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. 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. Alternate title, "Dating on tinder when you're 5'11" or shorter". You have permission to edit this article. Equally, these countries failed to understand how difficult it would be to detect and neutralize such networks. As you may have guessed, life expectancy was low. After a while, whenever Id see him, Id give him a little head nod and hed do the same. I am going to cite some data here and I wish I could recall the sourcesI don't have them. Be Truthful. 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. Eugene Debruin: civilian with Air America captured 5 Sep 63 in Laos when C-46 was shot down, Miami Police officer David Yuzuk befriended Richard J. Flaherty when the former soldier was living on the streets as a homeless man. Similarly, the bamboo whip was a very traumatic trap. What we do know comes to us from a Hallandale police officer, David Yuzuk. The soldiers then camouflaged the pit using natural undergrowth, mud, or crops. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. However, 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. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. We'll send breaking news and news alerts to you as they happen! Overall, the Vietnamese were very quick to restore damages and continue as if nothing happened. Your Herd from Herald-Dispatch Reach Manager. This is a dangerous condition that can lead to serious complications for the fetus or even death. pearl harbor. Under Lieutenant Flahertys astute direction and leadership, the enemy bunker was swiftly destroyed, enabling his platoon to advance and continue its devastating attack against the enemy.. During the same tour of duty, Flaherty was also awarded two Bronze Stars for valor and two Purple Hearts. He was discharged in October 1971 as a Captain. This was devastating news to Yuzuk. He would also earn two Bronze Stars, a Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross, and five Purple Hearts during his two tours in the Nam. The Lone Soldier. Men most often explored these tunnels in pairs. Related: See what its like to jump out of a C-17 with the Armys 82nd Airborne. When it came time to weigh in, Flaherty barely tipped the scale of 100 pounds. Of course, the local Vietnamese population designed the tunnels with their own size in mind. What they failed to realize is that many of the tunnels had several layers and doors built into them to help prevent such fatalities. As a 2nd Lieutenant and a platoon leader, he proved to be a fierce defender of his men. [7] Flaherty was buried at Forest Memorial Park in Milton. He had a few run-ins with the law before becoming a confidential informant for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. Richard James Flaherty was born on November 28, 1945. Some 385,000 American troops were sent to Vietnam in 1966, the year Richard Flaherty graduated from high school. He had crossed the DMZ back into South Vietnam where he was shot as he was recaptured. 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. He served as an A Detachment Commander and Liaison Officer. He earned the Silver Star, 2 Bronze Stars (w/V, 3OLC), and 2 Purple Hearts. Some of these men were career military officers. Wounded Marine Gunnery Sgt. Answer (1 of 17): I didn't serve in Vietnam. 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? His size also meant he worked as a tunnel rat during his tour of duty, crawling through enemy tunnels to destroy them. One out of every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam was a casualty. Have the latest local news delivered every afternoon so you don't miss out on updates. The War also claimed the lives of approximately 200,000 allied soldiers in Vietnam, nearly one million North Vietnamese/ Communist allied deaths . His ODA was tasked with training the Royal Thai Army in counterinsurgency operations and prepare them for a deployment to Vietnam. Richard Flaherty was just a kid I knew briefly in high school. The U.S. military has estimated that between 200,000 and 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers died in the war. In 1968 he was sent to Vietnam in the famous 101st Airborne Division, the "Screaming Eagles". He had been the victim of a hit-and-run car accident. We just didnt know. 22 Feb 2018. Once in, he was able to qualify both for Special Forces training and for Officer Candidate School (OCS). The Attachment rails, officially known as the rail integration A few thousand years ago, our ancestors wore Sign up for our newsletter and receive the mighty updates! He was often mistaken as a freshman when he was a senior. Some tunnel rats were also fortunate enough to take part in Combat Engineer Advanced Individual Training. 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 . It has been well-documented in epidemiology studies . February 24, 2023. 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. What's the minimum requirement in the US army today? Flaherty was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant after attending Infantry Officer Candidate School on 31 August 1967. He had a story to tell. The following year, 1971, he was discharged from active duty and transferred to the Army Reserves, where he served until 1983. He returned to the US at the end of his tour and attended Special Forces Officer Course at Fort Bragg. Flaherty then moved on to work as an informant in an undercover investigation with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to stop a smuggling ring from stealing explosives and a classified weapon from Fort Bragg. Richard Flaherty was probably the most unique Green Beret to ever serve in the U.S. Army's Special Forces. Myanmar 159.52cm (5 feet 2.80 inches) The Temples of Bagan in Mandalay, Myanmar. Vietnam-era Radiomen life expectancy was 5 seconds. The 'Hanoi Hilton' Is No Trump Hotel. 66F. But I bet he would have gotten in during the OIF surge if he wanted to. Retired, David enjoys writing, walking on hikes, and spending time with his dog Simon. Later that year, he was reassigned to the 10th Special Forces Group at Fort Devens. Richard J. Flaherty may never be known. Capt. 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. Released in 1973. What it also doesn't mention in the video is how absolutely ruthless this dude was. In most cases, tunnel rats were engineers, infantrymen, cavalry scouts, or chemical specialists. As a student, she worked in a variety of research positions, including as an archivist. How can we help? Another particularly horrific tactic became known as the spike ball or the mace. 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. Postal Service. Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password. Some of us may have known Richard Flaherty only because of his small size. Generally, while underground tunnel rat soldiers employed a shoot first, ask questions later method. His height was no object, however, and he put together an impressive record, with the honors to match. 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. Naturally, their opponents were equally as skilled in this department and so tunnel rat soldiers were careful not to clean too much, or use certain products in case their enemies smelled them coming. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. 1,806 U.S. troops killed in action ( source) 2. 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. 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. It turned out to be a lot. Join IrishCentrals Book Club on Facebook and enjoy our book-loving community. 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. It was if he was hardening himself up for some special task.. Jeremiah Purdie (center) is led past a stricken comrade after a fierce firefight for control of Hill 484. With the draft in full swing, many American males of a certain age did what they could to avoid being drafted or otherwise qualifying for military service. But due to the Vietnam draft they would have likely taken him anyway if that was his only disqualifier from serving. Later he's assigned to command Recon's Echo Platoon. 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. As a result, many tunnel rats often avoided using hearing protection while underground. Unless medical issues had something to do with it. After successfully graduating the Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC), also known as Q course, Flaherty was assigned to 3rd Special Forces Group. Source of data: the Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File, as of April 29, 2008, of the Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) Files, part of Record Group 330: Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. 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 . Quite simply, many troops were deployed to Vietnam but few were actually in combat. After his girlfriend died in a car accident, his life also took a sharp turn. If the army located an entrance and needed it explored, the team lowered a tunnel rat into the area to scout out the surroundings. Johns Hopkins University. 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. Greek Army veteran (National service with 575th Marines Battalion and Army HQ). And, is this general or do several different troop branches have different requirements? Some of the basic combat training (BCT) soldiers undertook helped though. Primary Source. That month, his platoon came under heavy automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenade fire from a North Vietnamese Army force. T he man in the picture keeps his eyes to the ground. 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. In a contemporary interview, he had said that Ive taken a lot of kidding about my size. Afghan war. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. . But many others were poor or working-class teenagers who enlisted or were drafted into the military right out of high school. But then everything we know about him gets lost in a blur of fragmentary vignettes. Flaherty was on his way. Here are some of the most powerful pictures taken by Larry Burrows during his coverage of the Vietnam War. A Soldier's Thoughts. It is our duty to remember him for his noble service to the nation. The United States conducted two major campaigns to search and destroy the tunnel system: Operation Crimp (1966) and Operation Cedar Falls (1967). During the course of two tours in Vietnam, because of his size, Flaherty often did tunnel rat searches. By 1990, he was homeless and living on the streets of Aventura, Florida. High 64F. Imagine being stuck in a tiny space, panicking, screaming, and trying to escape as a snake slowly wound itself around you. Share with Us. We can imagine that it may have had something to do with his Vietnam combat experiences. He was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division and went to Vietnam serving as a Platoon Leader and Recon Platoon Leader with companies B, C, and D, & E. He and his platoon were engaged in some of the heaviest fighting on the outskirts of Hue during the Tet Offensive. . 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. It was the result of his mothers rare blood type that left him vulnerable to oxygen deprivation as an infant. Richard Flaherty of Stamford, Connecticut was not one of them. This meant naturally handguns were most commonly chosen. 20002023 The Veterans Site and GreaterGood. He wasnt flat-footed, he had no debilitating conditions, and he was an otherwise perfectly healthy young man. Flaherty was tasked with training the Royal Thai Army in counterinsurgency, in preparation for being sent to Vietnam. Although he is the subject of a new documentary available on Amazon Prime and iTunes and a soon-to-be-released book, the full story of Capt. 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. As a result of their lunchtime talks, Yuzuk had decided to make a documentary about Flaherty. How does he get kicked out due to reduction of force? racist or sexually-oriented language. But many of the soldiers who went were drafted into the service, ineligible for a student deferment because they had never been to college. Bob Roberts, who was photographed when Jakob Nacken was captured, has been awarded France's highest military honour, the Legion d'Honneur, by the French . In the 1940s and 1950s, the Vietnamese expanded these tunnels to hide nationalist guerrillas known as the Viet Ming. Sign up to IrishCentral's newsletter to stay up-to-date with everything Irish! He appealed to his Connecticut Senator, Christopher Dodd, and was able to get a special waiver into the Army. Giant Killers are among us-- author David Yuzuk walked with one and returned with this tale." Postal Service. Yuzuk had started to look into his friends story well before his death and discovered that hed worked as an undercover agent for federal authorities during the 1980s. Richard Flaherty had to get a waiver to join the Army during the Vietnam War. Since tunnel rats extensively used explosives to collapse tunnel entrances and destroy what they found inside, combat training was particularly valuable. I mean really small. According to archives held by the US government, there were 58,220 US military deaths overall as a result of the Vietnam War. His friend, David Yuzuk, used his own money and launched a crowdfunding campaign to produce a documentary about his friends life. Current standards for men is 60-80 inches tall. Upon graduation, he was assigned to the 3rd Special Forces Group and assigned to the 46th Special Forces Company in Thailand. How many men and women have we lost to the anonymity of our city streets? They became known as some special forces who skied into battle against enemy forces. Even at those odds, you will lose and I will win. The Tropic Lightning Tunnel Rat School at Cu Chi base camp provides an example of this. They belong to us. 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. You see, he was so light, everyone would watch to see which way the wind would take him, so that they would not lose him. His only problem was that he stood four feet, nine inches tall. Watch on. The Giant Killer (available to rent now on iTunes, Amazon and other VOD platforms) aims to unravel the truth of his post-service life and mysterious death. 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. In the end, his life has as much mystery in it as it does accounts of real grit and heroism. 4' 9" 97lb Vietnam War Vet Green Beret Captain Richard J. Flaherty was the smallest US soldier to ever serve in the military. Putting people in that situation changes them. he said. 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. But due to the Vietnam draft they would have likely taken him anyway if that was his only disqualifier from serving. [1] Start your free trial today. He began to eat and stay in fighting shape, as he was an avid sportsman in high school, especially good at martial arts. Several Viet Cong members knew the American soldiers had boots with plated soles to help prevent injury to their feet. 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. On parachute operations he was always the first out of the plane. 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