Retired Marine Colonel Thomas J. Flaherty has dedicated much of his life to ensuring the bravery of the young Marines he led in Vietnam is accurately remembered. That commitment began on May 5, 1968, when then-Lieutenant Flaherty led his platoon into combat against a North Vietnamese Army regiment. Wounded three times while rescuing fellow Marines, he was evacuated to a naval hospital in Japan, where he spent weeks recovering from injuries that left him unable to walk. From his hospital bed, he began writing recommendations to recognize the Marines whose actions he believed deserved official recognition, determined to ensure their deeds would be accurately recorded and never forgotten.
Years later, after rising to the rank of Colonel, Flaherty learned that many of those recommendations had been downgraded during the approval process. Rather than accepting those decisions, he began assembling military records, battlefield maps, operational reports, command chronologies, and firsthand accounts from survivors. He painstakingly reconstructed the events of May 5, 1968, applying the same discipline that guided him as a Marine officer. 'My responsibility to those young Marines did not end when the battle was over,' Flaherty said. 'Many of them were only eighteen or nineteen years old. They carried out extraordinary acts of courage under impossible circumstances, and I believe history deserves to remember them accurately.'
After leaving the Marine Corps, Flaherty built a nationally respected aviation law practice representing pilots, mechanics, aircraft owners, airlines, manufacturers, and aviation professionals in complex litigation and regulatory matters. Despite his legal success, he has consistently redirected attention away from himself and toward the Marines whose courage continues to inspire his work. 'The story has never been about me,' Flaherty said. 'It's about those young Marines who went on patrol every day, knowing exactly what they might face, and who never backed down from their duty. They deserve to be remembered for what they did.'
The thousands of pages of records Flaherty has assembled over the years preserve the stories of Marines he believes history has not fully recognized. 'As the years pass, firsthand witnesses become fewer,' he said. 'That makes it even more important to preserve the facts, protect the historical record, and make every effort to ensure these Marines receive the recognition they earned.' More information about his efforts can be found at www.thomasjflaherty.com.
