The Strange Ambush of Team Rock Mat, Vietnam 1970

[Music] it was the fifth of May 1970 team rock Matt a seven man patrol from first Force Recon company first Marine Division had been inserted by helicopter near a feature named Razorback Ridge 25 miles northwest of Da Nang in Vietnam their mission was to conduct a five-day reconnaissance patrol searching for signs of the Vietcong in the jungle for every moment on patrol they were on hostile ground and surrounded by elusive enemies commanding team rock Matt was 32 year old sergeant Robert C fleiger a highly experienced ground radio repairer who had volunteered for first Force Recon company due to its critical shortage of school trained radio technicians after proving himself on previous patrols fleiger had been given his own team he had just returned from R&R in Hawaii where it married his high-school sweetheart flaggers team slowly climbed the ridge to where they could see better and have improved communications it was hot tiring work the jungle alive with the screeching of birds and buzzing of insects the Vietcong could be anywhere so the patrols m16 assault rifles were locked and loaded by early evening darkness began to fall and the patrol moved into widely-spaced sleeping positions the Marines divested themselves of some of their equipment and lay down on canvas ponchos one man on watch it then became fully dark while the patrol didn't know was that they had been tracked hostile eyes were watching them and moving in to attack at 20 hundred hours the silence was suddenly broken by a sudden commotion from where sergeant fleiger was sleeping the sounds of vegetation moving and breaking followed by several muffled screams then there was silence the other six Marines peered into the inky blackness their ears straining to listen safety catchers flicked off their rifles quietly they radioed the communications bunker at Camp Adair near Marble Mountain asking for instructions the company commander told his men to stay put and on 100% alert until first light at first light they set out to in investigate what had happened to their team leader at his sleeping position they found flaggers m16 pack radio gas mask and cartridge belt laid out but fleiger wasn't present instead the ground was bloody the bush trampled down it looked as though fleiger had been dragged away into the jungle his poncho and bush cover some distance away the team weapons ready started to follow the bloody trail downhill off the ridge into the bush for 50 metres the team cautiously descended the trail until they made a gruesome discovery pushed up against a tree sergeant fleiger appeared to be dead his neck had been broken and one side of his body bitten and lacerated deeply but then there was subtle movement caused by it was an enraged 400-pound tiger team opened fire wildly the tiger disappearing back into the jungle but it had not left the site of its kill the rains could hear it moving around out of sight quickly the Marines gathered up Plagueis remains into a poncho while the radio operator called for immediate helicopter evacuation the suddenly the Furious Tiger charged again we opened fire someone throwing a fragmentation grenade into the jungle the tiger backing off once more gathering up flaggers body the Patrol quickly left the scene and was extracted by helicopter shortly after the jungles of Vietnam held many hidden dangers and not just Vietcong and tigers were one of them veterans accounts earned official records list several such attacks by Indo Chinese Tigers thousands lived in the jungle and the sudden appearance of dead bodies and wounded men caused by the fighting turned some Tigers into man-eaters the perfect ambush predator Tigers carried off several US soldiers from nighttime positions because of the Tigers speed and the dense vegetation few victims managed to get off a shot before the tiger was upon them it is outside of veteran circles and almost unknown aspect of war in Vietnam the Tigers were only doing what apex predators did the ward changed their behavior and made them more dangerous to man two weeks after Sergeant flaggers death another marine recon unit was stalked in the exact same area probably by the same tiger that had taken fleiger but on this occasion the tiger lost being shot dead by the patrol leader before he could do any damage thanks for watching please subscribe and share and also help support my channel at PayPal and patreon details in the description box [Music]

Channel: Mark Felton Productions

Views: 3,696,551

Keywords: The Strange Ambush of Team Rock Mat Vietnam 1970, Vietnam War, Indochinese Tiger, Mark Felton Productions, Da Nang, USMC, Robert Phleger

Id: zpDnlGT3LxY

Length: 5min 24sec (324 seconds)

Published: Mon May 20 2019