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The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network. The Central Intelligence Agency recruited him in the late 1970s due to his knowledge of Intelligence. Thank you! And there was more; he was homeless. Network news was filled with the stories of young men dying in combat to stem the spread of Communism to South Vietnam. He was successful and joined the US Army. By REP. SAM JOHNSON. He also weighed less than 100 pounds, further disqualifying him from serving in the Army. Generally, while underground tunnel rat soldiers employed a shoot first, ask questions later method. They helped conduct military operations on behalf of communist forces. But it wasnt until 2015 that Flaherty first spoke of his time as a platoon leader and Green Beret in Vietnam. 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. 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. His friend, David Yuzuk, used his own money and launched a crowdfunding campaign to produce a documentary about his friends life. His height was no object, however, and he put . Capt. Phases of captures. It's an exclusive offer for our viewers! Reach Rick Steelhammer at rsteelhammer@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5169 or follow. Most useful for tunnel rats, however, was the experience gained in the dreaded gas chambers. During the Second World War, the Vietnamese first constructed underground tunnels to fight Japanese invasion. 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. One American man was trying anything to get in. Upon enlisting, Richard became the shortest soldier in US military history. We'd love to hear eyewitness Twenty-year-old Mike . A Soldier's Thoughts. 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 . Yuzuk said it was not long after he moved to Florida in 1999 and joined the Aventura Police Department that he noticed Flaherty. Answer (1 of 17): I didn't serve in Vietnam. What we do know comes to us from a Hallandale police officer, David Yuzuk. Yuzuk also found papers showing that Flaherty had paid a deposit for a burial plot in Miltons Forest Memorial Park, with a request to be buried near Lisa Davis Anness, whom the Vietnam vet described as the love of his life. 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. High 64F. 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. Finally, this list will look at how successful these attempts were in the grand scheme of things. Shortest US soldier in Vietnam War was not short in courage. 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. We had built the runway surface with 2 ft by 12 ft Marston Mat aluminum planks with interlocking grooves along each edge. 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. 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 enemy used this to their advantage. Still, his skills, tenacity, and leadership can tear down an entire enemys. One tunnel rat claimed that the booby traps and Viet Cong did not frighten them as much as encountering the local ants. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Rosemary Giles is a history content writer with Hive Media. You were a mighty man. U.S. Air Force pararescuemen and a simulated 'survivor' watch as an HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter comes in for a landing. 1,806 U.S. troops killed in action ( source) 2. Flaherty would be considered a dwarf in medical terms, meaning that his height was less than 4 10.. Weve got a clip from the movie that details Richards ruthlessness in combat. Flahertys death made Yuzuks effort a lot harder, but he was undeterred. In 1968 he was sent to Vietnam in the famous 101st Airborne Division, the "Screaming Eagles". On the other hand, combat troops had nearly an even chance of getting wounded, roughly 50%. I didnt believe him at first, Yuzuk recalled. You can also learn about how these soldiers came about, who opted to become one, how they trained, and what equipment they used. Flaherty was born to a mother who, unknown to her, had a blood type that made her second-born son vulnerable to oxygen deprivation in his infancy, which stunted his growth. God only knows what that experience and so many other combat experiences did to Flahertys mind. Published March 04, 2022 06:48:08. Join IrishCentrals Book Club on Facebook and enjoy our book-loving community. 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. Pictured left to right: Topsy, Fatty, Cotton (killed fitty men and got his shins blowed off), Brooklyn, Stinky, and Fatty. He had a few run-ins with the law before becoming a confidential informant for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. Myanmar 159.52cm (5 feet 2.80 inches) The Temples of Bagan in Mandalay, Myanmar. Current standards for men is 60-80 inches tall. 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. *Warning: Some people may find these pictures disturbing.*. [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. But many others were poor or working-class teenagers who enlisted or were drafted into the military right out of high school. Some tunnel rats were also fortunate enough to take part in Combat Engineer Advanced Individual Training. An average Liberian woman is 155.66cm (5 feet 1.28 inches) tall. Richard Flaherty was probably the most unique Green Beret to ever serve in the U.S. Army's Special Forces. The Vietnam War is also known as the Second Indochina War. In a way, he was like a mentor. October 2001 to 2016. Lots of tunnel rats used the standard-issue colt. If you are squeamish or hate thinking about claustrophobic conditions, take this as a warning: gruesome facts lie ahead! It has a rating of 7.4 on IMDb. 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. 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). world war ii. Infantry Advanced Individual Training also helped them to deal more in-depth with other issues. This is a dangerous condition that can lead to serious complications for the fetus or even death. Some even fled to Canada to escape conscription. 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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