 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. During his first tour in Vietnam, Flaherty is placed in command of the Airborne's Delta Platoon. He deployed with the Screaming Eagles to Vietnam and served as a platoon and recon platoon leader. But it wasnt until 2015 that Flaherty first spoke of his time as a platoon leader and Green Beret in Vietnam. Private contractors? After all, it was a very stressful and dangerous job. by Tom Rosenbeck. The first point to keep in mind is that there was a lot of "tail" in Vietnam. ODAs are the tactical arm of the Special Forces Regiment. Flaherty was killed during a hit and run attack on May 9, 2015, in Miami. Choose wisely! He took to eating six meals a day and was able to bulk up to the 100 lb. John Zander in Chu Lai, Vietnam in 1965. Richard Flaherty had to get a waiver to join the Army during the Vietnam War. Yuzuk said none of the relatives or companions of Flaherty or Anness he has spoken with was aware of a relationship between the two. Capt. The healthy soldier/worker effect gradually subdued over time. The two began meeting more frequently, and Yuzuk became so fascinated with Flahertys story that he asked permission to tell it in the form of a documentary. Either way, that's a lot of soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and coast guardsmen, male and female that made the ultimate sacrifice for our country, and there are still people dying as a result of their wounds receiver so very long ago in a place called Vietnam. 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. Vietnam, 1967. However, he was initially turned down because of his size. This is a dangerous condition that can lead to serious complications for the fetus or even death. He appealed to his Connecticut Senator, Christopher Dodd, and was able to get a special waiver into the Army. 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. That medically makes you a dwarf (little person). February 24, 2023. Photo credit: Funker530. ", People dont know about Cotton and it shows. After a few brushes with law enforcement, Flaherty reportedly worked as a confidential informant for the federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in the early 1980s before becoming homeless in Aventura by 1990. Some 385,000 American troops were sent to Vietnam in 1966, the year Richard Flaherty graduated from high school. However, Bowman said that he was never that scared of the tunnels; he was so young he believed he was invincible. If the stakes pointed downwards, soldiers became unable to remove their limbs without causing severe damage. An example of a classic punji booby trap. It is here that his story begins to take many twists and turns. vietnam war battle. 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. But it wasnt easy. Sometimes, they would smear the tip of the stakes with urine, feces, poison, or other contaminants to infect the wound when it penetrated the skin. Winds light and variable.. Cloudy with occasional rain after midnight. Send the smallest soldier to clear the VC ratholes. But many others were poor or working-class teenagers who enlisted or were drafted into the military right out of high school. The War also claimed the lives of approximately 200,000 allied soldiers in Vietnam, nearly one million North Vietnamese/ Communist allied deaths, and an incomprehensible number of civilians. ~15 years. 7'3" Jakob Nacken (221 cm), the tallest German soldier of WW2, chatting with 5'7" (170 cm) Eddie Worth, AP photographer with the wartime still picture pool, after his surrender. It was the result of his mothers rare blood type that left him vulnerable to oxygen deprivation as an infant. 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. In 1970 he was reassigned to the 10th Special Forces Group at Fort Devens. This required him to put on even more weight and get another waiver signed to excuse him from the height requirements. Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in. Holy shit even disregarding the adversity overcome about his height, this dude seriously fucked. 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. One of his men got stung and came out screaming, refusing to ever go into a tunnel again. Well anything under 4'10" is legally a disability under the law. There are some interviews with the men that served under him and they talk about him ordering soldiers to kill civilians and surrendered VC. You see, Richard Flaherty was only 410. This meant naturally handguns were most commonly chosen. Click Today's Obituaries to view all of the listings. This kit included a S&W .38-calibre special model 10 revolver with both a silencer and aiming light. My three-year journey of discovery dragged me down the rabbit hole of CIA conspiracies and the hunt for stolen classified weaponsstretching from the bloody jungles of Vietnam to the dangerous streets of Iraq and Venezuela, all in search of the peripatetic Green Beret Captain Richard J. Flaherty, Yuzuk said. They belong to us. Afghan war. Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password. Protests to end the war in 1965. A particular Special Forces member, Capt. Richard James Flaherty was born on November 28, 1945. A lot of the time it really depended on the size of the soldiers in the infantry division. But then everything we know about him gets lost in a blur of fragmentary vignettes. Unbeknownst to his parents, Richard and his mother, Beatrice Rose, shared incompatible blood types (Richard, Rh-Positive; Beatrice, Rh-Negative). 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). She also worked as a teaching assistant in the History Department. Theres a documentary on his life/death. The American Soldier in VietnamMore than 2.5 million American men served in Vietnam during the war. Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in. Start your free trial today. Capt. Flaherty began to open up and talk to Yuzuk about his life only a few weeks before his tragic and lonely death as a hit-and-run victim last May. Richard Flaherty returned from war and studied at the University of Miami in Florida. Phil Bucklew: The Father of US Naval Special Warfare. 22. It turned out to be a lot. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, That month, his platoon came under heavy automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenade fire from a North Vietnamese Army force. While many draft-age males of that era sought ways to avoid being among the 385,000 troops sent to the beleaguered Southeast Asian nation that year, Flaherty was working the angles to find a way in. When the soldier tripped the wire, the ball would swing down the tunnel and strike into the face of anyone in the way. A colleague he worked with recovered his body by dragging his violet-colored corpse out of the tunnel. We had built the runway surface with 2 ft by 12 ft Marston Mat aluminum planks with interlocking grooves along each edge. Next, the Viet Cong would dig a pit and jam the punji stakes upright in it. 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. In his new life as a civilian, Flaherty studied at the University of Miami in Florida, but entered a period of despondency after a girlfriend died in a car wreck in 1975. 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. He ended up leading a reconnaissance platoon, showing great . On parachute operations he was always the first out of the plane. March 28, 2022 Local Vietnam veterans showcase . Soldiers who are not fluent in another language will attend six to 18 months at the Defense Language Institute (DLI) prior to AIT. Nobody ever knew where these guys were coming from they pointed out in jungle school that there was a tunnel system we had numerous tunnel rats, but we never knew exactly where or how extensive or where the entrance was. The Viet Cong also made use of explosive booby traps and pressure detonated mines. Many American men were trying to avoid serving the U.S. military in the 1960s and 1970s. 1968 the A Shau Valley of South Vietnam. Due to the blood type, his growth was stunted which resulted in him being diagnosed with dwarfism.[2]. Thank you! Two inches thick, each plank . He stood at just 49 tall. 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By REP. SAM JOHNSON. Shortest U.S. Though Americans, Australians, and New Zealanders claim to know these hideouts existed, they overlooked their size and importance. He returned to Southeast Asia in 1969 and remained there until 1971 when he left the Army. Copyright 2023 Military.com. He was still denied entry into the Army. There is an average of five names per line. Communications, public relations, and marketing professional, and content creator during free time. [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. He returned to the U.S. that same year to attend the Army Special warfare School at Fort Bragg, where he earned his green beret. The shortest soldier to fight in Vietnam was a Green Beret. 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. Photo credit: American Yesteryear Metal Signs. He was often mistaken as a freshman when he was a senior. He agreed to cooperate, but said that once we got started, I had to promise to finish the project, Yuzuk said. At 4-foot-nine-inches tall and 97-pounds he was the. It helped give them the experience and confidence to cope with gas, should they encounter it in combat. Palm trees swayed gently in the humid air while he waited for his friend . Sometimes these snakes were even poisonous and so became known as three-step snakes because a soldier was only granted three more steps before the venom killed him. After being discharged, Flaherty did private and military contract work in Rhodesia and Angola in Africa. Needless to say, sadly many of those Americans who did enter the tunnels ended up dying. If you are squeamish or hate thinking about claustrophobic conditions, take this as a warning: gruesome facts lie ahead! Photo credit: USMC Archives. When it came to Americans, however, some found it difficult to kill when they were face-to-face with the enemy in such tight confines. As a student, she worked in a variety of research positions, including as an archivist. Awarded Medal of Honor for escape and resistance as a POW. The Central Intelligence Agency recruited him in the late 1970s due to his knowledge of Intelligence. The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Most helpful for tunnel rats, however, was the brief amount of training time spent detecting, removing, and laying booby traps. In one interview, tunnel rat soldier CW Bowman recalled how his fellow colleagues bet money on the fact he would not live through his whole tour as the job was so dangerous. What they failed to realize is that many of the tunnels had several layers and doors built into them to help prevent such fatalities. Vietnam-era Radiomen life expectancy was 5 seconds. Punji stake traps found in the tunnels highlight one of the most disgusting and feared examples of Vietnamese booby traps. You could not help but notice him. Your e-mail address will be used to confirm your account. I am going to cite some data here and I wish I could recall the sourcesI don't have them. He eraned the Silver Star, 2 Bronze Stars, and 2 Purple Hearts -smallestsoldier.com . Quite simply, many troops were deployed to Vietnam but few were actually in combat. She received both her bachelor of arts degree in history, and her master of arts degree in history from Western University. Jan 31, 2021 - 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 The primary focus of his time in the CIA was supplying the Nicaraguan Contras in Nicaragua. By April 1968, Flaherty was a paratrooper and a platoon leader with the 101st Airborne Division. everyone would watch to see which way the wind would take him. Flaherty led his platoon in a flanking assault on the enemy position, during which an NVA bunker was spotted. These homeless veterans deserve more from us. Here, leaders forced soldiers into specific chambers and made to recite their name, rank, and service number. Medically speaking, Richard would be considered a proportionate dwarf. On occasion, they ended up having severe nervous breakdowns and their colleagues dragged them out of tunnels crying and screaming. Reports state the soldier in question had no time to scream or to unsheathe his knife, the snake had already knotted tighter around his neck and badly bit his face. Vietnam Vet Richard Flaherty Was 'The Giant Killer', A Second Member of the Worlds Biggest Music Group Joins the Army, A Netflix Movie About WWII's Legendary 6888th Postal Battalion Starts Filming, Best War Movies Streaming Right Now on Netflix, Arnold Schwarzenegger Is 'FUBAR' in Upcoming Spy Series. Richard was involved in martial arts long before anyone else knew much about them, Yuzuk said. Similarly, one soldier recalls how an encounter with the biggest rat he had ever seen led him to continually fire his gun. Most useful for tunnel rats, however, was the experience gained in the dreaded gas chambers. Photo credit: The New York Times. Finally, this list will look at how successful these attempts were in the grand scheme of things. Operation Crimp hoped to target a key Viet Cong headquarter location believed to be unground. His only problem was that he stood four feet, nine inches tall. According to archives held by the US government, there were 58,220 US military deaths overall as a result of the Vietnam War. Commemoration of the war must account for these servicemen who underwent so much hardship for their nation. 11,465 of those killed were younger than 20 years old. 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. This is a story about a real American military hero. 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. Maybe its because, as a high school student, I knew him, if only from a distance. You had to be a minimum of 5 feet tall and weigh at least 100 lb. 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