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Soldier ambushes tiger in Vietnam
Unto the Breach ^ | May 3, 2023 | Chris Carter

Posted on 05/03/2023 10:12:53 AM PDT by fugazi

A few years ago I came across a photo of an American solder posing with a tiger he shot during a patrol. Tigers were a threat in Vietnam, especially to LRRPs (Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol soldiers) who would go behind enemy lines for days at a time and report on enemy activity. Shortly after sharing, a reader named Larry Flanagan said he was the man in the picture.

“The soldier in the picture is me,” Flanagan wrote. “I was with K Co. 75th Rangers, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division LRRPs. I was the team leader of a four-man team doing a five-day mission in a place called VC Valley in the Central Highlands. It was in January 1969, we set up am ambush where a large trail crossed a small stream. On the second day early in the morning a group of wild water buffalo came down the stream to drink. While there we saw a tiger only about 25 feet away from us stalking the herd. I fired one shot from my m-16 hitting him behind his right shoulder killing him instantly. My CO sent a copter to pick up the tiger and left us out there for four more days.”

Tiger attacks weren’t common and were rarely fatal, but when your ass is going out there, a slim chance isn’t zero. You’ve already got the enemy to worry about, and if you do have to shoot a tiger, your small and isolated team has just drawn attention to itself.

Flanagan’s trophy wasn’t the only tiger shot in Vietnam. A team of Recon Marines killed yet another just weeks after a tiger killed one of their fellow Leathernecks. My friend...

(Excerpt) Read more at untothebreach.net ...


TOPICS: History; Military/Veterans
KEYWORDS: vietnam
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Apologies, I've forgotten the HTML code to post a picture here. Maybe someone else who knows how to can.

It's hard to believe how fast these great men are leaving us... When I was young, seemingly everyone had served in World War II and/or Korea. The young guys were Vietnam vets and they were winding down their careers by the time I was serving. Now the Vietnam guys are punching out pretty quick too.

1 posted on 05/03/2023 10:12:53 AM PDT by fugazi
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To: fugazi

Never get out of the boat


2 posted on 05/03/2023 10:16:11 AM PDT by z3n (Kakistocracy)
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To: fugazi

He brought down a tiger with a single .556 round?


3 posted on 05/03/2023 10:17:57 AM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion, or satire, or both.)
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5.56


4 posted on 05/03/2023 10:18:30 AM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion, or satire, or both.)
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To: fugazi

5 posted on 05/03/2023 10:18:36 AM PDT by gundog (It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. )
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To: BenLurkin

Personally I wouldn’t recommend anything with a smaller caliber than a B-52.


6 posted on 05/03/2023 10:20:07 AM PDT by fugazi
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To: fugazi

"A Tiger...In Vietnam?"

7 posted on 05/03/2023 10:21:15 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: fugazi
My CO sent a copter to pick up the tiger and left us out there for four more days.

LOL. A colonel wants a trophy for the officers' club, while his ass has to stay in the jungle.

8 posted on 05/03/2023 10:22:03 AM PDT by PGR88
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To: gundog

9 posted on 05/03/2023 10:22:54 AM PDT by Larry Lucido (Donate! Don't just post clickbait!)
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To: fugazi

10 posted on 05/03/2023 10:24:46 AM PDT by null and void (Attention! Non-compliant Resident Alert! Attention! Non-compliant Resident Alert! Attention! Non-com)
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To: BenLurkin

It’s all in the shot placement...


11 posted on 05/03/2023 10:25:21 AM PDT by null and void (Attention! Non-compliant Resident Alert! Attention! Non-compliant Resident Alert! Attention! Non-com)
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To: PGR88

I had a nice chat with him via email which I have apparently lost. That’s basically what happened — the CO was pissed they shot the tiger and left their asses in the jungle to think about it for a few days. I wasn’t there and didn’t have all the intel they did, but it seems to me that sending in a helo to take the tiger but leave your men is a good way to get them all captured or killed.


12 posted on 05/03/2023 10:27:05 AM PDT by fugazi
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To: z3n
Never get out of the boat

You beat me to it.


13 posted on 05/03/2023 10:28:48 AM PDT by Yo-Yo (Is the /Sarc tag really necessary? Pray for President Biden: Psalm 109:8)
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To: fugazi

I sense a major motion picture coming.


14 posted on 05/03/2023 10:29:10 AM PDT by x
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To: fugazi
"How he got into my pajamas I'll never know..."


15 posted on 05/03/2023 10:32:38 AM PDT by Yo-Yo (Is the /Sarc tag really necessary? Pray for President Biden: Psalm 109:8)
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To: BenLurkin

Shot placement is king. On a tiger that’s right in the heart.


16 posted on 05/03/2023 10:37:52 AM PDT by DesertRhino (Dogs are called man's best friend. Moslems hate dogs. Add it up..)
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To: fugazi
"...but it seems to me that sending in a helo to take the tiger but leave your men is a good way to get them all captured or killed."

~~~

This is true, but taking that shot was also marking himself. ALthough they say, never shoot twice. It's the second shot that marks your location.
17 posted on 05/03/2023 10:39:26 AM PDT by z3n (Kakistocracy)
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To: fugazi

Why send a copter to pick up the body? That would tip the enemy off much worse than the single gunshot.


18 posted on 05/03/2023 10:41:11 AM PDT by jimwatx
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To: fugazi

My uncle gave me a CD once of pictures that he took in Vietnam. On it, there were several black and white pictures of a tiger that he said had attacked his patrol, and that the patrol has shot up. He said that the tiger didn’t stand a chance. He died about 10 years ago, and I have no idea what unit he was in. I’ve unfortunately lost that CD over the years.


19 posted on 05/03/2023 10:44:34 AM PDT by gop4lyf (Gay marriage is neither. Democrats are the party of sore losers and pedophiles.)
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To: null and void

And look. He’s wearing tiger striped camo. That’s a little messed up. The tiger probably saw him and thought “oh hey…”


20 posted on 05/03/2023 10:49:07 AM PDT by DesertRhino (Dogs are called man's best friend. Moslems hate dogs. Add it up..)
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