Again, those inside suffocated. racist or sexually-oriented language. It's an exclusive offer for our viewers! Reads: 47 Comments: 1. . May they rest in peace. pearl harbor. . He was the smallest man on campus. God only knows what that experience and so many other combat experiences did to Flahertys mind. We'll send breaking news and news alerts to you as they happen! The Viet Cong used this to their advantage to scare, and even kill, American soldiers. 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. When Flaherty was born, hed been deprived of oxygen, due to a rare blood condition his mother had, which stunted his growth. Yuzuk told the West Virginia Gazette that he hopes the documentary will make people think twice about judging the homeless. . Though Americans, Australians, and New Zealanders claim to know these hideouts existed, they overlooked their size and importance. Published March 04, 2022 06:48:08. Vietnam), evaded for two weeks with a banged up leg and his right arm broken in three places. We offer our condolences to his family and to his friends. 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. 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. If it did not force the enemy out, those inside the tunnels often suffocated to death instead. 11,465 of those killed were younger than 20 years old. In the late 1970s, he was sent to supply the Contras in Central America with weapons and cash. 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. Some volunteered to go to Vietnam. Men most often explored these tunnels in pairs. 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". 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. Its not slick but it is fascinating. His decommission in 1971 due to the military budget downsizing (RIF Reduction in Force) was unexpected and devastating, and Flaherty sank into the murky world of private contract work. Between February and March 1973, 591 American servicemen were released by the North Vietnamese. 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. 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. Invalid password or account does not exist. How many other Richard Flahertys are there living among us as homeless veterans? It has a rating of 7.4 on IMDb. 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. That month, his platoon came under heavy automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenade fire from a North Vietnamese Army force. BTS will be on hiatus until all seven members complete their mandatory military service in South Korea. But knowing a little bit more about his story now makes me wish I had known him better. 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. Phil Bucklew: The Father of US Naval Special Warfare. The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user. Start Reading. In the war's moral outrages, crimes and betrayals, many saw the US empire for the first time. What we do know comes to us from a Hallandale police officer, David Yuzuk. He served as an SFODA Commander in companies A and B. However, other than being underground, they were actually very different from the real Viet Cong tunnels. As a 2nd Lieutenant and a platoon leader, he proved to be a fierce defender of his men. Wakeman wrote numerous letters home detailing her love of rushing at the enemy amid gunfire . 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. Photo credit: Funker360. In fact, volunteers boasted of their ability to change flashlights in pitch black without realizing the damaging consequences of this. Copyright 2023 Military.com. Flaherty and Yuzuk were friends for roughly 15 years before he felt he could share his story with the officer. The U.S. military has estimated that between 200,000 and 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers died in the war. Team Mighty. Primary Source. [But] They were the ones you never killed. He was often mistaken as a freshman when he was a senior. With Harvey Arango, Ernie Bourcier, Jeff Burns, Carl Cain. 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. 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. He becomes a mystery to family and friends alike. Because of this, they often targeted their legs instead. lkunl/Shutterstock. Approximately 2.7 million American men and women served in Vietnam. 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. Use the 'Report' link on A former TV Reporter. Well anything under 4'10" is legally a disability under the law. The Central Intelligence Agency recruited him in the late 1970s due to his knowledge of Intelligence. Capt. Similarly, the bamboo whip was a very traumatic trap. A colleague he worked with recovered his body by dragging his violet-colored corpse out of the tunnel. Huge bees, gigantic rats, centipedes, spiders, snakes, bats, and fire ants (to name a few) plagued these tunnels. The openings to these tunnels were very small and those tunnel rats who went into them did so armed only with a flashlight, a K-bar (knife), and a .45 pistol. Read. Join IrishCentrals Book Club on Facebook and enjoy our book-loving community. Hed traveled a lot, read a lot and was interesting to talk with.. Click here to stay informed and subscribe to Herald-Dispatch. 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. 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. Thus, when Richard was born, he was different. 1,806 U.S. troops killed in action ( source) 2. 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. He returned to Vietnam in 1969 and was stationed there until 1971. His investigation raised more questions than it answered. Have the latest local news delivered every afternoon so you don't miss out on updates. What are we doing that causes the disease of homelessness? 45 calibers with a seven-round magazine as they were readily available. His ODA was tasked with training the Royal Thai Army in counterinsurgency operations and prepare them for a deployment to Vietnam. Medically speaking, Richard would be considered a proportionate dwarf. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, Press J to jump to the feed. An average Liberian woman is 155.66cm (5 feet 1.28 inches) tall. One tunnel rat claimed that the booby traps and Viet Cong did not frighten them as much as encountering the local ants. Yuzuk used his own funds and a crowdsourcing campaign to produce The Giant Killer, an 80-minute documentary available on Amazon Prime and iTunes, released late last year. 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. Her research focused on military, environmental, and Canadian history with a specific focus on the Second World War. 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 Flaherty took Yuzuk to a storage locker he rented to pull out photos and documents that might be useful in the documentary, and they returned several times in the following weeks until May 9, 2015 the date Flaherty was struck and killed by a hit and run driver near his palm-shaded campsite. In general, volunteers had to have common sense, be exceptionally brave, have an inquisitive mind, and have an even temperament. Palm trees swayed gently in the humid air while he waited for his friend . He stood three inches below the height cutoff for enlistment and was barely 100 pounds. 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. Snakes were also commonly used traps inside these tunnels. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, 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. These guerrillas were fighting the colonial power of France. Some even fled to Canada to escape conscription. Answer (1 of 27): Back in the days of siege wars, artillery would be used to blow a hole in the defence walls. That medically makes you a dwarf (little person). Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password. After his tour in Vietnam, he returned to the U.S. and attended the Special Forces Officer Course at Fort Bragg. 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. How does he get kicked out due to reduction of force? The oldest man killed was 62 years old. Vietnam, 1967. 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. It is our duty to remember him for his noble service to the nation. You just backed out and told them up above the tunnel was cold.. He returned to the US at the end of his tour and attended Special Forces Officer Course at Fort Bragg. As a result, sending a soldier underground, known as a tunnel rat, was often a final measure if all other methods had failed. SS recruiters for the division accepted boys as young as 14 into the . Chance of rain 90%. In the 1940s and 1950s, the Vietnamese expanded these tunnels to hide nationalist guerrillas known as the Viet Ming. Though there are . 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. The stakes would then spear any soldier that fell into the pit. The incompatibilities in the blood caused hormonal imbalances and stunted his growth. He deployed with the Screaming Eagles to Vietnam and served as a platoon and recon platoon leader. The Vietnam War is also known as the Second Indochina War. Similarly, Operation Ceder Falls attempts to uncover and destroy the tunnel system. Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in. We often look at college students as punk kids, lazy frat guys or any other kind of social stereotype. There are some interviews with the men that served under him and they talk about him ordering soldiers to kill civilians and surrendered VC. Don't Threaten. 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. 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. Some of these men were career military officers. The Viet Cong amassed around 250 kilometers of underground tunnels. Weve got a clip from the movie that details Richards ruthlessness in combat. 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. But I bet he would have gotten in during the OIF surge if he wanted to. He graduated the year before me from Stamford Catholic High School, now known as Trinity Catholic High school. According to newspaper files, her grandparents operated a restaurant in Milton. . ", People dont know about Cotton and it shows. He wasnt flat-footed, he had no debilitating conditions, and he was an otherwise perfectly healthy young man. Equally, these countries failed to understand how difficult it would be to detect and neutralize such networks. Sign up to IrishCentral's newsletter to stay up-to-date with everything Irish! One of the prerequisites for and provisions of the accords was the return of all U.S. prisoners of war (POWs). Overall, tunnel rat soldiers received little, if any, specific training. Finding out about him and what he had done since graduating from high school has put me through a roller coaster of emotions. 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. A Soldier's Thoughts. Click Today's Obituaries to view all of the listings. In a way, he was like a mentor. I never thought of him after that until I received an email last May from one of my old high school friends. [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. Females - 26%. 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). They became known as some special forces who skied into battle against enemy forces. Soldiers who are not fluent in another language will attend six to 18 months at the Defense Language Institute (DLI) prior to AIT. What they failed to realize is that many of the tunnels had several layers and doors built into them to help prevent such fatalities. Once the Viet Cong caught on to what was happening, they began to use the same soap the Americans used. 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. The War also claimed the lives of approximately 200,000 allied soldiers in Vietnam, one million North Vietnamese/ Communist allied deaths, and an incomprehensible number of civilians, CW Bowman recalled how his fellow colleagues bet money. Just sitting and waiting. 4' 9" 97lb Vietnam War Vet Green Beret Captain Richard J. Flaherty was the smallest US soldier to ever serve in the military. Tunnel rat soldiers often used flashlights to guide the way and thus warned the enemy of their presence. 20002023 The Veterans Site and GreaterGood. The army sent in tunnel rat soldiers with the aim of locating the enemy, finding their resources, and cutting off their supplies. Photo credit: USMC Archives. The action took place on April 20, 1968, when Flahertys platoon was ambushed and came under withering enemy fire. by Tom Rosenbeck. He also discovered that, while homeless, Flaherty was secretly traveling to places like Jordan, Iraq, Thailand, Vietnam and Venezuela. Flahertys death made Yuzuks effort a lot harder, but he was undeterred. It was also the most expensive and deadliest year of the war. soldier has to be fit both physically and mentally to endure the hardship in an adverse environment such as a battle field. 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. 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. Unbeknownst to his parents, Richard and his mother, Beatrice Rose, shared incompatible blood types (Richard, Rh-Positive; Beatrice, Rh-Negative). Yes, somehow he became lost and fell through the cracks of a societal structure that did not understand, or know how to care for the veterans coming back from Vietnam with their nightmares, and their troubling inability to fit back in with the rest of society. The complications caused a hormonal imbalance that stunted his growth. The Viet Cong built drain pipe ventilation shafts every 20 to 30 meters at an oblique angle to prevent flooding. Four-foot, nine-inch tall veteran Richard J. Flaherty claimed to be the shortest man ever to serve in the United States military. In Britain, during the Nap. Vietnam Veterans represent the largest cohort of American Veterans in . He began to eat and stay in fighting shape, as he was an avid sportsman in high school, especially good at martial arts. During the war, more than 58,000 servicemen and women lost their lives. From this point, they were to seek out enemy soldiers or potential hiding spaces where they may have once been. You will usually find him on the top of a mountain admiring the view and wondering how he got there. He worked for a while as a confidential informant for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in the 80s but he was homeless in Aventura, just north of Miami, by 1990. Yuzuk came to know Richard Flaherty, not just as a homeless man, but as a man of intelligence and goodness. These story remain nothing more than bits and pieces of a life that seems to have become shrouded in anonymity. Finally, this list will look at how successful these attempts were in the grand scheme of things. The healthy soldier/worker effect gradually subdued over time. 10,422 Vietnam War Soldiers Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images. What's the minimum requirement in the US army today? Richard J. Flaherty may never be known. None of these wars were longer than the Afghan war, anyway.] Marines who score 250 or higher on BOTH the PFT and CFT are given an additional 1 percent body fat. On January 27, 1973, the Paris Peace Accords were signed, officially bringing to an end the American war in Vietnam. Lauri Trni (Larry Thorne) in his three military uniforms. Myanmar 159.52cm (5 feet 2.80 inches) The Temples of Bagan in Mandalay, Myanmar. The Viet Cong were simply experts at utilizing their surroundings to their advantage. 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. 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? He showed his fearsome warrior spirit during the Vietnam War, and later entered the roster of the Army's elite task . 11 talking about this. Twenty-year-old Mike . Over eight weeks, soldiers learned about tactical skills, squad and platoon offensive and defensive tactics, and how to use certain weapons. By the time the American army arrived, there were over two hundred kilometers. Flaherty led his platoon in a flanking assault on the enemy position, during which an NVA bunker was spotted. Flaherty served with the 101st Airborne & the 3rd Special Forces Group. Of course, the local Vietnamese population designed the tunnels with their own size in mind. He fought and distinquished himself in Vietnam. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions. War is hell. 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. 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. . July 21, 2015. When he finally got past the 100-pound mark, he petitioned his Congressman to obtain a waiver for the Armys height restrictions. Holy shit even disregarding the adversity overcome about his height, this dude seriously fucked. The NVA troops hit the soldiers with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. T he man in the picture keeps his eyes to the ground. Some tunnel rats were also fortunate enough to take part in Combat Engineer Advanced Individual Training. He appealed to his Connecticut Senator, Christopher Dodd, and was able to get a special waiver into the Army. Proceeding cautiously, they moved in enough until a fellow soldier could fit into the tunnel with them. 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. Nguyen Van Vuong started as a soldier in the North Vietnamese Army in 1966 and ended his service in 1971 after contracting malaria. He earned the Silver Star, 2 Bronze Stars (w/V, 3OLC), and 2 Purple Hearts. Vietnam-era Radiomen life expectancy was 5 seconds. Richard J. Flaherty with two classmates at Officer Candidate School in 1967 (Photo: David Yuzuk / Laptrinhx.com ). Both known as the shortest soldiers in their units, each would serve in numerous battles as soldiers. 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. He had crossed the DMZ back into South Vietnam where he was shot as he was recaptured. It included an article about Flahertys tragic death in Aventura, Florida. By 1990, he was homeless and living on the streets of Aventura, Florida. I just tell them Im 35 pounds of muscle, 14 pounds of dynamite and one pound of uranium-238, and it gets a lot of laughs.. One Viet Cong soldier highlighted their lack of discreteness. 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.. Flaherty would be considered a dwarf in medical terms, meaning that his height was less than 4 10.. It is here that his story begins to take many twists and turns. Your Herd from Herald-Dispatch Reach Manager. Retired, David enjoys writing, walking on hikes, and spending time with his dog Simon. Share with Us. Somewhere along his path, Flaherty became homeless. Marines who score 285 or higher on BOTH the PFT and CFT are exempt from height/weight standards. You can also learn about how these soldiers came about, who opted to become one, how they trained, and what equipment they used. Historians, for example, estimate that booby traps caused around 11 percent of US causalities in the Vietnam War. Theyre known for their specialization in counterinsurgency, a skill that was heavily used during the Vietnam War. You see, Richard Flaherty was only 410. Photo credit: The Chive. However, he was eventually arrested for possession of gun silencers and removed from the agency. But then everything we know about him gets lost in a blur of fragmentary vignettes. He said he hopes the movie makes people think twice before being dismissive or hateful toward the homeless, many of whom are veterans, and make politicians think carefully before sending American men and women to foreign places to kill people. Lots of tunnel rats used the standard-issue colt. 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. According to archives held by the US government, there were 58,220 US military deaths overall as a result of the Vietnam War. Most useful for tunnel rats, however, was the experience gained in the dreaded gas chambers. The Vietnam War was the longest military battle in the history of the United States. On parachute operations he was always the first out of the plane. Capt. When triggering a tripwire, a plank weighted with barbed metal spikes and bricks would fall rapidly from the earth squashing the soldier below. You were a mighty man. Or were his missions something much darker? The two maintained a long friendship. This attempt enjoyed more success than Crimp but was short-lived as the tunnels were in working order again within weeks. He used to spend all day at a movie theater. 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. Tunnel Rat soldier with his gas mask and gun. He had spent his last years alive homeless. everyone would watch to see which way the wind would take him. Related: How to make it through Special Forces selection. Network news was filled with the stories of young men dying in combat to stem the spread of Communism to South Vietnam. Finally, some of the unique training centers would provide tunnel system replicas. One American man was trying anything to get in. This is similar to the selection effect of underwriting requirement provision in the insurance industries. Released in 1973. Overall, the Vietnamese were very quick to restore damages and continue as if nothing happened. This kit included a S&W .38-calibre special model 10 revolver with both a silencer and aiming light. The Marines have adopted a new program as of January 2017. Throughout the battle, he repeatedly exposed himself to the hostile fire in order to better direct the suppressive fire of his squads. A young German soldier, 1944. Yuzuk was stunned by both the sudden loss of a friend and the realization that he would need to do his own detective work to discover what Flaherty had not gotten around to telling him about his life. M. They have given so much and suffered so much. This was devastating news to Yuzuk. Rosemary Giles is a history content writer with Hive Media. His size also meant he worked as a tunnel rat during his tour of duty, crawling through enemy tunnels to destroy them. He says of Flaherty, I think that Vietnam tortured Richard.. the shortest have one line. Looking for Irish book recommendations or to meet with others who share your love for Irish literature? 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. He returned to Southeast Asia in 1969 and remained there until 1971 when he left the Army. 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. Short in size he might have been, but short in courage he wasnt. 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. Afghan war. Naturally, there were only first chances, never second, so some simply killed as they had to. A battle field, now known as the Viet Cong built drain pipe ventilation every... A battle field prisoners of War ( POWs ) height/weight standards hormonal shortest soldier in vietnam that stunted growth. Mandatory military service in 1971 after contracting malaria was always the first out of the Vietnam is! Lost limbs and 1,081 sustained multiple amputations prevent such fatalities the 'Report ' link on a former shortest soldier in vietnam! 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