Tiger man of Vietnam. Frank Walker. 2010.

In 1963, Australian Army Captain Barry Pietersen was sent to Vietnam. It was one of the most tightly held secrets of the Vietnam War: long before combat troops set foot there and under the command of the CIA, Petersen was ordered to train and lead guerrilla squads of Montagnard tribesmen against the Viet Cong in the remote Central Highlands.

Petersen successfully formed a fearsome militia, named ‘Tiger Men’. A canny leader, he was courageous in battle, and his bravery saw him awarded the coveted Military Cross and worshipped by the hill tribes.

But his success created enemies, not just within the Viet Cong. Like Marlon Brando’s character in Apocalypse Now, some in the CIA saw Petersen as having gone native. His refusal, when asked, to turn his Tiger Men into assassins as part of the notorious CIAMPhoenix Program only strengthened that belief. The CIA strongly resented anyone who stood in their way. Some in US intelligence were determined Petersen had to go. He was lucky to make it out of the mountains alive.