If the army located an entrance and needed it explored, the team lowered a tunnel rat into the area to scout out the surroundings. You could not help but notice him. Some even fled to Canada to escape conscription. 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. Yuzuk said it was not long after he moved to Florida in 1999 and joined the Aventura Police Department that he noticed Flaherty. One of the prerequisites for and provisions of the accords was the return of all U.S. prisoners of war (POWs). [3], He was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division during his first tour to Vietnam in 1968 during the Vietnam War. When he graduated from high school, Flaherty was 4 feet, 9 inches tall three inches too short to meet the Armys height requirement at the time. Flaherty served with the 101st Airborne & the 3rd Special Forces Group. It helped give them the experience and confidence to cope with gas, should they encounter it in combat. The Giant Killer is available on Amazon Prime and iTunes. He was a Special Forces Green Beret Captain and was . 7'3" Jakob Nacken (221 cm), the tallest German soldier of WW2, chatting with 5'7" (170 cm) Eddie Worth, AP photographer with the wartime still picture pool, after his surrender. 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. The bombs caused earthquakes that destroyed the tunnels and their ventilation shafts. The two maintained a long friendship. 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. ODAs are the tactical arm of the Special Forces Regiment. I Spent Seven Years as a Vietnam POW. Flaherty was the shortest of these elite soldiers, standing at only four feet, nine inches tall. On November 28, 1945, doctors in Stamford Connecticut's Regional Hospital intensely worked to save newborn Richard James Flahertys life. To learn more or comment about Captain Flaherty please visit The Giant Killer Facebook page. Flaherty was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant after attending Infantry Officer Candidate School on 31 August 1967. How many other Richard Flahertys are there living among us as homeless veterans? The tunnels also hosted armament workshops, training depots, headquarters, and a variety of other facilities. Flaherty was on his way. The shortest soldier to fight in Vietnam was a Green Beret. Owing to the need for a flashlight, it was essential that soldiers could aim and fire their weapon with one hand. Yuzuk is the director and its his first movie. Five men killed in Vietnam were only 16 years old. Another method frequently used attempted to flood the area so badly that the enemy desperately sought to escape to avoid drowning. In her spare time, Rosemary enjoys spending time with her partner, her cats, and her horse, or sitting down to read a good book. He earned the Silver Star, 2 Bronze Stars (w/V, 3OLC), and 2 Purple Hearts. the shortest have one line. But many others were poor or working-class teenagers who enlisted or were drafted into the military right out of high school. 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. vietnam war battle. 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. He served as both an A and B detachment Commander. However, Bowman said that he was never that scared of the tunnels; he was so young he believed he was invincible. Flaherty was the shortest of these elite soldiers, standing at only four feet, nine inches tall. He began to eat and stay in fighting shape, as he was an avid sportsman in high school, especially good at martial arts. And there was more; he was homeless. When you used to stack bodies, but your 15 yo great grandson keeps calling you "Piper Perri" and you don't know why. On the other hand, combat troops had nearly an even chance of getting wounded, roughly 50%. Hed traveled a lot, read a lot and was interesting to talk with.. racist or sexually-oriented language. 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. He had spent his last years alive homeless. He served as an SFODA Commander in companies A and B. After completing basic training, Richard Flaherty qualified for Infantry Officer Candidate School, earning the rank of second lieutenant. She received both her bachelor of arts degree in history, and her master of arts degree in history from Western University. Pararescue. Start your free trial today. Answer (1 of 27): Back in the days of siege wars, artillery would be used to blow a hole in the defence walls. Published March 04, 2022 06:48:08. The Tropic Lightning Tunnel Rat School at Cu Chi base camp provides an example of this. 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. When an American soldier tripped the wire, the grenade would detonate inside the tunnel. Tunnel Rat soldier with his gas mask and gun. He was awarded a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, and two Purple Hearts during his service. The Veterans Site is dedicated to helping to provide awareness to the problem of homelessness among our veterans. His ODA was tasked with training the Royal Thai Army in counterinsurgency operations and prepare them for a deployment to Vietnam. After being discharged, Flaherty did private and military contract work in Rhodesia and Angola in Africa. . A heavier tunnel-exploration kit may also include nylon rope, body-armor vests, grappling hooks, work gloves, kneepads, and earplugs. In 1968 he was sent to Vietnam in the famous 101st Airborne Division, the "Screaming Eagles". Richard J. Flaherty may never be known. The Lone . Vietnam, 1967. Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in. It was the result of his mothers rare blood type that left him vulnerable to oxygen deprivation as an infant. He says of Flaherty, I think that Vietnam tortured Richard.. After one tour in Vietnam, Capt. Phil Bucklew: The Father of US Naval Special Warfare. Not only was he the shortest Green Beret to serve in Vietnam, he was also the shortest US serviceman in history. But I went home, got on the computer and looked him up, and it checked out.. Just 10 days before Flaherty's death, Flaherty told Yuzuk his story. John Zander in Chu Lai, Vietnam in 1965. Two inches thick, each plank . If the stakes pointed downwards, soldiers became unable to remove their limbs without causing severe damage. 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. Maybe its because, as a high school student, I knew him, if only from a distance. March 28, 2022 Local Vietnam veterans showcase . Several Viet Cong members knew the American soldiers had boots with plated soles to help prevent injury to their feet. Standing tall in four-feet and nine-inches, Captain Richard Flaherty, might be too small for the conventional height for the United States Army. But due to the Vietnam draft they would have likely taken him anyway if that was his only disqualifier from serving. short-timer's stick. There is a story about Flaherty being involved in a federal investigation that ended in the arrest of two Green Berets in the 1980s. Here are 10 of the most dangerous: 1. We won't share it with anyone else. Alternate title, "Dating on tinder when you're 5'11" or shorter". Though there are . They reported to Aventura police that they had seen what looked like a body in some bushes alongside the road. 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. 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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