Naturally, there were only first chances, never second, so some simply killed as they had to. She also worked as a teaching assistant in the History Department. If it did not force the enemy out, those inside the tunnels often suffocated to death instead. Read. Special Forces Soldiers from the U.S. Army's 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) exfiltrate a Counter Improvised Explosive Device lane in a via MRZR off-road utility vehicle at Panzer Local . 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. In a contemporary interview, he had said that Ive taken a lot of kidding about my size. The United States conducted two major campaigns to search and destroy the tunnel system: Operation Crimp (1966) and Operation Cedar Falls (1967). When you used to stack bodies, but your 15 yo great grandson keeps calling you "Piper Perri" and you don't know why. In a way, he was like a mentor. It was if he was hardening himself up for some special task.. Snakes were also commonly used traps inside these tunnels. Photo credit: Funker360. 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.. Nguyen Van Vuong started as a soldier in the North Vietnamese Army in 1966 and ended his service in 1971 after contracting malaria. A heavier tunnel-exploration kit may also include nylon rope, body-armor vests, grappling hooks, work gloves, kneepads, and earplugs. 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. or anything. 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. 45 calibers with a seven-round magazine as they were readily available. T he man in the picture keeps his eyes to the ground. Overcast. He returned to the US at the end of his tour and attended Special Forces Officer Course at Fort Bragg. Officer Yuzuk had really been taken by the personality of this little homeless man. In 1968 he was sent to Vietnam in the famous 101st Airborne Division, the "Screaming Eagles". He served as an SFODA Commander in companies A and B. John Zander in Chu Lai, Vietnam in 1965. Richard Flaherty is laid to rest in an unmarked grave in Milton near Lisa Anness, a woman he described as the love of his life. 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. One of the huge psychological issues for tunnel rats was the closeness of combat. In 1967, Flaherty attended Army Officer Candidate School (OCS) and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the infantry and assigned to the 101st Airborne Division. 1,806 U.S. troops killed in action ( source) 2. 10,422 Vietnam War Soldiers Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images. I wonder that he could get into the army in the first place? korean war. This offensive is commonly seen by historians as a turning point for American involvement in the Vietnam war. The Viet Cong also made use of explosive booby traps and pressure detonated mines. What did we lose because we were unable to understand him, or to welcome him home? Theres a documentary on his life/death. Was the shortest soldier in US military history a CIA operative who had been assassinated? Don't knowingly lie about anyone Read on to learn about the crazy booby traps soldiers faced, the creepy crawlies they encountered, and the damaging psychological consequences of such close combat. Capt. Twenty-year-old Mike . In many ways, Yuzuk became Flahertys friend. He was the shortest US serviceman in history. 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. To even attempt Special Forces training, Flaherty had to gain six pounds and get another height waiver. He was later reassigned to the 10th Special Forces Group at Fort Devens, Massachusetts. Somewhere along his path, Flaherty became homeless. Thank you! I quote the half-inch ants have such a powerful bite that to pull them off means losing a bit of skin. 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. One Viet Cong soldier highlighted their lack of discreteness. However, Bowman said that he was never that scared of the tunnels; he was so young he believed he was invincible. Because of this, they often targeted their legs instead. 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. 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 . According to federal law, the United States' military involvement in the Vietnam War began in February 1961 and lasted until May 1975. You had to be a minimum of 5 feet tall and weigh at least 100 lb. His size also meant he worked as a tunnel rat during his tour of duty, crawling through enemy tunnels to destroy them. 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". One American man was trying anything to get in. During one search and destroy operation, for example, a unit destroyed 6000 pounds of rice, 40 pounds of salt, 8 rifle grenades, 8 bunkers, numerous dwellings, and one 120-foot-long tunnel. This restoration was pivotal as it enabled some of the key successes enjoyed by the Viet Cong. Flaherty was killed during a hit and run attack on May 9, 2015, in Miami. 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. In hindsight, listening to the Viet Cong talk about their experiences in these tunnels, it appears more training certainly would have benefitted the American cause. You just backed out and told them up above the tunnel was cold.. Generally, while underground tunnel rat soldiers employed a shoot first, ask questions later method. 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. When it comes to headgear, some soldiers wore a helmet or a visored cap along with a microphone and/ or transistor radio attached. How many other Richard Flahertys are there living among us as homeless veterans? Finally, some of the unique training centers would provide tunnel system replicas. Yuzuk started digging and discovered that Flaherty had worked undercover with the Feds during the 80s. Chance of rain 90%. You see, he did not meet the minimum height and weight 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. During that 13-month tour to Vietnam, Flaherty received the Silver Star and two Bronze Stars for valor, respectively, the third and second-highest award for bravery under fire, and was wounded three times. Using this tactic, they added yellow dye to the water to enable aerial observers to spot any entrances that ground troops had missed. A life warrior. Mai Chi Tho, brother of Le Duc Tho (a prominent Hanoi Politburo member) highlights how they used the tunnels to infiltrate Saigon. He was a tough, determined guy, said David Yuzuk, who befriended Flaherty more than two decades after the war ended, when both were living in Aventura, Florida, a planned community in the suburbs north of Miami. vietnam war memorial. Once his weight had increased enough, he petitioned his Congressman, Rep. Donald J. Irwin (D-CT), to fill out a waiver to allow him to enlist, despite his short stature. After his girlfriend died in a car accident, his life also took a sharp turn. As a result of their lunchtime talks, Yuzuk had decided to make a documentary about Flaherty. A Soldier's Thoughts. Richard was involved in martial arts long before anyone else knew much about them, Yuzuk said. It included an article about Flahertys tragic death in Aventura, Florida. He left the Army in 1971 at the rank of captain due to a reduction in force. Another method frequently used attempted to flood the area so badly that the enemy desperately sought to escape to avoid drowning. It is our duty to remember him for his noble service to the nation. Flaherty left the Army in 1971 and attended the University of Miami in Florida. Though Americans, Australians, and New Zealanders claim to know these hideouts existed, they overlooked their size and importance. 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). 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. Images of firefights, bloodied U.S. soldiers and body bags were seen nightly on network television, along with scorecard-like tallies of the number of American and enemy soldiers killed in action. His investigation raised more questions than it answered. On January 27, 1973, the Paris Peace Accords were signed, officially bringing to an end the American war in Vietnam. His height was no object, however, and he put . Stories reveal that one American soldier raised his head through a tunnel entrance only to have a piece of metal automatically speared through his neck. Giant Killers are among us-- author David Yuzuk walked with one and returned with this tale." An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account. Four-foot, nine-inch tall veteran Richard J. Flaherty claimed to be the shortest man ever to serve in the United States military. The two maintained a long friendship. 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? In the 1940s Ho Chi Minh, one of the founders of the Viet Cong, stated You can kill ten of my men for every one I kill of yours. During the Second World War, the Vietnamese first constructed underground tunnels to fight Japanese invasion. One of his men got stung and came out screaming, refusing to ever go into a tunnel again. Just 10 days before Flaherty's death, Flaherty told Yuzuk his story. In September of 1966, Rep. Donald J. Irwin of Connecticut got in touch with the U.S. Army Surgeon General, who recommended a waiver for Flahertys height. The Veterans Site asks that you take a moment out of your day to consider donating to help house homeless veterans. I Spent Seven Years as a Vietnam POW. Many American men were trying to avoid serving the U.S. military in the 1960s and 1970s. July 21, 2015. That month, his platoon came under heavy automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenade fire from a North Vietnamese Army force. lkunl/Shutterstock. Flaherty, who had to obtain a waiver to join the Army during the Vietnam War because of his size, was a paratrooper and platoon leader with the 101st and received a Silver Star for leading his platoon on a flanking assault of an enemy bunker. If they were feeling particularly cruel they may point the sticks downwards at an angle. After successfully graduating the Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC), also known as Q course, Flaherty was assigned to 3rd Special Forces Group. 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. One of the other problems soldiers faced is the deafening sound of gunshots echoing through the tunnels. 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. Capt. Shortest US soldier in Vietnam War was not short in courage. 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. This would-be Captain America was just 49, three inches too short for Army service. . Due to the blood type, his growth was stunted which resulted in him being diagnosed with dwarfism.[2]. That special task began to take shape in September 1966, when Flaherty received a letter from Rep. Donald J. Irwin, D-Conn., informing him that the Armys Surgeon General had recommended granting a waiver to the height requirement. He took to eating six meals a day and was able to bulk up to the 100 lb. Maybe its because, as a high school student, I knew him, if only from a distance. Photo credit: Peter Alan Lloyd Website. franklin roosevelt. Yuzuk came to know Richard Flaherty, not just as a homeless man, but as a man of intelligence and goodness. that is degrading to another person. Americans often carpet bombed areas under suspicion to try flushing out the enemy. Released in 1973. 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. 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 . Yuzuk said none of the relatives or companions of Flaherty or Anness he has spoken with was aware of a relationship between the two. Awarded Medal of Honor for escape and resistance as a POW. Here are some of the most powerful pictures taken by Larry Burrows during his coverage of the Vietnam War. 22. But I went home, got on the computer and looked him up, and it checked out.. 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. 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.. Create a password that only you will remember. We'll send breaking news and news alerts to you as they happen! When he finally got past the 100-pound mark, he petitioned his Congressman to obtain a waiver for the Armys height restrictions. In Britain, during the Nap. His unit in the 101st was ambushed as it passed a hidden North Vietnamese bunker. ", People dont know about Cotton and it shows. This early condition stunted his growth. The Viet Cong used this to their advantage to scare, and even kill, American soldiers. 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. The oldest man killed was 62 years old. The tunnels also hosted armament workshops, training depots, headquarters, and a variety of other facilities, Though Americans, Australians, and New Zealanders claim to know these hideouts existed, they overlooked their size and importance, , these countries failed to understand how difficult it would be to detect and neutralize such networks, Read on to learn about the crazy booby traps soldiers faced, the creepy crawlies they encountered, and the damaging psychological consequences of such close combat, You can also learn about how these soldiers came about, who opted to become one, how they trained, and what equipment they used, If you are squeamish or hate thinking about claustrophobic conditions, take this as a warning: gruesome facts lie ahead, During the Second World War, the Vietnamese first constructed underground tunnels to fight Japanese invasion, In the 1940s and 1950s, the Vietnamese expanded these tunnels to hide nationalist guerrillas known as, 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, In a more direct attempt to seek out the enemy, US soldiers used portable turbines to blow CS gas into tunnel shafts they located, Using this tactic, they added yellow dye to the water to enable aerial observers to spot any entrances that ground troops had missed, What they failed to realize is that many of the tunnels had several layers and doors built into them to help prevent such fatalities, The Viet Cong built drain pipe ventilation shafts every 20 to 30 meters at an oblique angle to prevent flooding, Tunnels were also built in zig-zags to prevent the enemy from pouring in chemicals or shooting bullets over a long distance, As a result, sending a soldier underground, known as a tunnel rat, was often a final measure if all other methods had failed, BCT included lessons on hand-to-hand combat, chemical-warfare defense, map reading, first aid, bayonet fighting, guard duty, and the use of hand grenades, , was the experience gained in the dreaded gas chambers, Here, leaders forced soldiers into specific chambers and made to recite their name, rank, and service number, It helped give them the experience and confidence to cope with gas, should they encounter it in combat, Infantry Advanced Individual Training also helped them to deal more in-depth with other issues, Over eight weeks, soldiers learned about tactical skills, squad and platoon offensive and defensive tactics, and how to use certain weapons, , was the brief amount of training time spent detecting, removing, and laying booby traps, Though this article will explore specific examples later, these traps were particularly brutal in the tunnels, probe the sides, roof, and floor of the tunnels, listening and trying to smell the enemy or look for trap doors, Some tunnel rats were also fortunate enough to take part in Combat Engineer Advanced Individual Training, used explosives to collapse tunnel entrances and destroy what they found inside, combat training was particularly valuable, While it covered a lot of the same things as, The center offered classes designed to show the best techniques of searching, detecting, and destroying hiding places, , other than being underground, they were actually very different from the real Viet Cong tunnels, , they were not popular among tunnel rats as the light was unnecessary, and the silencers were too long and did not function well, A light tunnel exploration kit may also include items such as powdered CS, colored-smoke grenades, insect repellent, protective masks, a field telephone, a compass to plot the route, a telephone wire spool, probing rods, bayonets, a flashlight, entrenching tools to reveal and widen entrances, and a .22-calibre HD or MK I pistol, A heavier tunnel-exploration kit may also include nylon rope, body-armor vests, grappling hooks, work gloves, kneepads, and earplugs, Remote-controlled explosive charges and small smoke grenades kits were, to signal exit locations to fellow comrades, 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, When it comes to headgear, some soldiers wore a helmet or a visored cap along with a microphone and/ or transistor radio attached, One of the other problems soldiers faced is the deafening sound of gunshots echoing through the tunnels, 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, Stories reveal that one American soldier raised his head through a tunnel entrance only to have a piece of metal, When triggering a tripwire, a plank weighted with barbed metal spikes and bricks would fall, from the earth squashing the soldier below, Communist soldiers would attach one side of the string to a stake in the floor, and the other to the safety pin in the grenade, When an American soldier tripped the wire, the grenade would detonate inside the tunnel, When the soldier triggered the tripwire, foot-long spikes placed all over a long bamboo pole catapulted into the soldiers face and chest at a rapid speed, Already well-adapted to subterranean life, many insects and animals of the Vietnamese jungle found the underground tunnels to be a worthy living environment, Huge bees, gigantic rats, centipedes, spiders, snakes, bats, and fire ants (to name a few) plagued these tunnels, One tunnel rat claimed that the booby traps and Viet Cong did not frighten them as much as encountering the local ants, Talking of booby traps, Lt. Jack Flowers recalls how the Viet Cong used tripwires to release boxes of scorpions into the tiny confines of the tunnels, , one soldier recalls how an encounter with the biggest rat he had ever seen led him to, American soldiers were often prepared for traps that may be on the ground, but they had not prepared for those coming from above, Again, tripwires would trigger the release of snakes hidden somehow inside bamboo sticks, known to soldiers as bamboo vipers, 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, Imagine being stuck in a tiny space, panicking, screaming, and trying to escape as a snake, 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, A colleague he worked with recovered his body by, American morale as it was difficult to comprehend that the enemy could be hiding, feet away yet were undetectable and unreachable, 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, 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, Nobody ever knew where these guys were coming from they pointed out in jungle school that there was a tunnel system we had, tunnel rats, but we never knew exactly where or how extensive or where the entrance was, Even if they could deal with the claustrophobic conditions, air and artillery support had not prepared them for the type of old-fashioned combat that relied on savage behavior, individual strength, guts, and cunningness, The Viet Cong, with their lack of funding, was more skilled in this area given the necessity of their style of warfare, 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, , some found it difficult to kill when they were face-to-face with the enemy in such tight confines, On occasion, they ended up having severe nervous breakdowns and their colleagues dragged them out of tunnels crying and screaming, 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, knew he was there, in the corner, not even hiding anymore, The United States conducted two major campaigns to search and destroy the tunnel system: Operation Crimp (1966) and Operation Cedar Falls (1967), Operation Crimp hoped to target a key Viet Cong headquarter location believed to be unground, Significant causalities ensued on both sides, but the combined Australian and American forces were unable to, This attempt enjoyed more success than Crimp but was short-lived as the tunnels were in working order again within weeks, , the Vietnamese were very quick to restore damages and continue as if nothing happened, Mai Chi Tho, brother of Le Duc Tho (a prominent Hanoi Politburo member) highlights how they used the tunnels to infiltrate Saigon, Tho claims the Viet Cong prepared both the necessary troops and assembled the supplies needed in these tunnels to conduct the, seen by historians as a turning point for American involvement in the Vietnam war, In hindsight, listening to the Viet Cong talk about their experiences in these tunnels, it appears more training, Tunnel rat soldiers often used flashlights to guide the way and thus warned the enemy of their presence, In fact, volunteers boasted of their ability to change flashlights in pitch black without realizing the damaging consequences of this, , one American soldier highlighted how they liked to soften things up by throwing in one or more hand grenades before sending in tunnel rats, , as the Viet Cong soldier highlighted, by throwing grenades into the void ahead, or shooting pistols, the noise was deafening and alerted them to their presence, , remains unknown as there were no extensive records kept on this exact type of engagement with the enemy, According to archives held by the US government, there were 58,220 US military deaths. 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