http://www.lairweb.org.nz/tiger/maneating13.html

Stories from Vietnam:
Tiger attacks increased during the Vietnam war; this was due to the frequency with which bodies lay unburied. Despite claims to the contrary, tigers will scavenge and feed at old kills, be they their own, or someone else's. Having developed a taste for human flesh they would then attack soldiers quite readily. The first stories illustrate some of the many tiger encounters experienced in during the Vietnamese war. Tiger Killed Near Vietnam Border:Quang Tri, Vietnam--A man-eating tiger was killed by members of a small recon patrol when the 400 pound cat attacked a 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion Marine in the northwestern corner of South Vietnam. The Marine who was attacked is listed in a satisfactory condition at a military hospital in Quang Tri. Identification is being withheld pending notification of the next of kin. The six man recon team was on an observation mission near Fire Support Base Alpine, about six miles east of the Laotian Border, when it encountered the tiger. The team had completed its assigned mission and was waiting to be heli-lifted from the area, when the incident occurred. Bad weather conditions had prevented their immediate extraction and the team had posted a two-man radio watch while the others settled down to sleep. The tiger struck swiftly and silently. "Suddenly I heard somebody scream",said PFC Thomas E. Shainline, "then somebody else was yelling, it's a tiger, its a tiger!" PFC Roy Regan, who had been sleeping next to the victim recalled, "I jumped up and saw the tiger with his mouth around my partner. ""All I could think about was to get the tiger away from him. I jumped at the tiger and the cat jerked his head and jumped into a bomb crater 10 meters away, still holding his prey." The Marines quickly followed the tiger to the crater and opened fire on the attacking beast. They could not be sure which one of them actually killed the tiger, since they all fired at it. Once hit, the tiger released his prey and the man staggered out of the bomb crater. "He looked dazed and he asked what happened", recalled PFC Maurice M. Howell. The injured Marine was given first aid treatment and a Marine CH-46 helicopter arrived to pick up the injured Marine, the rest of the team and the dead tiger. The injured Marine was rushed to the 3rd Medical Battalion Hospital at Quang Tri, suffering from lacerations and bites on the neck. The tiger, measuring nine feet from head to tail, was transported to the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion headquarters. The incident took place about ten miles south of the demilitarized zone near a spot where a young Marine was slain by a man-eating tiger Nov. 12. Military authorities had sent out a Marine contingent and two professional South Vietnamese tiger hunters three weeks ago to find the killer tiger and three others believed in the area, but the hunt failed. Note: There is some debate about the date of this attack and I have had several e-mails regarding this. Some stories claim it was 1968, but soldiers stationed in Vietnam at the time think it occurred in November of 1967, though the story did not go to print until January 1968.
tanning the tiger:
During one night in 1968, a 6-man US Marine patrol were taking turns to rest. They were well hidden from the Vietnamese in dense bush, but were particularly uptight with visibility down almost to nil.
Suddenly, one of the patrol members felt pulling on his leg. He could just discern a large shape standing beside him before it slipped into the darkness.Over the radio the patrol leader reported the team had movement around them. He was now faced with the decision of remaining still and quiet, or taking aggressive action.The next transmission over the radio was anything but quiet and indicated the group was also anything but still. The black shape had returned, grabbed a patrol member and the Marines had opened fire. It was then they discovered the shape belonged to a huge tiger.
As the shots would surely have attracted unwanted attention, the patrol was advised to immediately clear the area and proceed to a helicopter extract Landing Zone. They did so -- after negotiating over the radio about taking the tiger.The terrain was tough.
The tiger weighed 400 pound.The weather was so bad it was debatable if the team could successfully be extracted. Conditions at the time were monsoonal.After a great deal of effort and struggling, the increased danger involved in trying to evade enemy patrols, while carrying a 400 pound tiger, made it clear that the entire animal could not be carted out.The patrol leader made the decision to skin the cat and the team made it to their pickup point. In the weather conditions the helicopter was unable to land forcing the team to keep on the move.After two more humid days their tiger hide was starting to deteriorate. The next radio exchange between the patrol and base went something like this:
Patrol Leader: "I need to know how to get out with this tiger skin intact." Bn CP: "There is a Marine here who grew up on a farm and says he knows a bit about tanning skins" Patrol Leader: "So?" Bn CP: "He said you have to pour tannic acid on the skin." Patrol Leader: "And where in the hell do I get tannic acid way out here?" Bn CP: "He said urine has tannic acid in it. Piss on the tiger!" Patrol Leader: "Roger."
The vision comes to mind of 6 bone tired Marines standing in a circle around the tiger skin and tanning it.
The next day, the weather broke and the team were extracted. Back at base they posed proudly for the photographers.Within the next 48 hours decomposition claimed the remains of the tiger and it smelt positively horrible.