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.