The Giant Killer: American Hero, Mercenary, Spy... The Incredible True Story of the Smallest Man to Serve in the U.S. Military - Green Beret Captain Richard J. Flaherty

At 4' 9" 97 lbs, Richard J. Flaherty is believed to be the smallest man to ever serve in the US military. Needing a congressional waiver just to join the army, he achieved the impossible by becoming a Green Beret captain and a Vietnam vet war hero, earning the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, and two Purple Hearts - 101st Airborne and 3rd Special Forces Group.Author and police officer David Yuzuk befriended Richard J. Flaherty in 1999, when Flaherty was living homeless on the streets of Miami. Flaherty warned Yuzuk that asking too many questions about his secretive life could be bad for Yuzuk’s career and dangerous to his own health. Sure enough, eight hours after Yuzuk made a call to confirm Flaherty’s identity, Flaherty was killed in a hit-and-run and that set the stage for a bewildering plummet down a rabbit hole of CIA conspiracies and shadow governments. It would be the last investigation in Yuzuk's 20-year police career, stretching from the bloody jungles of Vietnam to the dangerous streets of Iraq and Venezuela.In riveting rifle, rucksack style author David Yuzuk takes you deep into the jungles of Vietnam to walk in the combat boots of America’s smallest soldier, Richard Flaherty. Starting with the bloody Tet Offensive, Flaherty and his units are engaged in harrowing, nonstop action. Written with extensive access to surviving members of the 101st Airborne and 3rd Special Forces Group, on-the-ground eyewitnesses, family members, and friends, as well as archival and declassified military records, Yuzuk has created a gripping narrative of Richard Flaherty’s inspiring life and career. Yuzuk also releases never published information of a covert operation Flaherty worked in order to locate and recover a recently declassified stolen weapon of mass destruction (Project Green Light).Number one New York Times best seller."Giant Killers are among us - author David Yuzuk walked with one and returned with this tale.” (Doug Stanton, author) Read more