Janurary 1968. B Troop WO Richard Schoney watches as CWO Rodney Orton helps hang the Bengal tiger. Shot with one burst from an M 60 by SSG Roger Philpott. Two lift ships secured the area and loaded the tiger into a cargo net. The tiger was hung on the water tower and skinned. CWO Orton had the skin tanned in Nha Trang. It then hung on the club wall. Several years later, a tiger skin was reported hanging in the 1st Avn Bde villa in Saigon. Was it the Red Lion Inn? Does anyone know where the tiger skin is today?
Janurary 68. CWO Orton shows the teeth of the Bengal tiger killed during a reconnaissance mission. The Vietnamese workers were clearly cautious of the tiger. Though they knew he was dead, they scurried to touch the tiger then quickly withdrew. They beleived touching the ferocious wild animal would pass his courage on to them. I beleive the Vietnamese had meat for dinner.
