Soldier ambushes tiger in Vietnam
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 Joseph “Brasso” Welsh, Jr. a retired master sergeant and Vietnam LRRP himself, had seen one flown in that was apparently shot by another group of LRRPs.
Walsh was literally a poster boy for the Army; his face was on recruiting posters years ago, back when you could “be all that you can be” in the Army. Many of the books in my library were donated by Walsh, as was my still-favorite “PAINTED FACES” t-shirt. And back in the days when people used to forward emails to their contacts, his were the only ones I would look at because they were usually very interesting. You are missed Brasso… He left us in 2020 at age 73. Flanagan has also since passed, departing in 2021. He too was 73 years old.
just rambling around on line when I ran across the story I sent in a long time ago about the tiger that I shot in the Highlands. Someone commented that it was shot by a guy in the 101st Airborne Div. I was in the 1st Brigade of the Fourth Infantry Division. It had nothing to do with the 101
“Were you concerned about discharging your weapon behind enemy lines?” Very good question. I wondered about that also. I guess there IS more to the story.
There is far more to this story than found in the comments. I will be publishing an article on Mr. Flanagan’s tiger encounter very soon.
Great story! I am glad you made it back to tell it.
Were you concerned about discharging your weapon behind enemy lines?
The tiger was stalking the tiger? I think you mean the buffalo.
Who knew a .223 would drop a tiger!!!!
Lucky shot well placed. I am surprised it had enough penetration. Great job glad you made it home
The soldier in the picture is me. My name is Larry Flanagan, I was with the 1st. bde LRRPs / K75 Rangers. 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 twenty five feet away from us stalking the tiger. 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.
Glad they made it back in one piece!
This was probably the 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division LRRPS in mid 1967. I seen them bring it in and it was directed by the Brigade Commander to exfil the team and the tiger so they could have it stuffed and put in our museum…from this angle it does not look that big but it stretched from one door to the other and it was big. RLTW