All language subtitles for VIETNAM - Most Terrifying Man of the Vietnam War

Vietnam, late 1960s. Hostile North
Vietnamese troops pin down a Hatchet

Force of elite American MACV-SOG operators.
They have the numbers and the high ground.

Nevertheless, the Americans and their
loyal indigenous Montagnards do not back

down. Staff Sergeant Jerry M. Shriver, also
known as Mad Dog, dashes from cover to cover,

pummeling the enemy with his unconventional
arsenal of several pistols, revolvers,

and a lethal sawed-off shotgun.
Some men are wounded and are

slowly hoisted up through the thick jungle
canopy to a chopper. The enemy presses on,

but Mad Dog does not flinch. He retaliates
with all the ammunition at his disposal.

The friendlies are lifted one by one until Mad Dog
is left alone. He calls in for Close Air Support

several times. The enemy fire intensified to
the point the radio offered Mad Dog Shriver

assistance with a fresh unit of ground troops.
He rejects the offers and replies: [QUOTE] “No,

no…I’ve got them right where I want
them: surrounded from the inside.”

Jerry M. Shriver was born on September 24, 1941,
in De Funiak Springs, Florida. Little is known

about this man’s life, except that he was destined
to be an American hero, a decorated war veteran,

and the embodiment of the actual fighting
man: the soldier enamored with war and real

brotherhood forged in the heat of battle.
Shriver grew up with tales of veterans from

World War 2, those from the thousands of young
men who enlisted to fight in the Pacific against

the Empire of Japan and Europe, against
the might of the Third Reich’s Wehrmacht.

Inspired by his country’s heroes’, Shriver joined
the United States military at a young age, joining

the Army from California. The young man proved his
worth as a soldier and attended Airborne school,

becoming a paratrooper of the legendary
Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne Division.

Shortly after, Shriver tested his
skills with the Army Special Forces,

going through rigorous training to attain
the cherished Green Beret of a true commando.

At the time of Shriver’s training, the
tensions of the Cold War between the West

and the Soviet Union had led the United
States to support the government of South

Vietnam after France’s defeat in 1954 at the
hands of the Communist Viet Minh guerilla.

The nation had embarked on a conflict unlike any
other it had fought. From the late 1950s until

1975, the Army would fight to the bitter
end against a relentless enemy committed

to turning Vietnam into a Communist state.
Despite the introduction of modern weaponry,

such as jet aircraft, helicopters, heavily
armored tanks, surface-to-air missiles or SAMs,

guided missiles, and others, the Army desperately
needed special operators trained to survive alone

in the jungle and inflict heavy casualties
on the enemy through unconventional warfare.

Luckily for Staff Sergeant Jerry
M. Shriver, he was one of them,

and he wanted in; the thrill of the hunt
had possessed him, and the territories

of Communist-infested Vietnam were
about to become his hunting grounds.

Staff Sergeant Jerry M. Shriver of the US 5th
Special Forces arrived in Vietnam in 1966.

The tall and thin operator with a narrow face
had the personality of a man born for action.

Future Medal of Honor recipient Jim Fleming
would later describe Jerry Shriver as:

[QUOTE] “The quintessential warrior-loner,
anti-social, possessed by what he was doing,

the best teammate, always
training, constantly training.”

Shriver was not amicable to those outside his
unit. His cold eyes were always battle-ready.

He was born for combat and spent his free
time training, inspecting his weapons,

and learning about the terrain and enemy he
sought to destroy to free Vietnam from Communism.

The Staff Sergeant was strict with his men,
not to establish authority but to make them

better soldiers, machines of war, survivors
in the jungle, and hunters of the night.

Jim Fleming would also say that: [QUOTE] “Shriver
convinced me that for the rest of my life,

I would not go into a bar and cross someone
I didn’t know.” The Staff Sergeant was a lone

wolf who often spent the nights at the
NCO’s club drinking a case of beer for

himself, waiting for his next mission.
During his first deployment in 1966,

Shriver joined the elite and highly secretive
MACV-SOG or Military Assistance Command,

Vietnam Studies and Observation Group.
Only the best of the best joined the unit.

Chosen men from the Army, Marines, Navy, Air
Force, and CIA were part of this task force

created to tackle the most demanding missions.
From 1966 and for almost three and a half years,

Shriver would keep extending his
deployments as part of the battle

frenzy that consumed him. He would spend over
1,000 days in Vietnam, knowing its people,

especially the allied Montagnard forces.
Shriver’s exploits over the battlefield

quickly earned him the nickname Mad
Dog, and he truly lived up to it.

The Mad Dog’s reputation grew after every
mission. Shriver became addicted to the

adrenaline of combat. He was at home in the
jungles of Vietnam with the troops. Instead

of catching a break after operations, he
would sneak out and join other patrols

that were bound to hunt down North Vietnamese
or Viet Cong strongholds deep in the jungle.

It is said that Shriver once took leave
to get Rest and Recuperation or R&R,

except he did not. Instead, the restless
American warrior traveled to the Plei Djerang

Special Forces camp to join another special
operations team to fight alongside them.

Most missions that MACV-SOG carried out were
highly classified and remain so even now.

But there is no doubt that Shriver saw
some things beyond the familiar grunt.

As the elite, MACV operators employed a unique
tiger stripes camouflage uniform used by the South

Vietnamese. They also had access to special
equipment, such as Colt Commando carbines,

state-of-the-art bows for stealth encounters,
and a never-ending supply of the latest armament.

Like most the men from MACV, Shriver had a
unique way of dressing up. When off-duty,

the legend often exchanged his combat fatigues
for a blue velvet smoking jacket and derby hat.

Nevertheless, Shriver was always armed to
the teeth. He knew there were Communist

infiltrators everywhere and never left his
guard down, especially after gaining notoriety

among the enemy due to his exploits.
It was common for other operators to

see Shriver armed with four to six pistols
or revolvers on his person. All of different

calibers. From the old-reliable and
powerful M1911 to the lethal Magnum.

Shriver’s kit for combat operations was also
unconventional. He, like others in MACV,

would often employ enemy AK-47s, RPKs, and
other guns that were not standard-issue.

Shriver carried a sawed-off shotgun, a
suppressed World War 2 era M3 grease gun,

or a .45-caliber M1A1 Thompson submachine gun.

There is a unique account of Shriver’s arsenal
during his second tour in Vietnam when he went

to MACV-SOG's Command and Control North
for a debrief about a mission near the DMZ.

Captain Jim Storter recalled: [QUOTE] "He
had pistols stuck everywhere on him; I mean,

he had five or six .38 caliber revolvers."
The captain, bewildered about the sergeant’s

equipment, asked him: [QUOTE] "Sergeant Shriver,
would you like a CAR-15 or M-16 or something?

You know the DMZ is not a real mellow area."
The Mad Dog grinned and laconically replied:

[QUOTE] "No, those long guns will get you in
trouble, and besides if I need more than these,

I got troubles anyhow."
As time went by,

the staff sergeant turned more eccentric.
In 1968, the Vietnam veteran was forced by

command for a mandatory rest period to the
US. His teammate Larry White accompanied

him to purchase a Marlin Lever action rifle
chambered in the powerful .444 Marlin Cartridge.

Shriver did not plan on using such a powerful
cartridge to hunt down Grizzly and Polar Bears.

He was thinking of taking down another type
of prey. Shriver eventually shipped the rifle

to MACV-SOG headquarters and said he would
use it to bust bunkers and instill fear in

the heart of the enemy with the massive exit
wounds caused by the .444 Marlin Cartridge.

As a member of MACV-SOG, Shriver was a platoon
sergeant of the secret Hatchet Force units. These

small units comprised two or three American
MACV-SOG members and 20 to 30 handpicked

locals from the Montagnards or People from the
Mountain and members of the South Vietnamese Army

who were trained to fight unconventional warfare.
These native Vietnamese were highly loyal to their

American leaders and followed them until the end.
The Hatchet Forces were a part of MACV-SOG

and were tasked with unconventional
warfare, reconnaissance, sabotage, and

direct-action missions deep behind enemy lines.
These elite units gathered intelligence, disrupted

enemy operations, and carried out special missions
in the challenging terrain of Southeast Asia.

Their activities were highly classified and
often involved working with indigenous forces.

Hatchet Forces’ name reflected their role as a
quick, precise, and lethal tool in unconventional

warfare. Shriver and his men excelled at that
to the point that Radio Hanoi, a Communist radio

station, announced a $10,000 bounty for his head.
During one of the many over-the-top engagements

where the enemy outnumbered Mad Dog
Shriver and his men, he was establishing

radio contact for air support when one of the
operators asked him if he required an exfil,

to which Shriver replied: [QUOTE]
“No, no…I’ve got them right where

I want them: surrounded from the inside.”
Although Mad Dog Shriver was the loner,

he was extremely fond of his trusty
Montagnards. They were fiercely independent

tribesmen who lived in the Vietnamese
highlands and despised the Communists.

They were courageous in combat
and had a unique ability to

track anything that moved in the jungle.
His men loved Shriver, and they rewarded

him with their loyalty. In return, he spent most
of his money on his men and their families. Food,

clothing, and other donations
were part of Shriver's constant

flow of supplies to the mountain people.
The Mad Dog spent most of his time with

his Montagnards. He lived, ate, and slept
inside their barracks. Besides his men,

Shriver also had another friend: a large German
shepherd named Klaus, whom he adopted in Taiwan.

Shriver loved Klaus so much that, upon learning
of a cruel prank some NCOs played on his dog,

force-feeding him with beer, Shriver walked
into the NCO club with his .38 revolver and

threatened the men. Not a single man dared
to step forward and claim responsibility.

Chapter 5 Last Fight
After three years of

continuous combat patrols, war began to take
a toll on Mad Dog Shriver. He wanted to quit

but did not wish to leave his men and their
families to their fate. Shriver felt danger

was around the corner but kept going forward.
During the morning of April 24, 1969, a MACV-SOG

company prepared to raid the airfield at Quan
Loi, South Vietnam, some 20 miles away from

the secret lair of the Central Office of South
Vietnam, the main HQ of the Communist forces.

B-52 bombers had heavily pummeled the site, and
it was now time for Mad Dog and his comrades to

clean house. The operators were heavily armed and
ready to get rid of the North Vietnamese garrison.

Due to the secretive nature of the
mission, Shriver and the rest of the

MACV-SOG operators were on their own. There
was no air support unless it was essential.

Before boarding the chopper with his Montagnards,
Shriver turned to one of his friends and said:

[QUOTE] “Take care of my boy.” He felt it was the
last time he would see Klaus. One of the Hueys

failed and had to turn back, leaving Shriver’s 1st
and 2nd platoons without valuable ground support.

As soon as the men landed, they were
immediately pinned down by several

concealed machine gun nests. Mad Dog
estimated his platoon was surrounded

by six enemy platoons hidden in the bunkers.
It was up to Mad Dog and his Montagnards to

relieve the pinned-down men. He radioed
the team he would try to flank the MG

positions and immediately got to work.
The fearless warrior inspired his loyal

mountain men and charged towards the
enemy emplacement. They began dashing

through a hail of enemy bullets and grenades.
Armed with a Uzi SMG, Mad Dog opened fire

against the enemy while on the move to protect his
troops. And they did the same for him. Once they

approached the treeline, Mad Dog gathered his
men, smiled at them, nodded, and they all threw

grenades before venturing into hostile territory
to shoot down the machine gun emplacement.

Mad Dog Shriver was never seen again… In the
following weeks, Hanoi repeated propaganda

pieces narrating how they had finally captured and
terminated Shriver, but no proof was ever given.

In the following weeks, the military sent a
cleanup team to recover the fallen soldiers,

but there was no sign of Shriver.
He was less than three weeks away

from finishing his third tour of duty.
Mad Dog was 27 years old when he was officially

listed as Missing in Action. True to his spirit,
the legend left behind a couple of dollars,

his brave shepherd, Klaus, and his smoking jacket.
Throughout his intense career, Shriver earned

a Silver Star, a Soldier’s medal for Heroism, a
Bronze Star with two oak leaf clusters, a Bronze

Star with 4 Valor devices, an Air Medal, a Purple
Heart, and several Army commendation medals.

In 1974, the Secretary of the Army put Mad Dog’s
file to rest despite his body never being found.

The Mad Dog was posthumously awarded a second
Silver Star and promoted to Master Sergeant.