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(Intense sound effects)
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(phone ringing)
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- [Man] Hello?
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- [Yuzuk]
Hi, this is Officer Yuzuk
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from the Aventura Police Department in Dade County, Florida,
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trying to get ahold of
retired ATF Agent Fred Gleffe.
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- [Man] Officer, I'm just
finishing up some work.
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00:00:40,874 --> 00:00:43,010
Is there anything I can
help you real real quickly?
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- [Yuzuk] Yeah, I just
wanted to check on a story.
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00:00:45,279 --> 00:00:46,947
We got a guy
that frequents our city,
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I've known him
for the last 15 years,
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00:00:48,782 --> 00:00:51,185
and he told me
this pretty crazy story,
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and he said that he worked an
undercover operation with you.
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- [Man] What's his name?
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- [Yuzuk] Flaherty.
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- [Man] Richard J. Flaherty?
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00:01:01,895 --> 00:01:04,732
How's old Captain Flaherty
doing these days?
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- [Yuzuk] He's homeless.
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- [Man]
Homeless, well that's a shame.
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He was one hell
of an undercover guy.
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- [Yuzuk] So it was true?
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- [Man]
Oh yeah, it's true, absolutely.
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After the trial, I was even
interviewed by 20/20 on CBS.
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I might even have those tapes.
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Let me give you a call tomorrow
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and I'll go over the case
with you.
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- [Yuzuk] That would be
great, I really appreciate it.
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Hey, one last thing,
Richard kinda figured out
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that I would check up on
a story, and he asked me
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not to contact you or
anyone involved in the case.
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- [Man] Why's that?
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- [Yuzuk]
He said that it would be bad
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for my career and
dangerous for his health.
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- [Man] I doubt it,
it's been over 30 years.
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But our operation did
piss a lot of people off.
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Look, let's talk tomorrow,
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I'll fill you in
on all the details.
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- [Yuzuk] Hey, I really
appreciate the help.
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Thank you, man.
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(Suspenseful music)
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(broken glass crashes)
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- [Newsreader] Police investigating a deadly hit and run
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that happened over the weekend.
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The victim, a decorated veteran.
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- Decorated Vietnam veteran
killed after a hit and run.
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- A 70 year old
decorated Vietnam veteran.
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Personal items and debris
scattered across the street
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where a Vietnam veteran
was hit by a car,
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the driver never stopped
to help.
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(Driving music)
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(police radio chatter)
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- My name's David Yuzuk.
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I've been a police officer for
the last 17 years in Miami.
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I've also worked as a detective
and undercover officer.
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I met Richard Flaherty
about 15 years ago
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and he was living
on the streets.
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I offered to get him some help
but he said, no, he was okay.
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After that, I would just
say hello when I saw him,
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and eventually we started
talking about news,
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jokes, politics, but I never
asked him about his background.
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And I think he respected me
for that.
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I heard
all the rumors about him.
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Some people said he was
a tunnel rat in Vietnam,
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other people said he was a
circus clown or some eccentric
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millionaire that just chooses
to live on the streets,
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but nobody really knew
who Richard was.
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We started talking
more and more,
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and we would sometimes meet up
for lunch.
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At about the end of April
in 2015,
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Richard, for whatever reason,
after all these years,
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he finally decided to tell
me his whole life story.
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He told me
he was the smallest man
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to ever serve in the military,
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and he became a captain
in the Green Berets,
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serving two tours
in Vietnam and Thailand.
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He told me he worked
undercover with federal agents
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to bust a crime ring
that was stealing
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tons of weapons and explosives.
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He mentioned about being
engaged to the woman he loved.
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And I couldn't help
thinking as he told me this
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incredible story, how could
a man who overcame so much
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adversity and beat the odds
by becoming a war hero,
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how could he have ended up
on the streets?
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It's May 9th.
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Saturday.
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2015.
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I found out this morning
at seven AM
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that my good friend
Richard Flaherty was killed.
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At that point,
we had a traffic homicide
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with no leads on the suspect.
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Since I was the only one
that knew Richard kept
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all his belongings in a
storage unit, I figured
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we'd head over there, and
start the investigation.
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Maybe we can find some clues
or leads.
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I was so amazed when we
opened that storage unit,
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and I saw all the documentation
and items,
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and pictures that Richard
kept on his life from military
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and medical records to letters,
poems, bank statements.
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It seemed like
he was almost leaving me
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all the breadcrumbs to
not only investigate
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his death, but also start
to learn about his life.
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And just like any other
investigation I've done,
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I knew I had to start
at the beginning.
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On our way to Port Charlotte.
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(Dramatic music)
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The first person that
I knew I had to speak
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to was Richard's
older brother, Walter.
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I was really unsure
of how it was gonna go
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because Richard told me
he and Walter
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had a falling out and hadn't
spoken in over 10 years.
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You guys were born in Stamford?
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- Yeah, we were born in
Stamford, Connecticut.
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I was born in '42, Richard
was born in '45, 1945.
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Two of us got along very well,
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Richard and myself,
during our childhood.
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He was always small.
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He was born small and he,
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he always was the smallest
person in the class.
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- Of course
people stared at him.
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You know,
when he walked into a room,
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or a restaurant, or whatever.
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It must have been a handicap,
some sort of handicap.
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Yeah, and I think that's why
he had to prove to everyone
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that, you know, he was
somebody and he was strong,
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that he's strong in body,
strong in mind.
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And I think that's why he
got the military in his head.
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- He was little,
he was always tiny,
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but he was hard as a rock.
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And in those days
you didn't lift weights,
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you didn't,
nobody did that stuff.
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Rick, my boss. (Laughs)
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That's him right there.
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So he's, he is small.
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- I knew Richard
from high school.
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We went to the same
Catholic high school
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and he was really popular
in high school.
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He was really smart and he
was on the football team,
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and he was invited
to all the parties.
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- [Woman]
There he is, this is '64.
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- [Yuzuk] Richard
Flaherty, the giant killer.
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- He always said he
wanted to be a military.
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00:09:01,374 --> 00:09:02,743
He always wanted
to be a military,
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and he knew at the time
that his height
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might prevent him
from getting in.
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And matter of fact,
the first time he applied,
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they turned him down.
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So Walter at this point
was a lawyer.
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So he asked Walter to
write the congressmen
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and have the politicians
put a word into the Army
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about this little guy who's,
you know, he wants to do this.
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And they finally approved it,
it took a couple of years,
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and then when he went
he was underweight.
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He said they told him "You
have to gain some weight.
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You have to beef up a
little bit." Which he did.
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And he started lifting
weights and everything,
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and they were gonna let
him in with his height,
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he was just too skinny
at the time.
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So he did,
he did that and he beefed up,
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and worked really hard,
and he told them,
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he says,
"I can do it, I can do it.
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Why-- Just give me a chance,
I can do it."
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- And he was the littlest person
in United States military.
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He got a special
congressional waiver,
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I guess it was,
to go into the military.
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- He never made a
complaint about boot camp
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or about it being unfair,
or that they
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should have made some
sort of accommodation
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because of
the height disadvantage.
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- He would jump out
of the plane first,
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they'd watch to see where he
went, and then they'd circle
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around and jump the rest
of the company after him.
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- You're gonna exit an aircraft
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in a Special Forces
training operation,
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you're gonna be
carrying generators,
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you'll be carrying weapons,
you got your parachute system.
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You'll be jumping anywhere
from 80 to 100 pounds, easily.
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You know, so that's a
lot of stuff to carry.
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When you're only four foot nine,
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it's that much harder
to carry that.
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In fact, his rucksack,
which you would
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strap down
below your reserve parachute,
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it had to be close to
hanging on the ground.
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For him to get out of the
aircraft with his rucksack
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down here on his shins,
that's pretty tough to move.
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00:11:02,162 --> 00:11:04,631
The rest of us
it was maybe at our knees,
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00:11:04,664 --> 00:11:07,901
but he would've had it
down close to his feet.
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00:11:07,935 --> 00:11:10,838
So it's physically harder
for him to do that.
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I would've never even
questioned his ability to do it,
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because just from the
standpoint of who he was,
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I mean he was just
tough, so he could do it.
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- And he did it, you know,
and that's hard training.
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It's hard stuff to get
through, there's a lot of guys
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00:11:23,851 --> 00:11:26,586
to this day that put in SF
training and never make it.
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00:11:26,619 --> 00:11:29,022
A lot of guys put in for,
you know,
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00:11:29,056 --> 00:11:31,224
101st Airborne stuff,
and they never make it.
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00:11:31,258 --> 00:11:33,526
If you saw his pictures
that you had of him
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00:11:33,560 --> 00:11:35,929
with all his military stuff
on running with a rifle,
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00:11:35,963 --> 00:11:38,766
and the caption was, I think,
smallest man in the military.
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00:11:40,367 --> 00:11:42,202
- [Yuzuk] Captain Rick
Lencioni invited me up
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00:11:42,235 --> 00:11:45,105
to the 101st Airborne's reunion
to see
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00:11:45,138 --> 00:11:47,507
if I could find more
men that knew Richard.
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00:11:47,540 --> 00:11:50,077
I thought that they might be
reluctant to talk to me because
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00:11:50,110 --> 00:11:53,914
I was a stranger in their
world, but it was the opposite.
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00:11:53,947 --> 00:11:57,450
They gladly shared their
experiences and stories with me,
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00:11:57,484 --> 00:12:00,754
hoping the next generation
understands the sacrifices
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00:12:00,788 --> 00:12:03,323
they and their friends
gave for their country.
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00:12:05,793 --> 00:12:07,727
- That's when we arrived.
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00:12:07,761 --> 00:12:09,696
- When you first got to Vietnam.
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00:12:09,729 --> 00:12:10,397
- Right.
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00:12:11,598 --> 00:12:13,867
Well we didn't know what we
was gonna really get into
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00:12:13,901 --> 00:12:16,103
when we left Fort Campbell,
we found out in a hurry.
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00:12:16,136 --> 00:12:18,872
Especially in January,
February, 1968
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00:12:18,906 --> 00:12:20,740
when the Tet Offensives
kicked off.
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00:12:20,774 --> 00:12:24,812
We found out right quick what
it was like to be in Vietnam.
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00:12:24,845 --> 00:12:27,948
Well, first time I saw
him, it was sort of funny,
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00:12:27,981 --> 00:12:29,416
'cause he was a real little guy,
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00:12:29,449 --> 00:12:31,084
and we thought it was
a joke to start with,
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00:12:31,118 --> 00:12:34,321
but turned out that he was
our platoon leader. (Laughs)
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00:12:34,354 --> 00:12:37,090
- Yeah, I never seen
anybody smaller than him
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00:12:37,124 --> 00:12:39,793
out there,
other than the Vietnamese.
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00:12:39,827 --> 00:12:42,495
- But everybody knew
Richard, he stood out.
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00:12:42,529 --> 00:12:45,966
For a little guy,
he had a big voice.
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00:12:45,999 --> 00:12:48,836
And you know, his voice carried.
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00:12:48,869 --> 00:12:53,173
Maybe it was something he
had practiced, but it worked.
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00:12:53,206 --> 00:12:56,509
- [Yuzuk] Was it a little
strange to see a guy that small?
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00:12:56,543 --> 00:12:57,978
- It was very strange,
when I first
227
00:12:58,011 --> 00:13:00,280
looked at him,
I did a double take.
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00:13:00,313 --> 00:13:02,615
- When I remember
seeing recon platoon
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00:13:02,649 --> 00:13:05,953
going across the rice paddy
over there,
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00:13:05,986 --> 00:13:07,620
they were just
kinda all spread out,
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00:13:07,654 --> 00:13:10,824
moving across there, and
he was right in the front,
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00:13:10,858 --> 00:13:15,095
leading, had his map out,
he's looking at the map,
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00:13:15,128 --> 00:13:19,867
and he had this big stogie,
stogie was bigger than him.
234
00:13:19,900 --> 00:13:22,469
But I remember he was leading
and they're were following,
235
00:13:22,502 --> 00:13:25,538
and to me, I said,
"He's a good leader."
236
00:13:25,572 --> 00:13:27,640
- There wasn't any doubt
that he was in charge.
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I saw the respect
that was there, too,
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00:13:29,176 --> 00:13:30,878
because they knew that he,
239
00:13:32,212 --> 00:13:35,815
you know,
he could be stringent at times.
240
00:13:35,849 --> 00:13:38,451
- He always had that attitude,
he had that tough guy
241
00:13:38,485 --> 00:13:40,820
attitude even though
he was really short,
242
00:13:40,854 --> 00:13:44,224
he was always really
tough looking and always
243
00:13:44,257 --> 00:13:48,495
very outspoken
and a forceful individual.
244
00:13:48,528 --> 00:13:50,297
But he was very smug too.
245
00:13:50,330 --> 00:13:52,032
He was very smug about it.
246
00:13:52,065 --> 00:13:54,501
He just had that attitude,
he was a tough little prick.
247
00:13:54,534 --> 00:13:57,905
But they like tough little
pricks when you're in combat.
248
00:13:59,439 --> 00:14:02,742
They don't want that, you
know, milk toasty guy.
249
00:14:02,775 --> 00:14:04,544
- He was full of fire, you know.
250
00:14:05,445 --> 00:14:07,547
And always willing to go,
251
00:14:08,415 --> 00:14:10,217
willing to do whatever
needs to be done.
252
00:14:11,551 --> 00:14:14,587
- We would get these telegrams,
"Your son has been wounded."
253
00:14:16,056 --> 00:14:20,060
And then a week or less later
we get another telegram,
254
00:14:20,093 --> 00:14:22,195
"He's back in action again."
255
00:14:22,229 --> 00:14:25,565
So even then,
his wounds didn't stop him
256
00:14:25,598 --> 00:14:28,135
from carrying out his mission.
257
00:14:29,302 --> 00:14:30,337
- That motherfucker's tough.
258
00:14:30,370 --> 00:14:32,005
There was a lot of respect
for that guy,
259
00:14:32,039 --> 00:14:34,041
he is a tough son of a bitch.
260
00:14:34,074 --> 00:14:37,077
- One thing I didn't notice
about Richard right away,
261
00:14:37,110 --> 00:14:39,412
it was, he kind of leaned
toward the ruthless side
262
00:14:39,446 --> 00:14:43,050
a little bit, he was
pretty tough on the enemy.
263
00:14:43,083 --> 00:14:46,886
At that point there were
no prisoners being taken,
264
00:14:46,920 --> 00:14:49,589
and I don't know if that
was Richard's doing or not,
265
00:14:49,622 --> 00:14:52,292
but he certainly
didn't show any emotion
266
00:14:52,325 --> 00:14:54,727
towards what had happened.
267
00:14:54,761 --> 00:14:58,731
When Flaherty and I did the
operation sweeping the village,
268
00:14:58,765 --> 00:15:01,768
going down, we were actually
on opposite sides of the river.
269
00:15:01,801 --> 00:15:03,403
And I think
it was in what we called
270
00:15:03,436 --> 00:15:04,771
the Eight Click Vill
at that time.
271
00:15:04,804 --> 00:15:08,308
It was this long
8,000-meter village
272
00:15:08,341 --> 00:15:11,044
that ran with a river
running through it
273
00:15:11,078 --> 00:15:15,048
and it was a known area where
you're gonna get contact.
274
00:15:15,082 --> 00:15:16,950
You never went
in the Eight Click Vill
275
00:15:16,984 --> 00:15:19,752
without running into the enemy.
276
00:15:19,786 --> 00:15:22,822
For some reason they just
kept coming back there.
277
00:15:22,855 --> 00:15:27,060
And so we're doing a sweep
and my unit had jumped some
278
00:15:27,094 --> 00:15:31,931
North Vietnamese and Viet Cong
on one side of the river.
279
00:15:31,965 --> 00:15:38,605
And we shot several of
them, but they weren't dead.
280
00:15:38,638 --> 00:15:42,309
And I was gonna call for
a medevac helicopter,
281
00:15:42,342 --> 00:15:44,978
you know, a dust off, to
get them out of there,
282
00:15:45,012 --> 00:15:47,080
'cause I had the medics work
on them and it looked like,
283
00:15:47,114 --> 00:15:49,516
okay well they're about as
stable as they're gonna get.
284
00:15:49,549 --> 00:15:52,152
And so I'm radioing over
to Richard and I said,
285
00:15:53,153 --> 00:15:56,956
I've got two Victor Charlie WIA.
286
00:15:56,990 --> 00:16:00,193
And he said, "Roger,
two Victor Charlie KIA,"
287
00:16:00,227 --> 00:16:02,295
and I said, no, no, WIA.
288
00:16:03,363 --> 00:16:05,532
You know, Whiskey India Alpha.
289
00:16:05,565 --> 00:16:09,002
And he says, "No," he kept
coming back with the KIA.
290
00:16:09,036 --> 00:16:10,037
And I knew what he was saying,
291
00:16:10,070 --> 00:16:11,871
'cause he was saying basically,
292
00:16:11,904 --> 00:16:16,176
Let's just move on,
kill them, let's just go."
293
00:16:16,209 --> 00:16:18,511
And I had guys in my platoon
that are looking at me,
294
00:16:18,545 --> 00:16:21,981
going, "No,
we don't want to do this."
295
00:16:22,015 --> 00:16:24,184
And so I said, "No, we're
gonna evacuate them."
296
00:16:24,217 --> 00:16:25,285
And I made Richard stand down
297
00:16:25,318 --> 00:16:27,354
and wait 'til we got
a chopper in there.
298
00:16:30,057 --> 00:16:31,724
That's the way he was.
I don't know that he took
299
00:16:31,758 --> 00:16:33,926
many prisoners,
if he ever took prisoners.
300
00:16:35,028 --> 00:16:38,031
A lot of things that happened
like that over there,
301
00:16:38,065 --> 00:16:40,800
we just, as soon as it was
over you forgot about it.
302
00:16:40,833 --> 00:16:43,002
It wasn't anything
worth talking about,
303
00:16:43,036 --> 00:16:45,205
'cause I'm not gonna do anything
to him
304
00:16:45,238 --> 00:16:47,040
from a legal standpoint
or anything like that,
305
00:16:47,074 --> 00:16:48,708
and he certainly
wasn't gonna do it to me.
306
00:16:48,741 --> 00:16:50,210
I mean, he could've shot
somebody right in front of me,
307
00:16:50,243 --> 00:16:52,145
I wouldn't have cared,
I'd have gone,
308
00:16:52,179 --> 00:16:54,147
"Ah, I wish you hadn't
have done that, Richard."
309
00:16:54,181 --> 00:16:55,248
And then an hour later
310
00:16:55,282 --> 00:16:57,817
I wouldn't have thought
about it again.
311
00:16:57,850 --> 00:16:59,186
Later on in the tour,
312
00:16:59,219 --> 00:17:01,721
I became Richard's
company commander.
313
00:17:01,754 --> 00:17:04,991
So now he's still platoon
leader, he's reporting to me.
314
00:17:05,024 --> 00:17:07,760
He came in one time
to come see me,
315
00:17:07,794 --> 00:17:10,997
and Richard would wear
this revolver on his hip,
316
00:17:11,030 --> 00:17:12,999
and it had white handles on it,
317
00:17:13,032 --> 00:17:14,734
almost like a pearl handle
type revolver.
318
00:17:14,767 --> 00:17:16,069
I have no idea what
that was really made of,
319
00:17:16,103 --> 00:17:19,038
but that's what it looked
like, it was like a six gun.
320
00:17:19,072 --> 00:17:22,709
And he took it out of the
holster and pointed it at me,
321
00:17:22,742 --> 00:17:25,212
and he's smiling,
and he spun it back
322
00:17:25,245 --> 00:17:27,880
and put it back in the holster.
323
00:17:27,914 --> 00:17:29,082
And then he does it again.
324
00:17:29,116 --> 00:17:31,518
Now, we haven't really
said a word to each other,
325
00:17:31,551 --> 00:17:32,785
and he puts it back
in the holster,
326
00:17:32,819 --> 00:17:34,187
and he's smiling all this time.
327
00:17:34,221 --> 00:17:38,225
And I had my rifle down like
this, and I went click, click
328
00:17:38,258 --> 00:17:40,227
Which goes from basically safe
329
00:17:40,260 --> 00:17:42,195
to full automatic,
and he heard that.
330
00:17:42,229 --> 00:17:44,131
I said, "Richard, if that clears
331
00:17:44,164 --> 00:17:46,899
that holster again,
I'm gonna stitch you
332
00:17:46,933 --> 00:17:48,968
from your toes
to the top of your head."
333
00:17:49,802 --> 00:17:52,071
And he just looked at me
and smiled,
334
00:17:52,105 --> 00:17:54,207
and he turned around
and walked away.
335
00:17:54,241 --> 00:17:56,243
He never said a word during
that whole encounter.
336
00:17:56,276 --> 00:17:58,145
I was the only one that talked.
337
00:17:58,178 --> 00:17:59,312
- [Yuzuk]
Why do you think he did that?
338
00:17:59,346 --> 00:18:01,381
- To get a reaction from me.
339
00:18:01,414 --> 00:18:03,216
He wanted to see what I'd do.
340
00:18:03,250 --> 00:18:04,784
See if he could scare me.
341
00:18:04,817 --> 00:18:06,319
- You know,
he'd look for a fight.
342
00:18:06,353 --> 00:18:08,155
I asked him one day,
343
00:18:08,188 --> 00:18:11,558
"Hey, you've gotten
in any trouble lately?"
344
00:18:11,591 --> 00:18:14,227
He said, "No,
but I'm looking for some." You know.
345
00:18:14,261 --> 00:18:17,964
- In late summer of
'68, I was listening in
346
00:18:17,997 --> 00:18:21,668
on the battalion net,
and the recon platoon,
347
00:18:21,701 --> 00:18:23,970
which Richard was commanding
at time,
348
00:18:24,003 --> 00:18:27,106
had come into contact with a
large NVA force, which was,
349
00:18:27,140 --> 00:18:29,142
I don't know
if we ever really determined
350
00:18:29,176 --> 00:18:30,243
how big the force was,
but it was
351
00:18:30,277 --> 00:18:32,845
a lot larger
than his recon platoon.
352
00:18:32,879 --> 00:18:35,748
They had set up
a defensive perimeter,
353
00:18:35,782 --> 00:18:37,684
and they were being
attacked all night long.
354
00:18:37,717 --> 00:18:40,119
The NVA, their purpose
was to overrun them,
355
00:18:40,153 --> 00:18:42,589
to basically kill
every one of them.
356
00:18:42,622 --> 00:18:44,324
And nobody ever had it
in their mind that they
357
00:18:44,357 --> 00:18:46,426
were gonna surrender,
and I can guarantee you,
358
00:18:46,459 --> 00:18:48,127
in Richard's platoon
that was not a thought
359
00:18:48,161 --> 00:18:50,297
that anybody would have.
They're not gonna surrender.
360
00:18:50,330 --> 00:18:53,266
And the fight began and
they fought all night long.
361
00:18:53,300 --> 00:18:55,302
They found
with everything they had.
362
00:18:56,303 --> 00:18:58,137
A lot of them became casualties.
363
00:18:58,171 --> 00:19:00,940
In fact, I think probably
a majority of the platoon
364
00:19:00,973 --> 00:19:03,676
with some type of casualty,
either killed or wounded,
365
00:19:03,710 --> 00:19:07,314
but in the morning, they came
out of it and with the ones
366
00:19:07,347 --> 00:19:10,116
that were left, that
were still able to fight,
367
00:19:10,149 --> 00:19:13,820
that fought all through
the night, they killed,
368
00:19:13,853 --> 00:19:18,391
I don't want to say 100,
but probably close to that,
369
00:19:18,425 --> 00:19:21,328
of North Vietnamese were
killed in that engagement.
370
00:19:21,361 --> 00:19:23,363
It was a big pile of NVA dead
371
00:19:23,396 --> 00:19:25,332
around them,
but they were still there.
372
00:19:25,365 --> 00:19:27,066
And Richard
commanded that whole thing.
373
00:19:27,099 --> 00:19:28,301
Nobody could get to him.
374
00:19:28,335 --> 00:19:30,303
The last thing you ever want
to do is run out of ammunition,
375
00:19:30,337 --> 00:19:33,406
and I'm sure that night he was
probably getting close to it,
376
00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:35,642
and I heard nothing
on the net that night
377
00:19:35,675 --> 00:19:38,311
that indicated he was
getting any form of relief.
378
00:19:38,345 --> 00:19:40,247
They couldn't have
done an airdrop
379
00:19:40,280 --> 00:19:41,848
into a tight perimeter
like that,
380
00:19:41,881 --> 00:19:44,417
you'd probably be giving
it to the North Vietnamese.
381
00:19:44,451 --> 00:19:47,587
Yeah, you can't be that
pinpoint accurate on an airdrop.
382
00:19:47,620 --> 00:19:51,558
Richard had several
casualties, and just constant.
383
00:19:51,591 --> 00:19:53,326
All of us did, I don't know if
384
00:19:53,360 --> 00:19:55,194
he lost more than others or not.
385
00:19:55,228 --> 00:19:57,497
He was
a very aggressive officer,
386
00:19:57,530 --> 00:20:01,534
so there's a chance that he
would have lost more people,
387
00:20:01,568 --> 00:20:03,703
because he was very aggressive
and move
388
00:20:03,736 --> 00:20:06,739
into contact
to engage the enemy.
389
00:20:06,773 --> 00:20:09,242
But I can tell you that
his men didn't rebel
390
00:20:09,276 --> 00:20:11,744
against him for that
because they trusted him.
391
00:20:11,778 --> 00:20:13,713
- As far as being
a good platoon leader,
392
00:20:13,746 --> 00:20:17,384
I think he done
an outstanding job.
393
00:20:17,417 --> 00:20:19,218
- The first time
I met Richard Flaherty
394
00:20:19,252 --> 00:20:22,789
was when I was, I checked
into the team house
395
00:20:22,822 --> 00:20:24,791
in Houlihan to relieve him
of his command.
396
00:20:24,824 --> 00:20:29,529
I was taking over that
detachment, and we shook hands,
397
00:20:29,562 --> 00:20:32,399
we were of the same rank, so
we didn't exchange salutes,
398
00:20:32,432 --> 00:20:35,702
but we shook hands and he
briefed me on the team.
399
00:20:35,735 --> 00:20:38,305
We trained
the Thai border patrol police,
400
00:20:38,338 --> 00:20:42,074
in an operation similar to what
US Army's Special Forces do.
401
00:20:42,108 --> 00:20:44,711
Their assigned duties
were to patrol
402
00:20:44,744 --> 00:20:47,246
the borders of Cambodia
and Laos and Burma.
403
00:20:47,280 --> 00:20:49,749
I asked him some questions about
404
00:20:49,782 --> 00:20:52,319
where he'd been and he
related he had been,
405
00:20:52,352 --> 00:20:54,887
he was formally with the
101st Airborne Division
406
00:20:54,921 --> 00:20:57,590
in Vietnam and he got wounded.
407
00:20:57,624 --> 00:21:00,560
Later on I found out he
also got the Silver Star.
408
00:21:00,593 --> 00:21:03,129
He had a demeanor about him
which says,
409
00:21:03,162 --> 00:21:05,832
you would command
and respect it sometimes,
410
00:21:05,865 --> 00:21:07,867
and then he had
a great sense of humor.
411
00:21:09,969 --> 00:21:13,005
Being short, he had a
little Napoleonic attitude,
412
00:21:13,039 --> 00:21:17,444
but that carried him in
his career in the military.
413
00:21:17,477 --> 00:21:20,079
- [Yuzuk] After leaving the
military, Richard told me
414
00:21:20,112 --> 00:21:22,014
he's gonna try his hand
in the garment industry
415
00:21:22,048 --> 00:21:25,117
and open up a clothing factory.
416
00:21:25,151 --> 00:21:27,487
- He wanted
to start his own business.
417
00:21:29,789 --> 00:21:32,425
And apparently
didn't go very well
418
00:21:32,459 --> 00:21:35,595
because he had ordered spools,
419
00:21:35,628 --> 00:21:38,331
you know
how spools of material come in?
420
00:21:38,365 --> 00:21:40,367
Well, by the spool.
421
00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:44,437
They ended up in my
father's cellar. (Laughs)
422
00:21:44,471 --> 00:21:46,806
And so I don't think
he got very far.
423
00:21:46,839 --> 00:21:48,608
- He was kind of a character.
424
00:21:48,641 --> 00:21:50,610
At one time
he had a clothing factory,
425
00:21:50,643 --> 00:21:53,045
it didn't go well
and I bought him out.
426
00:21:53,079 --> 00:21:56,048
I bought maybe 10,000 garments
that he had
427
00:21:56,082 --> 00:21:58,985
left, whatever.
Children's wear.
428
00:21:59,018 --> 00:22:01,320
I bought it all out
for $1 a piece
429
00:22:01,354 --> 00:22:03,623
or whatever.
Something like that.
430
00:22:03,656 --> 00:22:06,359
- [Yuzuk] Although the garment
industry didn't work out,
431
00:22:06,393 --> 00:22:09,362
he did say it was worth
it because at the factory,
432
00:22:09,396 --> 00:22:12,331
he met his girlfriend,
Jill Cohen.
433
00:22:12,365 --> 00:22:15,502
They eventually moved to
Miami, where she was offered
434
00:22:15,535 --> 00:22:19,305
a teaching job,
and then they got engaged.
435
00:22:19,338 --> 00:22:21,808
- He was easygoing, very mellow.
436
00:22:21,841 --> 00:22:23,510
He spoke very mellow.
437
00:22:23,543 --> 00:22:27,380
Told me how he had
a six-foot brother.
438
00:22:27,414 --> 00:22:28,648
I said, "What happened to you?"
439
00:22:28,681 --> 00:22:32,719
He said, "I'm part Italian
and part Irish." (Laughs)
440
00:22:32,752 --> 00:22:35,054
I said, "Oh you got the
Italian in you, then."
441
00:22:37,524 --> 00:22:40,159
He would mention
little things like that.
442
00:22:40,192 --> 00:22:44,864
He'd mention about the girlfriend he had,
she was Jewish,
443
00:22:44,897 --> 00:22:47,400
and for that reason the
family didn't like him.
444
00:22:48,768 --> 00:22:52,905
And she was killed in a car
accident on 163rd Street.
445
00:22:56,876 --> 00:22:58,377
- [Yuzuk]
The police report stated she was
446
00:22:58,411 --> 00:23:00,413
killed in a one car accident.
447
00:23:00,447 --> 00:23:02,381
That she was driving
at a high rate of speed
448
00:23:02,415 --> 00:23:04,551
and she just lost control
of her vehicle.
449
00:23:05,618 --> 00:23:08,621
- [Fred] And he said that it's
the only woman he ever really
450
00:23:08,655 --> 00:23:11,558
trusted and really felt like
that he had a connection with.
451
00:23:16,395 --> 00:23:19,732
- [Yuzuk] After the death of
Jill Cohen, Richard's life took
452
00:23:19,766 --> 00:23:24,103
a dark turn and his alcohol
intake spiraled out of control.
453
00:23:24,136 --> 00:23:28,407
- About 1976, 1977, he came in,
454
00:23:28,441 --> 00:23:31,478
and he found me,
I don't know how.
455
00:23:31,511 --> 00:23:34,080
I was living in a different
house in Hollywood,
456
00:23:34,113 --> 00:23:36,583
and he came in
about 11 o'clock at night,
457
00:23:36,616 --> 00:23:38,250
and he had a rifle
he wanted to sell me.
458
00:23:38,284 --> 00:23:40,587
An AR-15 rifle.
459
00:23:40,620 --> 00:23:42,722
I know nothing about it,
now I would've bought it.
460
00:23:42,755 --> 00:23:43,923
Now everybody's into guns.
461
00:23:43,956 --> 00:23:46,826
He just came over my house,
he needed some money,
462
00:23:46,859 --> 00:23:49,929
he wanted about $150 bucks,
and I said no.
463
00:23:49,962 --> 00:23:53,099
I didn't know if he ever
used it on somebody.
464
00:23:53,132 --> 00:23:53,966
What do I know?
465
00:23:55,167 --> 00:23:58,905
- 1976, I was in Tampa,
he was in Miami.
466
00:23:58,938 --> 00:24:01,608
He gave me a call and he said,
467
00:24:01,641 --> 00:24:03,576
"Can I come and visit you
for a few days?"
468
00:24:03,610 --> 00:24:08,114
And I was a little wary
of that, but "Okay, sure.
469
00:24:08,147 --> 00:24:09,782
Supper will be ready for you."
470
00:24:09,816 --> 00:24:12,952
So six o'clock rolls
around, he's not there.
471
00:24:12,985 --> 00:24:15,154
Seven, eight o'clock
he's not there.
472
00:24:15,187 --> 00:24:16,155
I just went to bed.
473
00:24:17,356 --> 00:24:20,793
Then, two o'clock
in the morning,
474
00:24:20,827 --> 00:24:23,129
boom, boom, boom,
at the front door.
475
00:24:23,162 --> 00:24:26,198
I opened it up,
and Richard's there.
476
00:24:26,232 --> 00:24:30,870
And he's completely drunk,
yelling and screaming.
477
00:24:30,903 --> 00:24:35,942
He came into the house,
pulled out a gun, loaded gun,
478
00:24:35,975 --> 00:24:38,545
told me about somebody
he wanted to kill,
479
00:24:38,578 --> 00:24:40,513
and how horrible humanity is,
480
00:24:40,547 --> 00:24:45,384
and that sort of thing kept
up at my house for three days.
481
00:24:45,417 --> 00:24:48,387
On and off, very drunk,
482
00:24:48,420 --> 00:24:51,323
yelling obscenities,
waving guns around.
483
00:24:51,357 --> 00:24:52,692
- He wanted me to come see him,
484
00:24:52,725 --> 00:24:53,893
and I never went down
to see him.
485
00:24:53,926 --> 00:24:56,663
'Cause he'd say, "Will,
you come down to Miami
486
00:24:56,696 --> 00:24:58,297
and we'll hang out,
we'll do this,"
487
00:24:58,330 --> 00:25:00,499
and I never really went down there because I still had kind of a,
488
00:25:00,533 --> 00:25:04,370
yeah, I don't know about
Flaherty stuff. (Laugh)
489
00:25:04,403 --> 00:25:07,640
I always thought he was a little
on the edge, and I thought,
490
00:25:07,674 --> 00:25:09,909
well, I don't know if I'd go
hang out with Flaherty again,
491
00:25:09,942 --> 00:25:12,712
'cause we weren't always on
the friendliest of terms.
492
00:25:12,745 --> 00:25:16,716
- He had a kitchen
counter, it was a kitchen,
493
00:25:16,749 --> 00:25:19,151
but a counter, he didn't
have a kitchen table.
494
00:25:19,185 --> 00:25:21,654
And had the chairs under
the counter, right?
495
00:25:21,688 --> 00:25:24,724
And the counter happened to
be facing the front door,
496
00:25:24,757 --> 00:25:27,594
so he had to go to work
at 11 o'clock at night,
497
00:25:27,627 --> 00:25:31,664
and he, I can't remember
how he hooked it up,
498
00:25:31,698 --> 00:25:35,768
the Uzi, to stand up, it
was standing on the counter,
499
00:25:35,802 --> 00:25:38,237
and he said, "If somebody opens
that door, you shoot them.
500
00:25:38,270 --> 00:25:39,706
You pull the trigger."
501
00:25:39,739 --> 00:25:41,107
I said, "I can't do that."
502
00:25:41,140 --> 00:25:43,542
He said,
"If somebody tries to get
503
00:25:43,576 --> 00:25:46,512
in this house,
pull that trigger."
504
00:25:46,545 --> 00:25:49,949
Oh, now do you think
I could go to sleep?
505
00:25:51,618 --> 00:25:54,220
- [Yuzuk] Richard's downward
spiral continued until
506
00:25:54,253 --> 00:25:57,556
he was arrested for possession
with intent to distribute
507
00:25:57,590 --> 00:25:59,726
a large amount
of marijuana and cocaine.
508
00:26:00,893 --> 00:26:02,929
As a police officer,
when you look
509
00:26:02,962 --> 00:26:05,932
at Richard's overall record,
it's an anomaly
510
00:26:05,965 --> 00:26:09,201
because usually with drug
dealers you'll see them
511
00:26:09,235 --> 00:26:12,939
getting arrested numerous
times throughout their lives.
512
00:26:12,972 --> 00:26:14,807
For Richard,
this was his one and only
513
00:26:14,841 --> 00:26:16,943
big pop
in the drug distribution world.
514
00:26:18,344 --> 00:26:20,613
Richard was able to get
the state attorney's office
515
00:26:20,647 --> 00:26:23,315
to drop most of the charges,
and ended up
516
00:26:23,349 --> 00:26:26,418
only serving a minimal time
in jail.
517
00:26:27,687 --> 00:26:29,789
And then, strange as it seems,
518
00:26:29,822 --> 00:26:32,759
somehow two old friends
meet again.
519
00:26:32,792 --> 00:26:34,961
- I started to work
for a car dealership
520
00:26:34,994 --> 00:26:38,865
in south Miami,
Perine, actually.
521
00:26:39,999 --> 00:26:43,670
And I'm sitting there at
my desk one day, and we had
522
00:26:43,703 --> 00:26:47,606
an ad running in the local
paper looking for sales help.
523
00:26:47,640 --> 00:26:50,643
And in through the door
comes this short individual.
524
00:26:50,677 --> 00:26:53,145
I paid no attention, and as
soon as he opened his mouth
525
00:26:53,179 --> 00:26:55,982
to the receptionist, he
was barely able to reach
526
00:26:56,015 --> 00:26:59,686
the top of the counter,
I yelled out, "Flaherty."
527
00:26:59,719 --> 00:27:03,756
And then he turned around, and
I ran up to him, we hugged.
528
00:27:03,790 --> 00:27:06,625
No, not hugged, what a
six foot one individual
529
00:27:06,659 --> 00:27:08,761
would do to a four foot
eight, but we hugged,
530
00:27:08,795 --> 00:27:12,665
and we had a great little short
reunion, and he got the job.
531
00:27:12,699 --> 00:27:15,668
And we used
to go clubbing together,
532
00:27:15,702 --> 00:27:18,137
and in Miami, at that time,
533
00:27:18,170 --> 00:27:21,207
there were several places
that were open 24 hours a day.
534
00:27:21,240 --> 00:27:24,844
So we hung out together
and we did what young
535
00:27:24,877 --> 00:27:28,447
mid-20-year-old guys
did who were veterans.
536
00:27:28,480 --> 00:27:30,416
And had fun.
537
00:27:31,083 --> 00:27:32,384
Being of short stature,
538
00:27:32,418 --> 00:27:38,124
Richard didn't take a lot
to get him inebriated.
539
00:27:38,157 --> 00:27:40,192
- [Yuzuk]
Ever have to carry him?
540
00:27:40,226 --> 00:27:41,728
- Actually, yes.
541
00:27:41,761 --> 00:27:43,495
- [Yuzuk] Just scooping him up
and carrying him to the car?
542
00:27:43,529 --> 00:27:44,697
- Yeah.
543
00:27:44,731 --> 00:27:46,833
Or carrying him like a cradle,
cradle him.
544
00:27:46,866 --> 00:27:48,768
He wasn't that heavy.
545
00:27:49,601 --> 00:27:50,903
- [Yuzuk]
Do you remember that night,
546
00:27:50,937 --> 00:27:52,038
like what was the circumstances?
547
00:27:52,071 --> 00:27:53,539
- No, no,
I don't remember that night.
548
00:27:53,572 --> 00:27:55,507
There were too many
of those nights.
549
00:27:55,541 --> 00:27:57,376
- I had an apartment
for a little while,
550
00:27:57,409 --> 00:28:00,913
after I get out of the
Navy, he'd come over,
551
00:28:00,947 --> 00:28:03,816
we had a big dresser like that,
552
00:28:03,850 --> 00:28:05,684
he'd pull out the bottom drawer,
553
00:28:05,718 --> 00:28:08,921
throw his blanket in,
and he'd go to sleep. (Laughs)
554
00:28:08,955 --> 00:28:13,225
He was a character, he did
silly stuff like that, I guess.
555
00:28:14,894 --> 00:28:16,262
- [Yuzuk]
The 1980s starts another
556
00:28:16,295 --> 00:28:18,865
interesting chapter
in Richard's life.
557
00:28:18,898 --> 00:28:20,733
First thing,
he re-ups with the Army
558
00:28:20,767 --> 00:28:22,268
and becomes a reservist captain
559
00:28:22,301 --> 00:28:24,937
in the Green Berets,
serving out of Fort Bragg.
560
00:28:26,305 --> 00:28:29,508
He also starts working undercover in a federal operation
561
00:28:29,541 --> 00:28:33,212
that, to this day, is
still partially classified.
562
00:28:33,245 --> 00:28:36,048
- He was arrested,
and there was threat of him
563
00:28:36,082 --> 00:28:41,854
going to jail for gun running,
selling guns.
564
00:28:41,888 --> 00:28:45,691
- He was working with the Cubans,
the-anti Castro people,
565
00:28:45,724 --> 00:28:49,195
and they had an armory
or something in the swamp,
566
00:28:49,228 --> 00:28:53,632
or woods or something,
and he took the fall for it.
567
00:28:53,665 --> 00:28:54,867
- [Yuzuk] Richard was also part
568
00:28:54,901 --> 00:28:57,603
of a right wing
anti-Castro group
569
00:28:57,636 --> 00:29:00,072
that was training soldiers
in the everglades.
570
00:29:00,106 --> 00:29:03,275
Most experts speculate that
the entire training unit
571
00:29:03,309 --> 00:29:05,945
was a covert
CIA backed-operation
572
00:29:05,978 --> 00:29:09,281
put in place to stop
the spread of communism.
573
00:29:09,315 --> 00:29:12,651
Richard was suspected of not
only training the rebels,
574
00:29:12,684 --> 00:29:15,955
but also providing them
with weapons.
575
00:29:17,256 --> 00:29:19,325
- [Newsreader] This is
Al Dempsey in Miami.
576
00:29:19,358 --> 00:29:21,828
Just five minutes away
from Miami Beach's
577
00:29:21,861 --> 00:29:24,130
lush, modern
million dollar hotels,
578
00:29:24,163 --> 00:29:28,434
men are training to fight
Fidel Castro's armies.
579
00:29:28,467 --> 00:29:30,837
- [Yuzuk] I remembered that
Richard did tell me he worked
580
00:29:30,870 --> 00:29:33,772
for Bushmaster Rifles
throughout his life.
581
00:29:33,806 --> 00:29:35,274
I called the company and spoke
582
00:29:35,307 --> 00:29:37,776
to a gentleman
named Mack Win Jr.
583
00:29:37,810 --> 00:29:40,847
He told me that his dad Mack
Sr. Started the company,
584
00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:44,150
and it was eventually changed
to the name Bushmaster
585
00:29:44,183 --> 00:29:47,453
and confirmed that Richard
did work for his dad.
586
00:29:47,486 --> 00:29:48,921
- [Woman]
It seems the tools of terrorists
587
00:29:48,955 --> 00:29:50,957
and fanatics
aren't hard to come by
588
00:29:50,990 --> 00:29:53,659
because they're stolen
from our military bases.
589
00:29:54,660 --> 00:29:55,995
- [Newsreader]
Sergeant Byron Carlisle
590
00:29:56,028 --> 00:29:59,465
and Sergeant Keith Anderson,
both Fort Bragg Green Berets,
591
00:29:59,498 --> 00:30:01,834
triggered the
Inspector General's report.
592
00:30:01,868 --> 00:30:04,170
Both men were charged with
selling large quantities
593
00:30:04,203 --> 00:30:07,106
of stolen munitions
to undercover agents.
594
00:30:07,139 --> 00:30:09,341
You are about to watch
one of their transactions
595
00:30:09,375 --> 00:30:12,611
as captured
by a hidden government camera.
596
00:30:12,644 --> 00:30:15,181
The videotape was made
in a Key West motel
597
00:30:15,214 --> 00:30:16,815
where Sergeant Anderson,
on the right,
598
00:30:16,849 --> 00:30:19,986
is selling grenades to
an undercover agent.
599
00:30:20,019 --> 00:30:22,321
Before they were arrested,
Anderson and Carlisle
600
00:30:22,354 --> 00:30:25,958
had arranged to collect some
$65,000 for this inventory
601
00:30:25,992 --> 00:30:28,460
that included
more than 60,000 rounds
602
00:30:28,494 --> 00:30:31,830
of small arms ammunition,
24 land mines, 30 grenades,
603
00:30:31,864 --> 00:30:37,036
20 pounds of TNT, and 36
half pound blocks of C-4.
604
00:30:37,069 --> 00:30:39,171
- A lot of weapons
were being walked
605
00:30:39,205 --> 00:30:40,973
out the door
by trusted individuals.
606
00:30:41,007 --> 00:30:46,045
They weren't being taken by
some guy in a ski mask at night.
607
00:30:46,078 --> 00:30:49,748
And in those days, munitions
were the equivalent of cash.
608
00:30:49,781 --> 00:30:51,317
There's no difference.
609
00:30:51,350 --> 00:30:55,354
Whatever you took, from a
bullet to a hand grenade
610
00:30:55,387 --> 00:30:59,892
to a claymore mine,
to a whatever, it had cash value.
611
00:30:59,926 --> 00:31:03,996
- I had heard about Richard
many times from several
612
00:31:04,030 --> 00:31:07,566
of the agents that he was
a former military guy,
613
00:31:07,599 --> 00:31:10,736
that he had been arrested
on a silencer case,
614
00:31:10,769 --> 00:31:12,538
and I also knew he had
a narcotics background,
615
00:31:12,571 --> 00:31:16,075
and so as a result of that,
I approached the control agent,
616
00:31:16,108 --> 00:31:17,910
and asked him,
"Look, would you mind
617
00:31:17,944 --> 00:31:20,279
if I took control of Richard
and started using him?"
618
00:31:20,312 --> 00:31:22,548
And so I made arrangements
to meet with Richard.
619
00:31:22,581 --> 00:31:24,550
My first impressions of
Richard, when he walked in,
620
00:31:24,583 --> 00:31:27,019
he was four foot 10, so
I didn't really believe
621
00:31:27,053 --> 00:31:29,288
that he was who he said he was.
622
00:31:29,321 --> 00:31:31,257
He didn't trust me,
and I didn't trust him,
623
00:31:31,290 --> 00:31:33,359
which is obvious
for any type of thing.
624
00:31:33,392 --> 00:31:34,693
But then I started
giving him my background
625
00:31:34,726 --> 00:31:36,095
and telling him a little
bit what's going on,
626
00:31:36,128 --> 00:31:37,729
he knew that I knew what
I was talking about,
627
00:31:37,763 --> 00:31:39,932
about Fort Bragg, he knew
all the pieces up there,
628
00:31:39,966 --> 00:31:41,733
he knew all the players,
and I did too.
629
00:31:41,767 --> 00:31:42,935
And really, from that point on,
630
00:31:42,969 --> 00:31:45,471
Richard was always
very faithful to me.
631
00:31:45,504 --> 00:31:47,906
I either called him
on the phone,
632
00:31:47,940 --> 00:31:49,475
he'd call me right back,
or he would call me saying
633
00:31:49,508 --> 00:31:52,711
that "So and so called me,
and what do you want to do?"
634
00:31:52,744 --> 00:31:54,981
And so from that point on, we
really hit it off pretty well.
635
00:31:55,014 --> 00:31:56,415
And I did trust him,
'cause he understands
636
00:31:56,448 --> 00:31:58,450
an undercover officer,
when you walk into
637
00:31:58,484 --> 00:32:00,319
an undercover meeting
the first time
638
00:32:00,352 --> 00:32:02,989
with a bad guy,
you are very, very,
639
00:32:03,022 --> 00:32:06,592
very nervous that a lot
of things could go wrong.
640
00:32:06,625 --> 00:32:08,094
Is it a rip off?
641
00:32:08,127 --> 00:32:09,962
ATF agent's been killed in Miami,
DEA's been killed,
642
00:32:09,996 --> 00:32:12,231
FBI's been killed on that
first initial meeting
643
00:32:12,264 --> 00:32:13,932
when they're meeting bad
guys they don't know.
644
00:32:13,966 --> 00:32:15,834
And so that's what you
got to worry about.
645
00:32:15,867 --> 00:32:18,404
I'm going off of Richard's
rapport with these guys
646
00:32:18,437 --> 00:32:20,506
that they're gonna
accept me when I come in.
647
00:32:20,539 --> 00:32:21,740
What was my role?
648
00:32:21,773 --> 00:32:23,242
I was a drug dealer
out of Miami, Florida.
649
00:32:23,275 --> 00:32:24,510
What my cover was?
650
00:32:24,543 --> 00:32:26,812
I was up in Charlotte
trying to collect money
651
00:32:26,845 --> 00:32:31,117
from a guy that owes, you know,
100, $2,000 in payment
652
00:32:32,218 --> 00:32:35,321
for a drug shipment that
never made it up here.
653
00:32:35,354 --> 00:32:37,423
Richard met me
at the office in Miami,
654
00:32:37,456 --> 00:32:40,792
and we contacted Keith Anderson,
655
00:32:40,826 --> 00:32:43,129
who was one of the first
defendants that we met.
656
00:32:43,162 --> 00:32:45,497
When Richard talked to
Anderson on the phone, he said
657
00:32:45,531 --> 00:32:49,035
he had a contact down in Miami
that was in the business,
658
00:32:49,068 --> 00:32:51,770
and he said, but this guy
can probably provide you with
659
00:32:51,803 --> 00:32:54,340
everything that you need and
had the money to do it also.
660
00:32:54,373 --> 00:32:56,842
He said, so you know,
"We want to come up
661
00:32:56,875 --> 00:32:59,011
and see you, and then we
can talk further about it."
662
00:32:59,045 --> 00:33:02,881
But my contact in Miami,
meeting me, is into ordnance,
663
00:33:02,914 --> 00:33:05,984
is into weapons, is into
anything that they can provide
664
00:33:06,018 --> 00:33:09,055
to the cartel
down in South America.
665
00:33:09,088 --> 00:33:11,323
And so at which time
Anderson bought it
666
00:33:11,357 --> 00:33:13,725
and he said come up
and let's talk about it.
667
00:33:13,759 --> 00:33:16,028
Richard and I flew up
to a small hotel up
668
00:33:16,062 --> 00:33:18,230
there near Fort Bragg,
and Richard got on the phone
669
00:33:18,264 --> 00:33:21,733
and he called and talked to
Keith Anderson on the phone,
670
00:33:21,767 --> 00:33:25,003
again, to the best of
my knowledge, and so he,
671
00:33:25,037 --> 00:33:28,140
Richard hung up the phone,
he said, "He's on his way."
672
00:33:28,174 --> 00:33:30,176
Approximately maybe 20 minutes,
25 minutes later,
673
00:33:30,209 --> 00:33:32,744
there's a knock at the door,
open it up and this big,
674
00:33:32,778 --> 00:33:34,913
burly, stocky guy
comes walking in,
675
00:33:34,946 --> 00:33:37,249
and immediately, he
starts saying, he said,
676
00:33:37,283 --> 00:33:40,219
"Well, good to see you again,
sir," talking to Richard.
677
00:33:40,252 --> 00:33:41,853
So he said, "Captain
Flaherty, how you doing?"
678
00:33:41,887 --> 00:33:43,655
And so, from that point on,
I just felt
679
00:33:43,689 --> 00:33:46,158
that there wasn't
gonna be any problems.
680
00:33:46,192 --> 00:33:48,527
I kinda asked him, "What
are you looking to do?"
681
00:33:48,560 --> 00:33:51,029
And he says,
"Well, I've got friends.
682
00:33:51,063 --> 00:33:53,432
I've got partners
that want to go farther
683
00:33:53,465 --> 00:33:55,267
with this type of stuff,
I can provide you
684
00:33:55,301 --> 00:33:58,604
with ordnance if you can
provide us with narcotics."
685
00:33:58,637 --> 00:34:00,272
And they wanted to control
all the cocaine
686
00:34:00,306 --> 00:34:02,108
that came in
and out of Fort Bragg.
687
00:34:02,141 --> 00:34:05,177
And so, I said, I says,
"Well, what type of ordnance?"
688
00:34:05,211 --> 00:34:07,879
And we went into a long array
of different ordnances he has,
689
00:34:07,913 --> 00:34:10,216
he says, "But I've got," I
forget exactly how much it was
690
00:34:10,249 --> 00:34:12,118
right at that time,
maybe 50 pounds of C-4.
691
00:34:12,151 --> 00:34:16,522
He had det cord, he had
timers, he had fuses,
692
00:34:16,555 --> 00:34:18,557
all that type of stuff,
and he said,
693
00:34:18,590 --> 00:34:20,526
"I can sell it to you tonight."
694
00:34:20,559 --> 00:34:21,727
And so I said, "Alright."
695
00:34:21,760 --> 00:34:23,395
I thought he had to go
somewhere to get it,
696
00:34:23,429 --> 00:34:25,264
well it was in the back
of his truck.
697
00:34:25,297 --> 00:34:27,633
And be brought it in a
big parachute kit bag.
698
00:34:27,666 --> 00:34:29,268
And so he opened it up,
and sure enough
699
00:34:29,301 --> 00:34:31,036
there was everything was in it.
700
00:34:31,069 --> 00:34:32,138
Matter of fact, he even
had more than that,
701
00:34:32,171 --> 00:34:34,273
we had two bags full of stuff.
702
00:34:34,306 --> 00:34:35,474
Flaherty was all over it.
703
00:34:35,507 --> 00:34:37,109
He was like a kid
in a candy store.
704
00:34:37,143 --> 00:34:39,811
And I remember him
picking up a block of C-4
705
00:34:39,845 --> 00:34:44,216
and smelling it, and he says,
"Ah, what a great smell."
706
00:34:44,250 --> 00:34:46,785
I forget how much I paid
for it, I want to say maybe
707
00:34:46,818 --> 00:34:51,123
1,000, maybe 2,000 bucks,
and he was ecstatic.
708
00:34:51,157 --> 00:34:54,426
Anderson was ecstatic, he said,
"I finally found someone
709
00:34:54,460 --> 00:34:57,563
that I think we're gonna be
able to get started with."
710
00:34:57,596 --> 00:34:59,165
And he said he wants to
make arrangements for us
711
00:34:59,198 --> 00:35:02,100
to come back up
and meet his partners.
712
00:35:02,134 --> 00:35:04,470
And he said partners
to begin with,
713
00:35:04,503 --> 00:35:06,772
and so I said,
"Okay, no problem."
714
00:35:06,805 --> 00:35:09,007
Anderson started telling me
about that him
715
00:35:09,040 --> 00:35:11,343
and another guy were involved
in a classified operation
716
00:35:11,377 --> 00:35:13,912
camp that was down
in South America
717
00:35:13,945 --> 00:35:16,782
and that he said,
"We got a very good scheme
718
00:35:16,815 --> 00:35:18,884
of how we can get you
anything you want."
719
00:35:20,286 --> 00:35:22,087
They were telling me that
they could supply me anywhere
720
00:35:22,120 --> 00:35:24,490
from two and a half to five
tons of ordnance a month.
721
00:35:24,523 --> 00:35:27,293
It was what the numbers
that were talked about
722
00:35:27,326 --> 00:35:29,695
in the hotel rooms, and
matter of fact, the last one,
723
00:35:29,728 --> 00:35:33,799
I believe the 105
rounds and stuff like that,
724
00:35:33,832 --> 00:35:37,169
that came to about maybe
two tons of ordnance
725
00:35:37,203 --> 00:35:39,205
that we got and then we
actually took them off.
726
00:35:39,238 --> 00:35:41,340
We finally, we met Anderson,
727
00:35:41,373 --> 00:35:45,043
he came down in a, I want
to say a U Haul truck.
728
00:35:45,076 --> 00:35:48,146
Carlisle stayed, Carlisle
was always the smarter one.
729
00:35:48,180 --> 00:35:49,681
Not saying
that Anderson wasn't smart,
730
00:35:49,715 --> 00:35:51,217
but Carlisle
always kinda figured
731
00:35:51,250 --> 00:35:52,184
out what the main deal was,
732
00:35:52,218 --> 00:35:54,320
and so he stayed
up in Fayetteville,
733
00:35:54,353 --> 00:35:56,955
in his home,
whenever Anderson came down.
734
00:35:56,988 --> 00:35:59,325
And so Anderson came down,
he took all the side roads.
735
00:35:59,358 --> 00:36:01,560
He met us a couple miles
away, it was in a little
736
00:36:01,593 --> 00:36:04,996
orange grove, and we drove
down and as he's following me,
737
00:36:05,030 --> 00:36:08,367
I basically just accelerated
with my car, and then everybody
738
00:36:08,400 --> 00:36:11,069
closed in on him, and took
him off and arrested him.
739
00:36:11,102 --> 00:36:13,305
He got out and he turned around
to go back toward the van,
740
00:36:13,339 --> 00:36:17,343
and I believe he had a
gun in the front seat.
741
00:36:17,376 --> 00:36:18,810
But he never got to it.
742
00:36:18,844 --> 00:36:21,713
- That's clearly, it's the
fish rots from the head down,
743
00:36:21,747 --> 00:36:24,483
and it was an earthquake
when we showed up
744
00:36:24,516 --> 00:36:29,187
and started demanding the
accounting for these items.
745
00:36:29,221 --> 00:36:31,423
- [Newsreader] In their trial,
the sergeants said
746
00:36:31,457 --> 00:36:33,359
they believe the munitions
they stole were
747
00:36:33,392 --> 00:36:36,061
for contra rebels in
Nicaragua and Honduras,
748
00:36:36,094 --> 00:36:37,429
and they thought
they were dealing
749
00:36:37,463 --> 00:36:40,232
with a CIA-connected
arms merchant.
750
00:36:40,266 --> 00:36:43,569
- [Yuzuk] I spoke with Byron Carlisle by phone several times
751
00:36:43,602 --> 00:36:46,538
and he was very adamant about
the fact that he was innocent
752
00:36:46,572 --> 00:36:50,342
and this was a covert CIA
operation being conducted
753
00:36:50,376 --> 00:36:53,379
by Captain Richard J. Flaherty
in order to funnel
754
00:36:53,412 --> 00:36:57,115
weapons down to
the anti-Sandinista guerrillas.
755
00:36:57,148 --> 00:36:58,950
- They came up
with the CIA defense after
756
00:36:58,984 --> 00:37:01,387
the whole thing was over
with, it was never before.
757
00:37:01,420 --> 00:37:04,222
- Their whole defense was a
complete, utter bogus story.
758
00:37:04,256 --> 00:37:06,558
These guys were guilty
all the way
759
00:37:06,592 --> 00:37:08,794
from beginning to end,
and in the case
760
00:37:08,827 --> 00:37:11,930
of Carlisle and Anderson,
it was all about the money.
761
00:37:11,963 --> 00:37:15,100
- I got agent of the year
from US Attorney's office.
762
00:37:15,133 --> 00:37:17,068
We never would've
gotten the case done,
763
00:37:17,102 --> 00:37:19,871
if it hadn't been for Flaherty.
764
00:37:19,905 --> 00:37:22,408
- [Yuzuk] After the excitement
of the undercover case,
765
00:37:22,441 --> 00:37:25,076
Richard takes a job
at the post office.
766
00:37:25,110 --> 00:37:27,879
- He never liked
the post office from day one.
767
00:37:27,913 --> 00:37:31,249
And so he was irritated
big time.
768
00:37:31,283 --> 00:37:34,653
- By the 1990s, according
to Richard's resume,
769
00:37:34,686 --> 00:37:38,457
he was working as a freelance
writer and ironically,
770
00:37:38,490 --> 00:37:41,293
he said he was working
on a documentary titled,
771
00:37:41,327 --> 00:37:45,731
Homelessness: Problems,
Programs, and Solutions.
772
00:37:45,764 --> 00:37:47,799
The ghosts of Richard's past
773
00:37:47,833 --> 00:37:50,836
were starting
to catch up to him.
774
00:37:53,639 --> 00:37:56,141
By the mid '90s,
Richard quits his job
775
00:37:56,174 --> 00:37:59,210
at the post office and starts
living on the streets.
776
00:38:02,548 --> 00:38:05,417
So sometimes at night,
you'd leave here
777
00:38:05,451 --> 00:38:06,785
and you'd see
some stuff going on?
778
00:38:06,818 --> 00:38:08,454
- A couple times, yeah.
779
00:38:08,487 --> 00:38:10,489
I'd heard it once before
but leaving
780
00:38:10,522 --> 00:38:14,025
about 2:30 in the morning,
walking toward
781
00:38:14,059 --> 00:38:16,328
my car out here,
and under the tree
782
00:38:16,362 --> 00:38:20,098
you just hear, like,
these vicious screams.
783
00:38:20,131 --> 00:38:23,469
And it sounded like a struggle
going on, you know.
784
00:38:23,502 --> 00:38:25,036
Walk a little closer, you
don't want to get too close,
785
00:38:25,070 --> 00:38:27,272
you don't know
what's going on over there,
786
00:38:27,305 --> 00:38:29,775
and you get closer and
you see it's just Richard,
787
00:38:29,808 --> 00:38:32,143
you know,
sitting down against the tree
788
00:38:32,177 --> 00:38:35,046
with his hands on his head,
just screaming.
789
00:38:36,415 --> 00:38:39,485
Sounded like he was fighting
for his life, you know?
790
00:38:39,518 --> 00:38:42,354
That's something
I'll never forget.
791
00:38:44,756 --> 00:38:48,527
- He talked
about a few incidents
792
00:38:48,560 --> 00:38:51,530
in the war
that were very unsettling.
793
00:38:52,531 --> 00:38:55,534
We were talking about
the war and how people
794
00:38:55,567 --> 00:38:57,403
don't understand,
this is after he came back,
795
00:38:57,436 --> 00:39:00,639
you know, all the flack
for the Vietnam veterans
796
00:39:00,672 --> 00:39:04,342
and everything, and he said,
"They don't understand.
797
00:39:04,376 --> 00:39:06,712
They don't understand what
it's like being in the jungle.
798
00:39:06,745 --> 00:39:08,213
They don't understand.
799
00:39:08,246 --> 00:39:10,315
You know,
we had to eat bugs for dinner.
800
00:39:10,348 --> 00:39:11,349
They don't understand,
801
00:39:11,383 --> 00:39:14,252
and they criticize us,
and they criticize us."
802
00:39:14,285 --> 00:39:16,588
And then he said to me,
803
00:39:18,123 --> 00:39:19,758
"They don't understand
how we could
804
00:39:19,791 --> 00:39:23,228
shoot our own man in the back."
805
00:39:23,261 --> 00:39:25,931
And I said,
"What do you mean by that?"
806
00:39:25,964 --> 00:39:28,066
They were
in a confrontation battle
807
00:39:28,099 --> 00:39:30,168
or whatever they called it
at the time.
808
00:39:30,201 --> 00:39:32,504
One of his guys freaked out
809
00:39:32,538 --> 00:39:36,074
and somehow made a white flag
810
00:39:36,107 --> 00:39:39,244
and went running toward
the Viet Cong, okay?
811
00:39:39,277 --> 00:39:42,581
So Richard told his men
to shoot him.
812
00:39:45,617 --> 00:39:49,020
And you know, that's a
decision he had to make.
813
00:39:49,054 --> 00:39:51,523
I think that it stayed
with him always,
814
00:39:51,557 --> 00:39:53,625
and the other horrors of war.
815
00:39:53,659 --> 00:39:58,263
- If somebody in our unit
did something
816
00:39:58,296 --> 00:40:00,666
that warranted
him getting killed,
817
00:40:01,900 --> 00:40:04,770
it potentially could result
818
00:40:04,803 --> 00:40:07,405
in a lot of people
looking the other way.
819
00:40:07,439 --> 00:40:10,375
So if the platoon leader
is that strong,
820
00:40:10,408 --> 00:40:13,378
and Richard was that strong,
and he decided,
821
00:40:13,411 --> 00:40:15,447
hey, this guy's a danger
to all of us,
822
00:40:15,481 --> 00:40:18,884
and they agree,
who knows what happens?
823
00:40:18,917 --> 00:40:22,220
- Yeah, he lost three guys,
I guess on one mission
824
00:40:22,253 --> 00:40:24,456
or something because
they didn't do, you know,
825
00:40:24,490 --> 00:40:26,958
he told them to go this way,
they went did
826
00:40:26,992 --> 00:40:30,095
something else and they
wound up getting shot.
827
00:40:31,497 --> 00:40:33,532
But yeah,
I guess that really upset him.
828
00:40:34,866 --> 00:40:37,603
Yeah, Richard,
you're a senior officer,
829
00:40:37,636 --> 00:40:41,339
you give an order you expect
people to carry it out.
830
00:40:41,372 --> 00:40:42,608
It wasn't his fault,
831
00:40:42,641 --> 00:40:46,712
but I guess he carried that
with him too.
832
00:40:48,113 --> 00:40:51,617
- Even when we were up to Fort Bragg,
he never would sleep.
833
00:40:51,650 --> 00:40:55,521
He would call me all crazy
hours and I was staying awake,
834
00:40:55,554 --> 00:40:58,256
and so finally I told him,
I said, "Would you go to bed?
835
00:40:58,289 --> 00:40:59,124
You know, would you go to bed?"
836
00:40:59,157 --> 00:41:00,626
He says, "I can't sleep,
I can't sleep."
837
00:41:00,659 --> 00:41:01,960
I said, "Oh,
you're nervous about that?"
838
00:41:01,993 --> 00:41:03,194
He said, "No,
I'm not nervous about this,"
839
00:41:03,228 --> 00:41:05,030
he said, "I just can't sleep."
840
00:41:05,063 --> 00:41:07,999
- Richard, he was a figure
on the midnight shift,
841
00:41:08,033 --> 00:41:11,670
you always saw him out there,
he was always awake.
842
00:41:11,703 --> 00:41:16,207
Never slept, if he did,
he always had one eye open.
843
00:41:16,241 --> 00:41:19,044
- He was carrying
a lot of scars,
844
00:41:19,077 --> 00:41:23,448
emotionally, from the war
and from the fighting.
845
00:41:23,481 --> 00:41:27,285
And the fact that he
was out on the streets.
846
00:41:27,318 --> 00:41:31,156
We had set him up
in a condominium,
847
00:41:31,189 --> 00:41:35,426
but he just sold it and
went back to the streets.
848
00:41:36,595 --> 00:41:38,363
- [Yuzuk]
You think he just wasn't
849
00:41:38,396 --> 00:41:40,031
comfortable sitting in one spot?
850
00:41:40,065 --> 00:41:41,700
Or it just.
851
00:41:41,733 --> 00:41:45,370
- I think he had the nightmares
of the war, you know.
852
00:41:46,538 --> 00:41:49,941
It would get to him
for being in one place.
853
00:41:51,109 --> 00:41:52,544
- I think it's a lot of things.
854
00:41:52,578 --> 00:41:54,813
It's a lot of different things.
855
00:41:54,846 --> 00:41:58,083
And I wish
that I could've gotten inside,
856
00:41:58,116 --> 00:42:00,719
and we talked about it,
I talked about it.
857
00:42:00,752 --> 00:42:04,723
I said, "I can't have you,
now that we're older,
858
00:42:04,756 --> 00:42:06,491
I can't have you
living like that,
859
00:42:06,524 --> 00:42:07,893
I just can't have you
living like that."
860
00:42:07,926 --> 00:42:12,030
"Well, that's where I feel
at my best.
861
00:42:12,063 --> 00:42:13,932
That's what I want."
862
00:42:13,965 --> 00:42:17,603
And he was probably homeless for
863
00:42:19,605 --> 00:42:20,872
almost 30 years.
864
00:42:22,107 --> 00:42:23,675
- He told me how he got beat up
865
00:42:23,709 --> 00:42:28,680
by three men,
they cracked his head open.
866
00:42:28,714 --> 00:42:30,716
They picked him up and slam him.
867
00:42:30,749 --> 00:42:33,184
- He was beat up pretty bad.
868
00:42:33,218 --> 00:42:37,122
I saw him, and I came upon him,
869
00:42:37,155 --> 00:42:39,625
I'm like, "Man,
the hell happened to you?"
870
00:42:39,658 --> 00:42:41,727
"Got beat up.
871
00:42:41,760 --> 00:42:43,929
Bunch of guys came out
and beat me up."
872
00:42:43,962 --> 00:42:46,632
"Why didn't you call us,
Richard?"
873
00:42:46,665 --> 00:42:48,734
"I'm not gonna call you
for these guys.
874
00:42:48,767 --> 00:42:49,868
These guys, it's government.
875
00:42:49,901 --> 00:42:51,369
The government
came to beat me up."
876
00:42:51,402 --> 00:42:53,138
"The government came
to beat you up?
877
00:42:54,439 --> 00:42:55,774
Alright, well, call us next time
878
00:42:55,807 --> 00:42:57,643
the government comes
to beat you up."
879
00:42:57,676 --> 00:42:59,477
"I'll beat up the government,
I don't mind.
880
00:42:59,510 --> 00:43:01,146
I don't like them anyways."
881
00:43:01,179 --> 00:43:03,882
- That was a shock to me
when I found that out.
882
00:43:03,915 --> 00:43:06,785
I found that out
probably last year,
883
00:43:06,818 --> 00:43:12,257
that he was just living
on the streets.
884
00:43:12,290 --> 00:43:14,459
Seeing him interact with
other people and the way
885
00:43:14,492 --> 00:43:17,595
he talked to me, it seemed
like he had a really good idea
886
00:43:17,629 --> 00:43:20,832
of who he was and I wouldn't
of have expected him
887
00:43:20,866 --> 00:43:23,735
to become a homeless
type of person.
888
00:43:23,769 --> 00:43:27,773
And so the only thing I can
think of is that he chose to be.
889
00:43:29,007 --> 00:43:31,142
- The first time I met him,
yeah, he was sitting under
890
00:43:31,176 --> 00:43:34,279
a tree, the black olive tree
over here in the parking lot.
891
00:43:34,312 --> 00:43:36,782
He was sitting reading a
book and I approached him
892
00:43:36,815 --> 00:43:38,950
to see if he needed
any water or anything,
893
00:43:38,984 --> 00:43:41,319
'cause it was a hot day in
the middle of the summer.
894
00:43:41,352 --> 00:43:44,790
And he didn't have a whole
lot to say, he just said "No,
895
00:43:44,823 --> 00:43:47,759
I'm fine."
And went about his business.
896
00:43:47,793 --> 00:43:49,327
I approached him a few times,
talked to him,
897
00:43:49,360 --> 00:43:52,163
and asked if he's a veteran,
and he said he was
898
00:43:52,197 --> 00:43:54,632
and didn't really
get into it a whole lot,
899
00:43:54,666 --> 00:43:58,804
but just asked if he needed
anything and a couple few times
900
00:43:58,837 --> 00:44:00,972
I'd invite him in here
to take a shower,
901
00:44:01,006 --> 00:44:04,710
get himself cleaned up
and he was happy to do that.
902
00:44:04,743 --> 00:44:06,712
He was sitting on the back
porch when we had just had
903
00:44:06,745 --> 00:44:09,114
some patio furniture delivered
a couple weeks prior,
904
00:44:09,147 --> 00:44:11,683
and normally he was out
under a chair somewhere,
905
00:44:11,717 --> 00:44:13,819
and in the middle of the night,
I had walked out to take
906
00:44:13,852 --> 00:44:16,321
a phone call, and he goes,
"Do you want me to leave?"
907
00:44:16,354 --> 00:44:18,790
And I was like, "No, no,
you don't have to leave."
908
00:44:18,824 --> 00:44:20,658
And so he sat there and I think
909
00:44:20,692 --> 00:44:22,728
he may have spent the
night on the couch there.
910
00:44:22,761 --> 00:44:25,663
- I remember the first time
I saw him, I was a little boy.
911
00:44:25,697 --> 00:44:28,666
My dad had taken me to the
mall for a Christmas event
912
00:44:28,700 --> 00:44:30,368
and I remember
seeing Richard there,
913
00:44:30,401 --> 00:44:32,003
he stood out
for a number of reasons,
914
00:44:32,037 --> 00:44:35,540
but I had a tremendous
amount of compassion for him
915
00:44:35,573 --> 00:44:38,043
and I had a lot of
respect for him as well,
916
00:44:38,076 --> 00:44:41,012
not knowing anything about him,
and throughout my life,
917
00:44:41,046 --> 00:44:43,715
I just remember seeing him
on the streets
918
00:44:43,749 --> 00:44:48,186
and he just always seemed to
919
00:44:48,219 --> 00:44:49,755
be level headed and kind.
920
00:44:52,924 --> 00:44:55,894
- We run calls daily
on homeless people,
921
00:44:55,927 --> 00:44:59,397
and sometimes, you know,
when we run calls
922
00:44:59,430 --> 00:45:02,734
on these guys three, four,
five times in a week,
923
00:45:02,768 --> 00:45:04,535
you kinda get
a little bit complacent
924
00:45:04,569 --> 00:45:06,704
and you just may take them
for granted.
925
00:45:07,939 --> 00:45:09,775
And I want the guys to
know that these people
926
00:45:09,808 --> 00:45:13,544
are somebody, that they
possibly do have a story.
927
00:45:14,946 --> 00:45:16,714
How much more tough
could their life be?
928
00:45:16,748 --> 00:45:18,616
They're living on the streets,
what could you do
929
00:45:18,649 --> 00:45:20,919
to them that would be worse
than what they've probably
930
00:45:20,952 --> 00:45:23,755
been through or are going
through at the time?
931
00:45:23,789 --> 00:45:26,724
We do have a couple that
tax us on a daily basis
932
00:45:26,758 --> 00:45:29,194
that become regulars,
but Richard was not one of those guys.
933
00:45:29,227 --> 00:45:32,764
He didn't call,
and he didn't call us
934
00:45:32,798 --> 00:45:35,700
up to come help,
he helped himself.
935
00:45:35,733 --> 00:45:37,368
- I think to this day, though,
936
00:45:37,402 --> 00:45:39,871
the reason why Richard
is always so bitter
937
00:45:39,905 --> 00:45:41,973
was because he was ripped
out of the United States Army
938
00:45:42,007 --> 00:45:44,275
with the reduction of force
after Vietnam.
939
00:45:44,309 --> 00:45:48,079
And you know,
the military was his life.
940
00:45:48,113 --> 00:45:49,747
- Everybody's expendable.
941
00:45:49,781 --> 00:45:51,382
Nobody is special.
942
00:45:51,416 --> 00:45:53,451
You can be replaced.
943
00:45:53,484 --> 00:45:55,586
Here's a guy that literally
put his life on the line
944
00:45:55,620 --> 00:45:58,056
for the government,
in a way, and for himself.
945
00:45:58,089 --> 00:46:00,125
I mean Richard was a risk taker,
946
00:46:00,158 --> 00:46:02,760
he got a thrill out of
what he did, you know?
947
00:46:02,794 --> 00:46:05,163
So not like it was
a one way street,
948
00:46:05,196 --> 00:46:08,099
but when you stick your
neck out as much as a guy
949
00:46:08,133 --> 00:46:11,136
like that does,
being a tunnel rat in Vietnam, I mean,
950
00:46:11,169 --> 00:46:14,973
and then the government just
cuts you loose, that's tough.
951
00:46:15,006 --> 00:46:16,507
That's tough.
952
00:46:16,541 --> 00:46:18,910
- He just always said that he
really enjoyed being there.
953
00:46:18,944 --> 00:46:21,112
He said
he never wanted to leave.
954
00:46:21,146 --> 00:46:23,414
He said,
"I would've stayed over there
955
00:46:23,448 --> 00:46:25,683
until they kicked me out."
956
00:46:25,716 --> 00:46:28,753
He always was talking about,
you know, he missed wearing
957
00:46:28,786 --> 00:46:32,190
a uniform every day,
he missed the camaraderie.
958
00:46:32,223 --> 00:46:37,262
- When we were in 'Nam,
we had an enemy over there.
959
00:46:37,295 --> 00:46:41,933
The North Vietnamese and the
Viet Cong, that was our enemy.
960
00:46:41,967 --> 00:46:46,637
When we came home, we felt
as if we were betrayed
961
00:46:46,671 --> 00:46:52,610
by our government,
and betrayed by the media,
962
00:46:52,643 --> 00:46:58,549
and betrayed by the population,
by our country.
963
00:46:58,583 --> 00:47:01,119
So you know, if you
want to know who I felt
964
00:47:01,152 --> 00:47:03,454
my enemy was when I came home,
965
00:47:03,488 --> 00:47:05,090
I would say, you're my enemy.
966
00:47:06,858 --> 00:47:10,028
People who stayed here, and
civilians who stayed here.
967
00:47:10,061 --> 00:47:12,163
When I came home, I was subject
968
00:47:12,197 --> 00:47:15,100
to a lot of ridicule,
verbal abuse.
969
00:47:18,269 --> 00:47:21,039
I'm sure Richard was too.
970
00:47:21,072 --> 00:47:23,841
- I lost a lot of friends
over there.
971
00:47:23,875 --> 00:47:26,744
I still have a hard time
making friends with folks
972
00:47:26,777 --> 00:47:30,048
because I'm afraid something
will happen to them.
973
00:47:30,081 --> 00:47:32,550
A lot of guys,
when they come back
974
00:47:32,583 --> 00:47:35,020
from 'Nam,
they was messed up.
975
00:47:35,053 --> 00:47:38,990
Still a lot of them
are messed up for life.
976
00:47:39,024 --> 00:47:40,025
- The guy's telling me, he says,
977
00:47:40,058 --> 00:47:42,660
"You need to go to the VA,
get some help."
978
00:47:42,693 --> 00:47:46,831
And since then, I have, 'cause
I got PTSD on certain things
979
00:47:46,864 --> 00:47:51,036
that happened to me
and so I can imagine what
980
00:47:51,069 --> 00:47:55,573
he went through, being an
officer and you're responsible
981
00:47:55,606 --> 00:47:58,910
for your platoon, or if
you're company commander,
982
00:47:58,944 --> 00:48:02,880
your company, and you have to
do what you think is right.
983
00:48:04,315 --> 00:48:07,052
- It took a long, long time,
and my wife,
984
00:48:07,085 --> 00:48:09,754
you know, to help me through it.
985
00:48:09,787 --> 00:48:12,390
And she put up
with a lot of stuff.
986
00:48:12,423 --> 00:48:15,360
You know, waking up in
the middle of the night,
987
00:48:15,393 --> 00:48:16,894
from a nightmare, you know?
988
00:48:17,762 --> 00:48:20,565
(Clears throat) Excuse me.
989
00:48:20,598 --> 00:48:23,534
- They were left behind,
literally, there,
990
00:48:23,568 --> 00:48:25,136
and they were left behind
by their own,
991
00:48:25,170 --> 00:48:27,205
so whenever I talk, I always,
992
00:48:27,238 --> 00:48:30,375
you always tell a Vietnam
veteran welcome home,
993
00:48:30,408 --> 00:48:32,077
because they were
never told that.
994
00:48:34,745 --> 00:48:36,781
- [Yuzuk]
On November 30th, 2009,
995
00:48:36,814 --> 00:48:38,883
Richard goes to the VA hospital
996
00:48:38,916 --> 00:48:41,119
and sees a psychiatrist
for the first time.
997
00:48:42,620 --> 00:48:44,489
- [Richard] I have been
living on the streets
998
00:48:44,522 --> 00:48:46,824
for the past 21 years.
999
00:48:46,857 --> 00:48:48,926
I have never
seen a psychiatrist before.
1000
00:48:50,195 --> 00:48:53,298
I used to drink two beers
and some wine per day.
1001
00:48:53,331 --> 00:48:58,669
In March of 1975, my girlfriend
died in an accident.
1002
00:48:58,703 --> 00:49:01,572
Other women I have lived with
have died,
1003
00:49:01,606 --> 00:49:05,143
and I have increased my
alcohol intake to a lot more.
1004
00:49:05,176 --> 00:49:07,045
I feel depressed and anxious.
1005
00:49:08,113 --> 00:49:11,949
I request this treatment for
my depression and my anxiety,
1006
00:49:11,983 --> 00:49:15,120
and also help
to get off the streets.
1007
00:49:16,187 --> 00:49:18,023
- [Yuzuk] In order to get
authorized for treatment
1008
00:49:18,056 --> 00:49:20,658
for his PTSD,
Richard was asked by the VA
1009
00:49:20,691 --> 00:49:24,962
to provide written examples
of what he saw in Vietnam.
1010
00:49:26,531 --> 00:49:28,166
- [Richard] We came under fire.
1011
00:49:28,199 --> 00:49:29,267
One WIA.
1012
00:49:29,300 --> 00:49:33,271
I flanked the enemy
and killed one VC with an M-26.
1013
00:49:33,304 --> 00:49:35,273
My fire team leader
was shot in the back.
1014
00:49:35,306 --> 00:49:36,607
He died a foot from me.
1015
00:49:36,641 --> 00:49:38,809
I could hear
his internal organs collapse
1016
00:49:38,843 --> 00:49:40,845
and watched his body
shrink a bit.
1017
00:49:40,878 --> 00:49:42,947
Sergeant Meeks was behind me.
1018
00:49:42,980 --> 00:49:45,283
Seconds later, the M-60
gunner was hit in the head.
1019
00:49:45,316 --> 00:49:46,851
I saw the hit.
1020
00:49:46,884 --> 00:49:48,719
When I got to him,
1/3 of his skull
1021
00:49:48,753 --> 00:49:50,521
was blown off,
exposing his brain.
1022
00:49:53,024 --> 00:49:55,226
Two VC refused to surrender,
1023
00:49:55,260 --> 00:49:58,529
and were armed with
at least one M-2 carbine.
1024
00:49:58,563 --> 00:50:00,998
An M-26 was ordered dropped
into the spider hole.
1025
00:50:01,032 --> 00:50:03,568
When we dug them out,
it was then discovered
1026
00:50:03,601 --> 00:50:07,472
they were two VC females,
about mid 20s, alive,
1027
00:50:07,505 --> 00:50:10,841
but one had a fist-sized star
shaped hole in her forehead
1028
00:50:10,875 --> 00:50:13,544
with a piece of brain
on top of her skull.
1029
00:50:13,578 --> 00:50:16,214
The other, blood streaming
from her ears and missing part
1030
00:50:16,247 --> 00:50:19,250
of her fingers, I was
a foot and a half away.
1031
00:50:19,284 --> 00:50:21,719
Called medevac,
then found a zip lock bag
1032
00:50:21,752 --> 00:50:24,722
with lipstick, rouge,
and one ounce of perfume.
1033
00:50:24,755 --> 00:50:26,524
This humanized the enemy,
1034
00:50:26,557 --> 00:50:29,294
cutting my effectiveness
as a leader in half.
1035
00:50:32,097 --> 00:50:34,332
- [Yuzuk] Richard was also
diagnosed with skin cancer
1036
00:50:34,365 --> 00:50:37,034
on the top of his head,
which he attributed
1037
00:50:37,068 --> 00:50:38,803
to being sprayed
by Agent Orange.
1038
00:50:40,138 --> 00:50:43,541
- [Richard] While assigned to
D Company, 501st, we could see
1039
00:50:43,574 --> 00:50:47,178
the plane spraying Agent
Orange on the Laotian border.
1040
00:50:47,212 --> 00:50:51,082
15 to 20 minutes later, we
could feel a mist on us.
1041
00:50:51,116 --> 00:50:54,051
Also, when I was leaving
Vietnam in December of '68,
1042
00:50:54,085 --> 00:50:57,288
I was sprayed
while at Camp Sally.
1043
00:50:57,322 --> 00:50:58,456
Same scenario.
1044
00:50:58,489 --> 00:51:01,792
Three planes in formation
near the Laotian border.
1045
00:51:01,826 --> 00:51:05,396
- His wounds
that he had incurred,
1046
00:51:05,430 --> 00:51:07,565
because you know, he would get,
1047
00:51:07,598 --> 00:51:10,268
bombs would blow up near
him and you get tossed
1048
00:51:10,301 --> 00:51:13,804
and you know, you're not
really the same after that.
1049
00:51:15,072 --> 00:51:18,576
You got bruises
and deeper wounds.
1050
00:51:23,514 --> 00:51:24,949
- [Yuzuk] I found this one box
1051
00:51:24,982 --> 00:51:26,517
in the back of the storage unit.
1052
00:51:27,352 --> 00:51:28,953
And I opened it up and it was
1053
00:51:28,986 --> 00:51:30,755
like everything
from a spy movie.
1054
00:51:32,089 --> 00:51:35,926
There was a Spanish English dictionary,
maps of Venezuela.
1055
00:51:35,960 --> 00:51:40,165
Tapes to learn how to speak Arabic,
two knives,
1056
00:51:40,198 --> 00:51:44,068
two what we would call in
police work throw down phones,
1057
00:51:44,101 --> 00:51:47,272
and all these handwritten,
cryptic notes.
1058
00:51:47,305 --> 00:51:50,175
I then made
my most shocking discovery.
1059
00:51:50,208 --> 00:51:52,410
I found his passport.
1060
00:51:52,443 --> 00:51:55,646
And here I'm thinking
this little homeless man
1061
00:51:55,680 --> 00:51:57,282
that I knew all these years,
1062
00:51:57,315 --> 00:52:00,318
he was secretly traveling
all over the world.
1063
00:52:00,351 --> 00:52:02,753
To Amman, Jordan, Iraq,
1064
00:52:02,787 --> 00:52:05,122
Cambodia, Thailand,
1065
00:52:05,156 --> 00:52:08,193
and on two separate occasions,
he went to Venezuela.
1066
00:52:10,127 --> 00:52:15,166
- The biggest red flag to me is,
how are you paying for this?
1067
00:52:15,200 --> 00:52:18,603
- My first question is,
where'd the money come from?
1068
00:52:18,636 --> 00:52:20,338
- How the hell did he travel
1069
00:52:20,371 --> 00:52:23,341
to all these places being broke?
1070
00:52:23,374 --> 00:52:26,311
Exactly, and you have to have
money coming from somewhere.
1071
00:52:29,747 --> 00:52:33,651
- As a risk taker, Richard
would find great pleasure,
1072
00:52:33,684 --> 00:52:36,654
as he derived his whole
life, from doing something,
1073
00:52:36,687 --> 00:52:40,191
which A, involved risk,
and B, made him stand out.
1074
00:52:40,225 --> 00:52:42,860
And so, you know,
there's a lot of places
1075
00:52:42,893 --> 00:52:44,829
in this world you can go
and get yourself
1076
00:52:44,862 --> 00:52:48,533
into a whole bunch of trouble
if you want to.
1077
00:52:48,566 --> 00:52:52,303
And usually it involves merchandise of one kind or another.
1078
00:52:52,337 --> 00:52:53,371
- Richard might have gone back
1079
00:52:53,404 --> 00:52:55,340
to the dark side, too,
I don't know.
1080
00:52:55,373 --> 00:52:57,007
You know,
maybe doing some deals here
1081
00:52:57,041 --> 00:52:58,876
and doing some deals there,
I mean I don't know.
1082
00:52:58,909 --> 00:53:01,312
- He wasn't a traveling
person, I guarantee you that.
1083
00:53:01,346 --> 00:53:02,880
So he was doing it for a reason.
1084
00:53:03,748 --> 00:53:06,517
- He called me one day,
I was surprised,
1085
00:53:06,551 --> 00:53:09,320
and you know, says,
"I need $800.
1086
00:53:09,354 --> 00:53:13,358
I lost all my money
and in order to get home."
1087
00:53:13,391 --> 00:53:16,026
I didn't even know he
was over in Thailand.
1088
00:53:16,060 --> 00:53:19,264
- He told me in a letter he
was going overseas somewhere,
1089
00:53:19,297 --> 00:53:22,333
Thailand or someplace like
that, I'm not sure where it was.
1090
00:53:22,367 --> 00:53:24,669
But he was fixing
to go overseas,
1091
00:53:24,702 --> 00:53:27,071
and he would get with me
when he got back.
1092
00:53:27,104 --> 00:53:30,007
After that, that was
the last I heard from Richard.
1093
00:53:30,040 --> 00:53:33,878
- I was going away on vacation
and he asked me if I would,
1094
00:53:33,911 --> 00:53:37,382
if he sent me a check
for $5,000 would I keep
1095
00:53:37,415 --> 00:53:40,918
it secure for him,
and I said, "Yeah, sure."
1096
00:53:40,951 --> 00:53:42,953
And he said, "And then
if I need any money,
1097
00:53:42,987 --> 00:53:44,722
you know, you can send it to me.
1098
00:53:44,755 --> 00:53:47,057
I'm going to,"
1099
00:53:47,091 --> 00:53:51,262
words to the effect of like,
"deal with my enemies."
1100
00:53:51,296 --> 00:53:53,431
And I said,
"What do you mean by that?"
1101
00:53:53,464 --> 00:53:55,199
And he said, "Well,
there's a couple people
1102
00:53:55,232 --> 00:53:56,734
that need to be taken care of."
1103
00:53:56,767 --> 00:53:58,202
And I said,
"Okay, don't tell me anymore.
1104
00:53:58,235 --> 00:53:59,604
I don't want to hear anymore."
1105
00:53:59,637 --> 00:54:02,773
- He was always
going after them,
1106
00:54:02,807 --> 00:54:05,142
or people who owed him money.
1107
00:54:05,175 --> 00:54:06,243
For what?
1108
00:54:06,277 --> 00:54:08,713
I don't know.
It's a piece of puzzle
1109
00:54:08,746 --> 00:54:10,881
I can't, I have no idea.
1110
00:54:10,915 --> 00:54:12,317
You know,
you're such a great guy,
1111
00:54:12,350 --> 00:54:14,419
how can you have
all these enemies?
1112
00:54:14,452 --> 00:54:16,387
What did you do that was so bad
1113
00:54:16,421 --> 00:54:18,188
that you have all these enemies?
1114
00:54:20,925 --> 00:54:22,493
- [Yuzuk] 2007.
1115
00:54:22,527 --> 00:54:25,996
Richard was requesting immediate
deployment to go to Iraq
1116
00:54:26,030 --> 00:54:29,334
and serve as a special
forces advisor in Kuwait.
1117
00:54:29,367 --> 00:54:31,502
There is a chance that
he might also have been
1118
00:54:31,536 --> 00:54:34,004
going over there
to work as a private
1119
00:54:34,038 --> 00:54:36,641
military contractor,
or even a mercenary.
1120
00:54:38,343 --> 00:54:42,647
In 2009, and also later in
2012, Richard's passport
1121
00:54:42,680 --> 00:54:46,083
and other documentation
that I found reveals
1122
00:54:46,116 --> 00:54:49,854
that he traveled to
Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela.
1123
00:54:49,887 --> 00:54:52,523
I spoke to some other federal
agents who had experience
1124
00:54:52,557 --> 00:54:55,960
in South America about
what's there and they advised
1125
00:54:55,993 --> 00:55:00,798
me it's a port city and that
right now it's very lawless.
1126
00:55:00,831 --> 00:55:03,601
Matter of fact,
even in '09 and 2012,
1127
00:55:03,634 --> 00:55:05,836
it would be a dangerous place.
1128
00:55:05,870 --> 00:55:07,605
Richard would be going there
1129
00:55:07,638 --> 00:55:10,875
for some type of business
or assignment.
1130
00:55:10,908 --> 00:55:14,379
- The stuff I did in central America,
it was training,
1131
00:55:14,412 --> 00:55:17,214
and I did have older
special ops guys
1132
00:55:17,247 --> 00:55:20,284
because they're going over there
to train.
1133
00:55:20,317 --> 00:55:23,354
So his age, actually
his age is no problem.
1134
00:55:24,422 --> 00:55:25,690
Maybe they're sending this guy
over there
1135
00:55:25,723 --> 00:55:28,526
and I've seen it where
they're sending older SF guys,
1136
00:55:28,559 --> 00:55:31,396
older Seals to go over there
and train
1137
00:55:31,429 --> 00:55:34,298
the (indistinct), to train
the upper management.
1138
00:55:34,331 --> 00:55:36,401
To train the police forces,
to train,
1139
00:55:36,434 --> 00:55:39,470
not to do the field stuff,
but the infrastructure.
1140
00:55:39,504 --> 00:55:41,472
- I said, you know,
what's going on with that?
1141
00:55:41,506 --> 00:55:45,309
He goes, "Oh, well I do work
for the CIA and I do work
1142
00:55:45,342 --> 00:55:50,314
for the ATF, and I'm a consultant,"
and things like that.
1143
00:55:50,347 --> 00:55:51,516
I said, "Oh, okay."
1144
00:55:51,549 --> 00:55:54,752
- He is the perfect covert
operative to go in there
1145
00:55:54,785 --> 00:55:57,655
and do things because
nobody's gonna think,
1146
00:55:57,688 --> 00:56:00,090
they're not gonna look
at him and be, I come in,
1147
00:56:00,124 --> 00:56:02,059
and I'm not a big dude,
but I'm in shape,
1148
00:56:02,092 --> 00:56:04,729
I got tattoos, I can't hide
in plain sight.
1149
00:56:04,762 --> 00:56:06,531
That guy, that's the type of guy
1150
00:56:06,564 --> 00:56:08,566
that can hide in plain sight.
1151
00:56:08,599 --> 00:56:10,034
You know what?
1152
00:56:10,067 --> 00:56:12,403
Going back overseas, though,
is where you feel normal.
1153
00:56:12,437 --> 00:56:15,372
And that's where he may,
I'm sure he still wanted
1154
00:56:15,406 --> 00:56:18,342
to go overseas, 'cause you
go overseas and you work,
1155
00:56:18,375 --> 00:56:19,510
the post-traumatic stress
isn't there,
1156
00:56:19,544 --> 00:56:22,179
'cause you're back in a
element where your adrenaline's
1157
00:56:22,212 --> 00:56:24,381
always up here, where
in the United States,
1158
00:56:24,415 --> 00:56:26,617
it's right in the middle
and we don't like
1159
00:56:26,651 --> 00:56:28,753
to live like that.
I'm sure he's the same way.
1160
00:56:28,786 --> 00:56:30,788
If I met him,
he'd tell me the same thing.
1161
00:56:30,821 --> 00:56:32,389
I'm either all the way up here,
1162
00:56:32,423 --> 00:56:34,124
or I'm sleeping and I'm
all the way down here.
1163
00:56:34,158 --> 00:56:35,125
There's no middle.
1164
00:56:35,159 --> 00:56:36,594
And I'm sure, because of
1165
00:56:36,627 --> 00:56:38,963
his passport,
because of that he did,
1166
00:56:38,996 --> 00:56:41,766
he went over there to be normal,
1167
00:56:41,799 --> 00:56:46,036
to feel like he did when he
was in Vietnam, and I get that.
1168
00:56:46,070 --> 00:56:49,774
- One time,
I have caller ID on my phone,
1169
00:56:49,807 --> 00:56:53,578
about maybe 15 years ago.
1170
00:56:53,611 --> 00:56:55,580
And the phone rang,
and I always look
1171
00:56:55,613 --> 00:56:59,383
at the caller ID,
it said Fargo, North Dakota.
1172
00:56:59,416 --> 00:57:04,489
Who the hell do I know
in Fargo, North Dakota?
1173
00:57:04,522 --> 00:57:06,156
And my son was living with me
at the time,
1174
00:57:06,190 --> 00:57:07,458
he says, "Mom, just answer it."
1175
00:57:07,492 --> 00:57:09,994
He says, "That's bizarre.
Just answer the phone."
1176
00:57:10,027 --> 00:57:11,662
It was Richard.
1177
00:57:11,696 --> 00:57:15,566
What the hell are you doing,
the man who hates the cold,
1178
00:57:15,600 --> 00:57:19,403
why are you in Fargo,
North Dakota?
1179
00:57:19,436 --> 00:57:22,507
"I'm tracking down
some of my enemies."
1180
00:57:24,609 --> 00:57:26,443
- I spoke with a manager
at the hotel
1181
00:57:26,477 --> 00:57:28,779
Richard stayed in,
in North Dakota,
1182
00:57:28,813 --> 00:57:34,251
and she confirmed he traveled
there in both 2003 and 2008.
1183
00:57:34,284 --> 00:57:36,353
And the two times
he stayed there,
1184
00:57:36,386 --> 00:57:40,124
he went there both times in
February, in the dead of winter.
1185
00:57:40,157 --> 00:57:42,493
And at this time,
I still haven't
1186
00:57:42,527 --> 00:57:46,664
located any persons
or reasons for his trips.
1187
00:57:46,697 --> 00:57:48,999
- Grand Forks, that's brutal
that time of the year.
1188
00:57:49,033 --> 00:57:50,434
Now, there are Air Force bases,
1189
00:57:50,467 --> 00:57:52,102
there are
military installations all
1190
00:57:52,136 --> 00:57:54,471
along that corridor,
and there's some pretty
1191
00:57:54,505 --> 00:57:56,874
high-profile Air Force bases
out there.
1192
00:57:56,907 --> 00:57:59,043
That's used to be
the big time Cold War,
1193
00:57:59,076 --> 00:58:02,613
that's where if we're gonna
hit Russia with nukes,
1194
00:58:02,647 --> 00:58:06,383
it's the Dakotas, that's
where the places are.
1195
00:58:06,416 --> 00:58:09,053
- [Yuzuk] I filed Freedom
of Information Act requests
1196
00:58:09,086 --> 00:58:11,722
to both the State Department
and the CIA.
1197
00:58:11,756 --> 00:58:14,825
Neither turned up any
further investigative leads,
1198
00:58:14,859 --> 00:58:17,361
both stating
that they can neither confirm
1199
00:58:17,394 --> 00:58:20,531
nor deny any knowledge
of Richard J. Flaherty.
1200
00:58:23,568 --> 00:58:25,335
That last week
in Richard's life,
1201
00:58:25,369 --> 00:58:27,672
he was really in great spirits.
1202
00:58:27,705 --> 00:58:29,907
I think he was happy
to finally open up
1203
00:58:29,940 --> 00:58:32,409
to somebody
and tell his life story.
1204
00:58:34,044 --> 00:58:37,514
We would meet up almost every
day at either the coffee shop,
1205
00:58:37,548 --> 00:58:40,685
the gas station, or the
Subway sandwich shop
1206
00:58:40,718 --> 00:58:44,521
and he would tell me more
pieces about his life.
1207
00:58:44,555 --> 00:58:46,657
He also agreed
to let me help him with
1208
00:58:46,691 --> 00:58:49,594
his ongoing battle
with the VA hospital.
1209
00:58:49,627 --> 00:58:52,162
Another officer that I work with
was able
1210
00:58:52,196 --> 00:58:54,732
to get Richard a meeting
with some of the top people
1211
00:58:54,765 --> 00:58:57,768
who are advocates in Miami
that help vets
1212
00:58:57,802 --> 00:59:00,805
like Richard get all
the proper treatment he needed.
1213
00:59:06,711 --> 00:59:08,879
The night of May 7th,
I went to speak to Richard
1214
00:59:08,913 --> 00:59:12,049
under his tree, but he
was already sleeping
1215
00:59:12,082 --> 00:59:15,552
and I didn't
want to disturb him.
1216
00:59:15,586 --> 00:59:18,422
Before I left, I felt
like I just needed to take
1217
00:59:18,455 --> 00:59:21,058
a picture of him because
I didn't have any.
1218
00:59:23,828 --> 00:59:27,131
It seems in the picture
like the light is pointing
1219
00:59:27,164 --> 00:59:31,435
to exactly where he was
killed only two nights later.
1220
00:59:58,028 --> 01:00:01,398
- The morning of May 9th,
I was riding my bike,
1221
01:00:01,431 --> 01:00:04,735
and I have a very specific
route I take, and as I did,
1222
01:00:04,769 --> 01:00:07,905
and I made that turn, I noticed
the engine was out there,
1223
01:00:07,938 --> 01:00:10,675
and the scene tape was
up, and out of curiosity
1224
01:00:10,708 --> 01:00:14,011
I took a peek as I passed
through and I noticed
1225
01:00:14,044 --> 01:00:17,782
it looked like Richard,
and that's when it hit me,
1226
01:00:17,815 --> 01:00:20,718
and I couldn't believe it
at first.
1227
01:00:22,519 --> 01:00:27,091
- Yeah, we all recognized him
right away and called for,
1228
01:00:27,124 --> 01:00:29,459
you know, the Aventura
Police Department showed up
1229
01:00:29,493 --> 01:00:32,462
and you know, you could tell
he had been struck by a car.
1230
01:00:32,496 --> 01:00:34,431
- When I responded on the scene,
1231
01:00:34,464 --> 01:00:36,433
I met the officers
that were already here,
1232
01:00:36,466 --> 01:00:39,003
and one of them said,
"Oh, the little guy
1233
01:00:39,036 --> 01:00:41,538
that's always around,
he got hit by a car."
1234
01:00:41,571 --> 01:00:43,273
And when I walked up,
I recognized his,
1235
01:00:43,307 --> 01:00:45,475
I knew his first name,
I never knew his last name.
1236
01:00:45,509 --> 01:00:47,845
- I remember it was very early
in the morning,
1237
01:00:48,813 --> 01:00:54,118
I got the call
that we had a fatality.
1238
01:00:54,151 --> 01:00:56,854
It was a pedestrian
versus a vehicle.
1239
01:00:56,887 --> 01:01:00,624
And they told me it was,
you know, Richard,
1240
01:01:00,657 --> 01:01:02,727
and I said, "Which Richard?"
1241
01:01:02,760 --> 01:01:05,730
And they said,
"The little Vietnam vet."
1242
01:01:05,763 --> 01:01:08,532
And right there,
I almost, you know,
1243
01:01:08,565 --> 01:01:10,901
I dropped my phone because,
you know, I knew him.
1244
01:01:10,935 --> 01:01:13,370
This is the first time
where I conducted
1245
01:01:13,403 --> 01:01:16,640
an investigation where I
actually knew the victim.
1246
01:01:16,673 --> 01:01:19,176
- We started
reviewing surveillance video
1247
01:01:19,209 --> 01:01:22,479
to determine what kind
of car may have struck him,
1248
01:01:22,512 --> 01:01:25,549
and we were starting
to compare the debris
1249
01:01:25,582 --> 01:01:28,418
that we had found,
we initially felt it was probably
1250
01:01:28,452 --> 01:01:31,088
someone that was DUI
or impaired from some of them.
1251
01:01:32,890 --> 01:01:35,325
- [Yuzuk] According to the
official police report,
1252
01:01:35,359 --> 01:01:37,694
the subject, Miss Sokolov,
is an employee
1253
01:01:37,728 --> 01:01:41,031
of the Miami Dade Police
Department and was working
1254
01:01:41,065 --> 01:01:44,534
at that time as a stenographer
for their homicide unit.
1255
01:01:46,536 --> 01:01:49,039
Miss Sokolov stated that
although she normally works
1256
01:01:49,073 --> 01:01:53,343
at the office 'til 11 p.m.,
that night she worked late
1257
01:01:53,377 --> 01:01:55,913
and left at approximately
11:50 p.m.
1258
01:01:57,481 --> 01:02:00,017
After hitting Richard,
she then drives home,
1259
01:02:00,050 --> 01:02:02,753
several blocks away
and exits her car.
1260
01:02:06,623 --> 01:02:09,193
She paces up and back,
looking at the damage
1261
01:02:09,226 --> 01:02:11,728
on the exterior of the vehicle.
1262
01:02:14,564 --> 01:02:17,734
She then states that she decided
to walk back to the scene
1263
01:02:17,768 --> 01:02:21,171
that night to try to see if
she could locate what she hit.
1264
01:02:23,573 --> 01:02:26,410
About an hour later,
she returns home
1265
01:02:26,443 --> 01:02:28,612
and calls her insurance company.
1266
01:02:28,645 --> 01:02:30,447
(Phone beeps)
1267
01:02:30,480 --> 01:02:32,917
- [Woman] Thank you for calling
Kemper Specialty Claims,
1268
01:02:32,950 --> 01:02:35,485
this is Amber speaking,
how may I help you?
1269
01:02:35,519 --> 01:02:39,123
- [Leslie] Good evening, Amber,
my name is Leslie Sokolov.
1270
01:02:39,156 --> 01:02:41,558
And I was coming home
from work tonight
1271
01:02:41,591 --> 01:02:43,427
and something hit my car.
1272
01:02:45,830 --> 01:02:50,434
And I don't know what hit it,
but there's damage to my car.
1273
01:02:50,467 --> 01:02:52,636
- [Amber] Have you
notified any authorities
1274
01:02:52,669 --> 01:02:54,805
at this point,
have you contacted police?
1275
01:02:54,839 --> 01:02:59,109
- [Leslie] No, I hadn't
because there was nothing
1276
01:02:59,143 --> 01:03:02,346
that was visible that
could've hit my vehicle.
1277
01:03:02,379 --> 01:03:03,580
- [Amber] Okay.
1278
01:03:03,613 --> 01:03:06,283
- [Leslie] I thought
that it was a palm frond
1279
01:03:06,316 --> 01:03:08,986
that hit my car,
but I don't know,
1280
01:03:09,019 --> 01:03:11,188
not with the damage that I have.
1281
01:03:11,221 --> 01:03:12,056
I don't know.
1282
01:03:13,323 --> 01:03:16,093
At the time that it happened,
I didn't see another vehicle,
1283
01:03:16,126 --> 01:03:19,129
but when I got home
and I parked my car,
1284
01:03:19,163 --> 01:03:22,332
I walked the route
that I had driven,
1285
01:03:22,366 --> 01:03:25,970
and I didn't see anything
other than some other vehicles
1286
01:03:26,003 --> 01:03:28,839
that were
in a separate incident.
1287
01:03:31,141 --> 01:03:32,977
- During the course
of our investigation,
1288
01:03:33,010 --> 01:03:35,980
we determined that
Richard was walking north,
1289
01:03:36,013 --> 01:03:39,616
probably just outside
of the crosswalk.
1290
01:03:39,649 --> 01:03:41,952
He was walking
from the public side
1291
01:03:41,986 --> 01:03:45,389
towards Walgreens,
across 199th Street.
1292
01:03:45,422 --> 01:03:47,291
He was struck with
1293
01:03:47,324 --> 01:03:49,860
the front left fender
of the vehicle
1294
01:03:50,727 --> 01:03:52,863
and causing him to,
1295
01:03:52,897 --> 01:03:57,034
he was walking facing northbound,
car was heading eastbound,
1296
01:03:57,067 --> 01:04:01,005
so it struck him on his left
side and towards his back.
1297
01:04:01,038 --> 01:04:03,007
When he went back
from the impact,
1298
01:04:03,040 --> 01:04:06,043
he hit his head on the
edge of the windshield.
1299
01:04:06,076 --> 01:04:09,846
As he's walking across,
right about that line
1300
01:04:09,880 --> 01:04:12,682
is where he was struck,
but outside
1301
01:04:12,716 --> 01:04:14,751
the crosswalk
to the right of it.
1302
01:04:14,784 --> 01:04:17,854
- Just out of curiosity,
if she's coming from straight,
1303
01:04:17,888 --> 01:04:19,990
wouldn't she have clear vision
1304
01:04:20,024 --> 01:04:21,091
of whatever's in front of her
1305
01:04:21,125 --> 01:04:22,893
If Richard
was crossing the street?
1306
01:04:22,927 --> 01:04:25,029
- Absolutely,
there's no obstructions
1307
01:04:25,062 --> 01:04:26,763
in the roadway that would've
obstructed her view.
1308
01:04:26,796 --> 01:04:28,732
There're streetlights here,
1309
01:04:28,765 --> 01:04:30,334
there's a streetlight
right here.
1310
01:04:30,367 --> 01:04:33,503
This is a well-lit
intersection, in my opinion.
1311
01:04:33,537 --> 01:04:35,339
It's not pitch black,
it's not dark.
1312
01:04:35,372 --> 01:04:38,175
There're streetlights,
there's traffic signals,
1313
01:04:38,208 --> 01:04:41,545
there's businesses in the
area with lights on at night.
1314
01:04:41,578 --> 01:04:44,781
I feel that she should've
seen him, had she been
1315
01:04:44,814 --> 01:04:47,851
cognizant of what
was in front of her.
1316
01:04:47,884 --> 01:04:50,054
You know,
based on seeing Richard walk,
1317
01:04:50,087 --> 01:04:51,521
you know,
it's not like he darted out
1318
01:04:51,555 --> 01:04:53,890
into traffic,
he wasn't a runner.
1319
01:04:53,924 --> 01:04:57,962
Richard didn't run into traffic,
he walked at a slower
1320
01:04:57,995 --> 01:05:01,865
than normal walking pace, so
it would've taken him several
1321
01:05:01,898 --> 01:05:04,901
seconds for him to cross
the roadway from where we're
1322
01:05:04,935 --> 01:05:08,939
standing across the road,
and she should've seen him.
1323
01:05:08,973 --> 01:05:10,774
- [Yuzuk] In your
experience with these type
1324
01:05:10,807 --> 01:05:14,244
of accidents,
is it normal not to brake?
1325
01:05:14,278 --> 01:05:16,046
- Generally,
when you're in a crash,
1326
01:05:16,080 --> 01:05:18,815
or there's some sort of loud
noise or impact with your car,
1327
01:05:18,848 --> 01:05:21,085
a lot of times
the person's first reaction
1328
01:05:21,118 --> 01:05:23,753
is to jam on your brakes,
and to us,
1329
01:05:23,787 --> 01:05:26,456
there was no evidence of that
because there's no skid marks,
1330
01:05:26,490 --> 01:05:30,160
there're no evidence
of any braking.
1331
01:05:30,194 --> 01:05:33,998
- If you hit a bug that
hits your windshield,
1332
01:05:34,031 --> 01:05:37,467
that, you know, at 35,
40 miles an hour,
1333
01:05:37,501 --> 01:05:40,404
just a bug, that big,
you can hear it.
1334
01:05:40,437 --> 01:05:42,172
A 100-pound person,
1335
01:05:42,206 --> 01:05:45,775
it's gonna be multiplied
by that much amount,
1336
01:05:45,809 --> 01:05:49,013
I mean you're gonna
have extensive damage.
1337
01:05:49,046 --> 01:05:51,415
You're gonna have blood,
you're gonna have tissue,
1338
01:05:51,448 --> 01:05:54,518
you're gonna have hair all
over the front of that car.
1339
01:05:54,551 --> 01:05:57,321
- [Jeff] The damage on the
car was definitely noticeable
1340
01:05:57,354 --> 01:06:00,190
and significant,
and the person driving
1341
01:06:00,224 --> 01:06:03,360
knew they were
in some sort of crash.
1342
01:06:03,393 --> 01:06:07,297
She claimed that she just
didn't know she hit a person.
1343
01:06:07,331 --> 01:06:10,267
- When I saw him he was halfway
in the bushes, halfway out.
1344
01:06:10,300 --> 01:06:12,369
It was definitely obvious.
1345
01:06:12,402 --> 01:06:15,272
- As soon as you walked up
to the bushes, you could see,
1346
01:06:15,305 --> 01:06:19,176
the bushes are no more than,
you know, 24, 30 inches tall.
1347
01:06:19,209 --> 01:06:21,345
- [Yuzuk]
How far you think you would
1348
01:06:21,378 --> 01:06:22,912
have to be able to see him?
1349
01:06:23,913 --> 01:06:25,815
If you were 10 feet
away would you see him?
1350
01:06:25,849 --> 01:06:27,884
- [Kory] Yeah. For sure.
1351
01:06:29,053 --> 01:06:31,021
- [Yuzuk] It's a little bit
out of the ordinary with
1352
01:06:31,055 --> 01:06:35,825
that amount of damage not to
stop, call the police, say hey.
1353
01:06:35,859 --> 01:06:39,463
- We found that pretty
telling that she didn't notify
1354
01:06:39,496 --> 01:06:42,466
the police but she bothered
to call her insurance company
1355
01:06:42,499 --> 01:06:44,701
to claim the damage
on her vehicle.
1356
01:06:44,734 --> 01:06:46,836
- [Yuzuk] The next
morning at about nine AM,
1357
01:06:46,870 --> 01:06:49,473
she decided to again
walk back to the scene
1358
01:06:49,506 --> 01:06:52,076
to see if she could locate
what she hit.
1359
01:06:52,109 --> 01:06:56,080
Despite seeing the street
blocked off by the police,
1360
01:06:56,113 --> 01:06:59,083
despite seeing a yellow
blanket used to cover
1361
01:06:59,116 --> 01:07:02,552
Flaherty's body, and despite
being told by a bystander
1362
01:07:02,586 --> 01:07:06,390
that there was a hit and run,
Miss Sokolov still,
1363
01:07:06,423 --> 01:07:09,093
for her own reasons,
decides not to notify
1364
01:07:09,126 --> 01:07:12,862
the police who were standing
right there on scene.
1365
01:07:12,896 --> 01:07:15,765
Once at the Miami Dade
Police Department,
1366
01:07:15,799 --> 01:07:19,069
she notifies a supervisor
and tells him that she believes
1367
01:07:19,103 --> 01:07:22,072
she might have been
involved in a hit and run.
1368
01:07:22,106 --> 01:07:26,243
At approximately 1:30 p.m.,
a Miami Dade police sergeant
1369
01:07:26,276 --> 01:07:29,513
notifies the Aventura Police
Department that one of his
1370
01:07:29,546 --> 01:07:32,949
employees might have been
involved in a traffic homicide.
1371
01:07:32,982 --> 01:07:35,185
- And then I get a phone call
saying that,
1372
01:07:35,219 --> 01:07:37,587
from the detective
saying that "I may have
1373
01:07:37,621 --> 01:07:39,089
your driver and I may
have your vehicle."
1374
01:07:39,123 --> 01:07:42,692
And I sprinted over
to the Miami Dade
1375
01:07:42,726 --> 01:07:44,128
Police Department headquarters.
1376
01:07:44,161 --> 01:07:47,264
So I met with the detective,
he met me outside.
1377
01:07:47,297 --> 01:07:50,267
I talked to him, he told
me that, he showed me
1378
01:07:50,300 --> 01:07:54,938
the vehicle
that may have hit Richard.
1379
01:07:54,971 --> 01:07:57,207
He said
that the driver's inside,
1380
01:07:57,241 --> 01:07:59,543
just beside herself
with remorse.
1381
01:07:59,576 --> 01:08:04,148
So I went inside
and I spoke to her,
1382
01:08:04,181 --> 01:08:06,616
and she was almost destroyed,
1383
01:08:06,650 --> 01:08:08,785
she couldn't keep it to herself.
1384
01:08:08,818 --> 01:08:11,488
I basically
took her statements down.
1385
01:08:11,521 --> 01:08:15,091
I asked her more questions,
finished the interview,
1386
01:08:15,125 --> 01:08:17,294
and then I gathered
all my information
1387
01:08:17,327 --> 01:08:18,662
and went back to my sergeant.
1388
01:08:20,164 --> 01:08:22,466
We spoke about it,
we talked about it.
1389
01:08:22,499 --> 01:08:24,268
We put everything in a packet.
1390
01:08:24,301 --> 01:08:25,635
I typed everything up,
1391
01:08:25,669 --> 01:08:28,004
that's when we started calling
1392
01:08:28,037 --> 01:08:30,674
and talking with the
state attorney's office.
1393
01:08:30,707 --> 01:08:33,310
They just felt that they gave
her the benefit of the doubt
1394
01:08:33,343 --> 01:08:36,780
that she just didn't know
what she hit.
1395
01:08:36,813 --> 01:08:41,050
And I was specifically told
to not arrest the driver.
1396
01:08:44,388 --> 01:08:48,124
- We have a lot of DUI
activity out there, right?
1397
01:08:48,158 --> 01:08:50,126
And if you did hit somebody,
and you know
1398
01:08:50,160 --> 01:08:52,429
you've been drinking,
are you gonna stop?
1399
01:08:52,462 --> 01:08:54,598
Now, am I saying
this woman was drinking?
1400
01:08:54,631 --> 01:08:56,466
No, I don't know
nothing about that,
1401
01:08:56,500 --> 01:09:00,170
but I do know that it's a
problem in South Florida,
1402
01:09:00,204 --> 01:09:02,472
we have a major problem
and there's
1403
01:09:02,506 --> 01:09:04,674
really nothing
to be done about it.
1404
01:09:04,708 --> 01:09:08,345
It's just happenstance,
if you're unfortunate enough
1405
01:09:08,378 --> 01:09:10,980
to be in the wrong
place at the wrong time.
1406
01:09:11,014 --> 01:09:13,049
And unfortunately, Richard was.
1407
01:09:15,385 --> 01:09:17,287
- [Yuzuk] There was one
last obligation I owed
1408
01:09:17,321 --> 01:09:20,156
to the family, to go
through his footlocker.
1409
01:09:22,025 --> 01:09:24,328
So in his things
I found a document
1410
01:09:24,361 --> 01:09:26,330
about a woman named Lisa Davis.
1411
01:09:27,364 --> 01:09:32,135
- He asked me if I would send
checks to this cemetery in,
1412
01:09:32,168 --> 01:09:35,372
I think it was West Virginia,
is that where he was buried?
1413
01:09:35,405 --> 01:09:37,374
And he said
he wanted to be buried,
1414
01:09:37,407 --> 01:09:40,210
he had spoken to the people
that ran the cemetery
1415
01:09:40,244 --> 01:09:42,246
and he had wanted to be
buried in the vicinity
1416
01:09:42,279 --> 01:09:45,415
of this woman who he
had been in love with.
1417
01:09:45,449 --> 01:09:47,584
- [Yuzuk] Why choose to be
buried in a small cemetery
1418
01:09:47,617 --> 01:09:49,919
in West Virginia, when
he could've been buried
1419
01:09:49,953 --> 01:09:51,955
in Arlington's
National Cemetery?
1420
01:09:53,790 --> 01:09:56,159
I found a letter
that Richard wrote
1421
01:09:56,192 --> 01:09:58,728
to Lisa's sister in 2008.
1422
01:09:58,762 --> 01:10:03,233
In the last paragraph, I learned
his true feelings for her.
1423
01:10:03,267 --> 01:10:06,236
- [Richard] I've been in
love with Lisa for 33 years.
1424
01:10:06,270 --> 01:10:08,872
I will be in love with her
for the rest of my life.
1425
01:10:08,905 --> 01:10:11,207
On this plane and beyond,
for death
1426
01:10:11,241 --> 01:10:14,378
will never separate
my love for her.
1427
01:10:15,645 --> 01:10:19,082
- I also found poems Richard
wrote to Lisa, and I even found
1428
01:10:19,115 --> 01:10:24,421
a will where Richard left
whatever he had to her family.
1429
01:10:24,454 --> 01:10:27,691
I spoke to Lisa's sister
Melinda and she told me
1430
01:10:27,724 --> 01:10:29,593
her sister died
of blood poisoning.
1431
01:10:30,727 --> 01:10:33,297
This now explains what
Richard was talking about
1432
01:10:33,330 --> 01:10:35,699
in the psychiatrist's
office when he mentioned
1433
01:10:35,732 --> 01:10:39,969
that more than one woman in his
life that he loved had died.
1434
01:10:46,843 --> 01:10:49,045
Even though I've been
researching Richard's
1435
01:10:49,078 --> 01:10:51,381
entire life
for the last two years,
1436
01:10:51,415 --> 01:10:55,118
the enormity of the
moment was very powerful.
1437
01:10:56,453 --> 01:11:00,123
To actually see
and hold his uniform,
1438
01:11:00,156 --> 01:11:03,293
to see all his medals
lined up on the desk,
1439
01:11:03,327 --> 01:11:06,863
it brought the myth of
Richard Flaherty into reality.
1440
01:11:08,264 --> 01:11:09,599
This is the Silver Star.
1441
01:11:12,268 --> 01:11:15,071
During his two combat tours
in Vietnam,
1442
01:11:15,104 --> 01:11:19,343
Richard was decorated over 13
times with the Silver Star,
1443
01:11:19,376 --> 01:11:22,412
two Bronze Stars,
two Purple Hearts,
1444
01:11:22,446 --> 01:11:25,649
the Gallantry Cross,
Combat Infantry Badge,
1445
01:11:25,682 --> 01:11:29,819
Army Commendation Medal,
Parachute Badge, Air Medal,
1446
01:11:29,853 --> 01:11:33,990
Vietnam Service Medal,
Vietnam Campaign Medal,
1447
01:11:34,023 --> 01:11:37,361
and the National Defense
Service Medal.
1448
01:11:47,971 --> 01:11:52,208
- When we got to the mausoleum,
he was already laid out.
1449
01:11:56,079 --> 01:11:59,282
It was kind of a small,
it looked like a chapel.
1450
01:11:59,315 --> 01:12:01,317
Small, very small.
1451
01:12:01,351 --> 01:12:03,920
And the casket was open
and I was,
1452
01:12:05,555 --> 01:12:08,358
terrible, it was terrible.
1453
01:12:08,392 --> 01:12:12,128
The post, they played Taps
on the trumpets,
1454
01:12:12,161 --> 01:12:14,498
I guess it's the trumpets.
1455
01:12:14,531 --> 01:12:19,736
And that was really,
we couldn't help but cry,
1456
01:12:19,769 --> 01:12:23,206
my son and I,
just crying and crying.
1457
01:12:23,239 --> 01:12:26,175
- He was bigger than life
and such a little guy.
1458
01:12:26,209 --> 01:12:29,379
That was the comical part too,
you know?
1459
01:12:29,413 --> 01:12:31,347
He's just such a little guy,
but there's
1460
01:12:31,381 --> 01:12:36,085
so much intelligence
and creative ability,
1461
01:12:36,119 --> 01:12:38,655
creative thinking, spontaneity,
1462
01:12:38,688 --> 01:12:41,224
it was all there in Flaherty.
1463
01:12:42,225 --> 01:12:44,728
- Richard was comical
by his height,
1464
01:12:44,761 --> 01:12:47,431
but he also had
a sense of humor.
1465
01:12:47,464 --> 01:12:50,066
And if you challenged him,
he would challenge you back.
1466
01:12:50,099 --> 01:12:52,402
So he was not gonna back down.
1467
01:12:52,436 --> 01:12:54,337
- I think Richard, deep down,
1468
01:12:54,370 --> 01:12:56,406
that's probably what he wanted.
1469
01:12:56,440 --> 01:13:00,777
A normal life, but it
wasn't in the cards for him.
1470
01:13:00,810 --> 01:13:03,046
- I noticed they had a memorial,
1471
01:13:03,079 --> 01:13:05,449
a little makeshift memorial
in the bushes.
1472
01:13:05,482 --> 01:13:08,084
I tried to get a sign
put up for him.
1473
01:13:08,117 --> 01:13:11,755
A small way of honoring him,
and it never happened,
1474
01:13:11,788 --> 01:13:14,791
the city gave us
all this red tape.
1475
01:13:14,824 --> 01:13:18,462
And then one day I was
talking to Cap, and said,
1476
01:13:18,495 --> 01:13:21,030
Cap, I have this sign
and it's for Richard,
1477
01:13:21,064 --> 01:13:22,432
and told him a little bit
about his story.
1478
01:13:22,466 --> 01:13:24,267
He goes, "You know what,
we're gonna put it up."
1479
01:13:24,300 --> 01:13:27,036
We did, it's still there,
which is a good thing,
1480
01:13:27,070 --> 01:13:30,206
but it was our way of, you
know, taking our hat off
1481
01:13:30,239 --> 01:13:32,809
to him and he deserves
way more than that.
1482
01:13:32,842 --> 01:13:35,278
- It's tough, and to watch
a veteran of a war,
1483
01:13:35,311 --> 01:13:39,483
a highly decorated veteran,
just walking the streets
1484
01:13:39,516 --> 01:13:43,252
and eking his way through life,
it's heartbreaking.
1485
01:13:44,788 --> 01:13:47,457
- Sad, it's a pretty sad ending.
1486
01:13:49,826 --> 01:13:51,795
- You know, that was just
very difficult for us,
1487
01:13:51,828 --> 01:13:55,499
to not be able to bring
closure and justice to Richard.
1488
01:13:55,532 --> 01:13:58,602
- You know, Richard
should have had better.
1489
01:13:58,635 --> 01:14:01,337
- He definitely was a hero.
1490
01:14:02,205 --> 01:14:05,509
There's no other way
to describe him.
1491
01:14:05,542 --> 01:14:08,545
I'm privileged
to be his brother.
1492
01:14:18,054 --> 01:14:20,990
- [Yuzuk] Richard J. Flaherty
was finally laid to rest,
1493
01:14:21,024 --> 01:14:24,327
not in a hero's grave,
but as a simple man
1494
01:14:24,360 --> 01:14:28,598
in an obscure cemetery
next to the woman he loved.
1495
01:14:28,632 --> 01:14:30,800
As I think about this
journey into searching
1496
01:14:30,834 --> 01:14:34,037
into Richard's life, I
really feel honored that
1497
01:14:34,070 --> 01:14:37,874
he opened up to me, and I'm
honored to have known him.
1498
01:14:39,475 --> 01:14:42,512
But I'm saddened to think
that he's not
1499
01:14:42,546 --> 01:14:45,782
the only homeless vet
that's on the streets,
1500
01:14:45,815 --> 01:14:50,019
who's too lost to reach out
and connect with anybody.
1501
01:14:53,757 --> 01:14:55,892
So Richard Flaherty
is telling me
1502
01:14:55,925 --> 01:14:57,694
the story of how
he was the shortest guy
1503
01:14:57,727 --> 01:14:59,963
in the military
for his knowledge.
1504
01:14:59,996 --> 01:15:00,997
Go ahead.
1505
01:15:01,030 --> 01:15:02,899
- Well according
to the army itself,
1506
01:15:02,932 --> 01:15:04,901
there was no one shorter
than four nine.
1507
01:15:04,934 --> 01:15:08,371
You got to be five foot
to get in the military.
1508
01:15:08,404 --> 01:15:12,642
So I wrote a congressman
and a three star general.
1509
01:15:12,676 --> 01:15:14,544
I would take a physical.
1510
01:15:15,612 --> 01:15:18,882
I was allowed in, and they
called me on a Friday and well,
1511
01:15:18,915 --> 01:15:20,684
you gotta a recommend waiver
for your height but now
1512
01:15:20,717 --> 01:15:23,653
your weight,
so they said one day you have
1513
01:15:23,687 --> 01:15:25,822
to come up another physical,
we got to weigh you.
1514
01:15:25,855 --> 01:15:28,191
You have to be 100 pounds,
I was only 97,
1515
01:15:28,224 --> 01:15:30,159
so I had to gain three
pounds over the weekend.
1516
01:15:30,193 --> 01:15:31,561
Well, I gained six.
1517
01:15:31,595 --> 01:15:33,863
They stayed with me
till this day, I'm 103.
1518
01:15:36,633 --> 01:15:39,736
That began the whole escapade.
1519
01:15:39,769 --> 01:15:40,637
I went to basic AIT.
1520
01:15:41,605 --> 01:15:45,041
- [Yuzuk] Where were
you stationed in 'Nam?
1521
01:15:45,074 --> 01:15:47,043
- We began at Bien Hoa
we went up north
1522
01:15:47,076 --> 01:15:48,745
for the Tet Offensive,
I was up there
1523
01:15:48,778 --> 01:15:52,548
with I-Corps close to
the demilitarized zone.
1524
01:15:52,582 --> 01:15:54,618
- [Yuzuk] What was your rank?
1525
01:15:54,651 --> 01:15:57,120
- I began at a, by then I
was a second lieutenant,
1526
01:15:58,387 --> 01:16:01,190
by the time I left I
was a first lieutenant.
1527
01:16:01,224 --> 01:16:03,727
- [Yuzuk] And what years
were you there for?
1528
01:16:03,760 --> 01:16:07,430
- In Vietnam, I was there
December 17th of '67
1529
01:16:07,463 --> 01:16:10,867
through December 17th
of 1968, and went back
1530
01:16:10,900 --> 01:16:14,137
and went into the Special Forces
for three years, and then--
1531
01:16:14,170 --> 01:16:16,873
- [Yuzuk] Who were you with
with the Special Forces?
1532
01:16:16,906 --> 01:16:19,709
- Began with the Third Special
Forces Group for training,
1533
01:16:19,743 --> 01:16:21,444
then I went over to the
46th Special Forces Company
1534
01:16:21,477 --> 01:16:23,212
in Thailand, and I came back to
1535
01:16:23,246 --> 01:16:28,384
the 10th Special Forces Group
in Fort Devons, Massachusetts.
1536
01:16:28,417 --> 01:16:31,320
That's why
I have my Green Beret.
1537
01:16:31,354 --> 01:16:32,756
- [Yuzuk]
So you were a Green Beret?
1538
01:16:32,789 --> 01:16:33,623
- Yeah.
1539
01:16:37,761 --> 01:16:39,195
(Peaceful music)
1540
01:16:52,842 --> 01:16:56,012
(driving rock music)
120332
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