The Giant Killer:
The incredible true story of the smallest man to serve in the U.S. Military—Vietnam veteran Green Beret Captain Richard J. Flaherty - Silver Star, 2 Bronze Stars, & 2 Purple Hearts
The incredible true story of the smallest man to ever serve in the U.S. military. At 4-foot-9 97-pounds, Richard Flaherty did the impossible by becoming a Green Beret Captain, War Hero, and a CIA spy. Born with a rare blood disease his doctors predicted he would only grow to the height of 4-foot-7 inches and suffer from a lifetime of physical ailments but Richard defied their predictions and became a Special Forces legend.
Coming from a family of military heroes Richard also wanted to do his part and serve his country. Most people laughed at the idea and all the military branches turned him down due to size requirements. But that didn't deter Richard he spent the next 3 years writing letters until he finally received a medical waiver. With the waiver the Army allowed him to join... but no one ever believed he would make it through basic training.
His uniforms didn't fit, the equipment was too big, and he was required to carry a back pack during long marches that was almost the same weight as he was. Because of his leg length marching in step with the rest of his company was incredibly difficult but Richard kept up. All the obstacle courses were built for average size men but Richard conquered them all. No rules were ever changed for Richard... Either he would sink or swim.
Richard Flaherty didn't just make it through basic training he would volunteer to become an elite paratrooper, with the 101st Airborne. When he would jump out of planes the instructors would have to strap machine gun parts to his legs to help his descent so he wouldn't "float away" due to his weight.
He was then accepted into Officer Candidate School and graduated in 1968 as a 2nd Lieutenant. Richard then deployed to Vietnam just in time to fight and lead his platoon in some of the bloodiest battles during the "Tet Offensive." During his first week in battle he was wounded twice by grenade fragmentation and a grazing bullet wound to the head but as soon as he was patched up he jumped right back into the battle.
After several months of fighting on the front lines many officers would accept assignments in the rear away from but not Richard. He would request to be transferred to Echo Company to be a Platoon leader in a RECON unit which engaged in dangerous search and destroy missions deep into enemy territory. By the time his first tour in Vietnam was finished, Richard would receive The Silver Star, 2 Bronze Stars, & 2 Purple Hearts for his bravery.
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