Apache (Viet Cong soldier): Difference between revisions
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Apache was a female [[sniper]] and interrogator for the [[Viet Cong]] during the [[War in Vietnam]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Marine Sniper: 93 Confirmed Kills|last=Henderson|first = Charles|author-link= Charles W. Henderson |page =94|publisher=Penguin|year=2001|isbn=978-0-425-18165-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1411077/A-snipers-life.html|title=A sniper's life| publisher= Telegraph|access-date= 17 August 2011|date=24 October 2002|first=Toby |last=Harnden}}</ref> While no real name is given by Hathcock, he states she was known by the US military as "Apache", because of her methods of torturing [[US Marines]] and [[ARVN]] troops for information and then letting them bleed to death.<ref name= "Baltimora">{{cite news|url= |
According to the American sniper [[Carlos Hathcock]], '''Apache''' was a female [[sniper]] and interrogator for the [[Viet Cong]] during the [[War in Vietnam]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Marine Sniper: 93 Confirmed Kills|last=Henderson|first = Charles|author-link= Charles W. Henderson |page =94|publisher=Penguin|year=2001|isbn=978-0-425-18165-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1411077/A-snipers-life.html|title=A sniper's life| publisher= Telegraph|access-date= 17 August 2011|date=24 October 2002|first=Toby |last=Harnden}}</ref> While no real name is given by Hathcock, he states she was known by the US military as "Apache", because of her methods of torturing [[US Marines]] and [[ARVN]] troops for information and then letting them bleed to death.<ref name= "Baltimora">{{cite news|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1992/02/02/disease-finds-sniper-viet-cong-didnt-a-soldiers-story/|title=Disease finds sniper Viet Cong didn't A soldier's story|year=1992|first=Joe |last=Nawrozki |publisher= Baltimore Sun|quote=On Hill 55 near Duc Pho, Marines had been dying at the hands of a female Viet Cong sniper and interrogator nicknamed Apache. One day she had captured a young Marine during an ambush. Within hearing range of the hilltop camp defenders, she tortured him through the night.}}</ref> |
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According to Hathcock, he killed her in 1966, when serving as part of a Marine Corps [[sniper team]].<ref name="Baltimora" /> |
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Sociologist |
Sociologist and anti-war advocate Jerry Lembcke has cast doubt on the existence of Apache and the veracity of the narratives about her, considering the story to be a legend which is designed to dehumanise Vietnamese women.<ref name="Lembcke">{{cite book |last1=Lembcke |first1=Jerry |title=Hanoi Jane: War, Sex, & Fantasies of Betrayal |date=2010 |publisher=University of Massachusetts Press |pages=103–118|isbn=9781558498150}}</ref> Ugo Fracassa notes that Hathcock's narrative description of his killing of Apache contains voyeuristic sexual undertones, and links this to [[Rape during the Vietnam War|American sexual violence against Vietnamese women]].<ref name="Fracassa">{{cite journal |last1=Fracassa |first1=Ugo |title=Etica ed estetica del cecchino nella narrativa di Nicolai Lilin |journal=Nuova Corvina |date=2015 |issue=28 |pages=208–227 |url=http://italogramma.elte.hu/wp-content/files/Ugo_Fracassa_Etica_estetica.pdf |access-date=1 June 2022}}</ref> |
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== Hathcock's account == |
== Hathcock's account == |
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In an interview conducted by [[John Plaster]] in 1984 and 1985, Hathcock stated that Apache led a platoon of snipers near [[Hill 55]], just outside of [[Da Nang]] near the middle of present-day Vietnam, and had tortured Marines.<ref>{{cite video | people = [[John Plaster]], [[Carlos Hathcock]] | title = Marine Sniper Carlos Hathcock: In His Own Words & Bonus Program 'Advanced Snipercraft | medium = VHS | publisher = Loti Group | location = Virginia | date = September 26, 1994}}</ref> |
In an interview conducted by [[John Plaster]] in 1984 and 1985, Hathcock stated that Apache led a platoon of snipers near [[Hill 55]], just outside of [[Da Nang]] near the middle of present-day Vietnam, and had tortured Marines.<ref>{{cite video | people = [[John Plaster]], [[Carlos Hathcock]] | title = Marine Sniper Carlos Hathcock: In His Own Words & Bonus Program 'Advanced Snipercraft | medium = VHS | publisher = Loti Group | location = Virginia | date = September 26, 1994}}</ref> |
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In |
In dramatised versions of Hathcock's life story, published by [[Charles W. Henderson|Charles Henderson]], Apache is described as torturing captured US soldiers within earshot of their comrades. However, academics studying the Vietnam war consider these accounts to be untrue.<ref name="Lembcke" /><ref name="Fracassa" /> Hathcock's narrative suggests he shot Apache from a distance, working with Jim Land as a spotter.<ref name="Baltimora" /> |
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== Historical perspectives == |
== Historical perspectives == |
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Jerry Lembcke views the story as a legend.<ref name="Lembcke" /> He points out that, although women served in various capacities in the North Vietnamese military and the Viet Cong, there is very little evidence of women in front line combat roles during the Vietnam war, much less in positions of command. He also states that stories of Apache's alleged treatment of US prisoners of war are a distortion the historical record |
Jerry Lembcke views the story as a legend.<ref name="Lembcke" /> He points out that, although women served in various capacities in the North Vietnamese military and the Viet Cong, there is very little evidence of women in front line combat roles during the Vietnam war, much less in positions of command. He also states that stories of Apache's alleged treatment of US prisoners of war are a distortion of the historical record, serving to dehumanise the Vietnamese for atrocities for which no evidence exists. He concludes by stating that characters such as Apache are "more likely found in the comic books than history books".<ref name="Lembcke" /> |
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Lembcke also draws attention to the parallel between Henderson's lurid description of Apache's torture of an American marine, in which she spits betel juice in his face, and the [[urban legend]] of women spitting on returning Vietnam vets.<ref name="Lembcke" /> He expands on this by suggesting that US popular culture's focus on female Vietnamese fighters forms part of a |
Lembcke also draws attention to the parallel between Henderson's lurid description of Apache's torture of an American marine, in which she spits betel juice in his face, and the [[urban legend]] of women spitting on returning Vietnam vets.<ref name="Lembcke" /> He expands on this by suggesting that US popular culture's focus on female Vietnamese fighters forms part of a feminisation of the Vietnamese enemy and that this has become a key component in popular media and the American collective memory of Vietnam.<ref name="Lembcke" /> According to Lembcke, Apache is a fantasy springing from the psychology of defeat, in which an emasculating woman warrior symbolises the blow to male pride, sexual prowess and status associated with military failure.<ref name="Lembcke2">{{cite news |last1=Lembcke |first1=Jerry |title=Lady Gaga, guns and McChrystal |url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/political-bookworm/2010/06/lady_gaga_guns_and_mcchrystal.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130223163549/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/political-bookworm/2010/06/lady_gaga_guns_and_mcchrystal.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 23, 2013 |access-date=3 June 2022 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=2010}}</ref> |
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Ugo Fracassa considers Henderson's recounting of Hathcock's narrative to be |
Ugo Fracassa considers Henderson's recounting of Hathcock's narrative to be sexualised, given its focus on Apache's physical appearance which he views as displaying an attraction combined with repulsion. He also considers the narrative to contain aspects of voyeurism, in view of its description of Hathcock and another US Marine spying on her while she urinated. He views Hathcock's account of Apache's cruelty, involving sexualised violence against men, to be an inverted representation of the reality of American rapes and sexual violence against local women.<ref name="Fracassa" /> |
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== In popular culture == |
== In popular culture == |
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Hathcock's account of an encounter with Apache was the basis for an episode of [[The History Channel]] documentary series ''Sniper: Deadliest Missions''.<ref name=thc>{{Cite episode| title = Stalking the Apache| series = Sniper: Deadliest Missions| credits = Emre Sahin, Kelly McPherson, Leon Farmer, Scott Levy and Chad Mathews | network= The History Channel| airdate = 3 June 2011}}</ref> |
Hathcock's account of an encounter with Apache was the basis for an episode of [[The History Channel]] documentary series ''Sniper: Deadliest Missions''.<ref name=thc>{{Cite episode| title = Stalking the Apache| series = Sniper: Deadliest Missions| credits = Emre Sahin, Kelly McPherson, Leon Farmer, Scott Levy and Chad Mathews | network= The History Channel| airdate = 3 June 2011}}</ref> Lembcke views the story of Apache to have been the inspiration behind the female sniper in ''[[Full Metal Jacket]]''.<ref name="Lembcke" /> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Apache}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Apache}} |
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[[Category:Military personnel killed in the Vietnam War]] |
[[Category:Military personnel killed in the Vietnam War]] |
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[[Category:1936 births]] |
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[[Category:1966 deaths]] |
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[[Category:Snipers]] |
[[Category:Snipers]] |
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[[Category:Torture in the Vietnam War]] |
[[Category:Torture in the Vietnam War]] |
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[[Category:Vietnam War crimes by the Viet Cong]] |
[[Category:Vietnam War crimes by the Viet Cong]] |
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[[Category:Fictional Vietnamese people]] |
[[Category:Fictional Vietnamese people]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Possibly fictional people from Asia]] |
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Latest revision as of 15:18, 30 December 2024
Apache | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | 'Apache' |
| Died | 13 November 1966 Hill 55, South Vietnam (per Carlos Hathcock) |
| Allegiance |  North Vietnam |
| Service |  Viet Cong |
| Battles / wars | Vietnam War † |
According to the American sniper Carlos Hathcock, Apache was a female sniper and interrogator for the Viet Cong during the War in Vietnam.[1][2] While no real name is given by Hathcock, he states she was known by the US military as "Apache", because of her methods of torturing US Marines and ARVN troops for information and then letting them bleed to death.[3]
According to Hathcock, he killed her in 1966, when serving as part of a Marine Corps sniper team.[3]
Sociologist and anti-war advocate Jerry Lembcke has cast doubt on the existence of Apache and the veracity of the narratives about her, considering the story to be a legend which is designed to dehumanise Vietnamese women.[4] Ugo Fracassa notes that Hathcock's narrative description of his killing of Apache contains voyeuristic sexual undertones, and links this to American sexual violence against Vietnamese women.[5]
Hathcock's account
[edit]In an interview conducted by John Plaster in 1984 and 1985, Hathcock stated that Apache led a platoon of snipers near Hill 55, just outside of Da Nang near the middle of present-day Vietnam, and had tortured Marines.[6]
In dramatised versions of Hathcock's life story, published by Charles Henderson, Apache is described as torturing captured US soldiers within earshot of their comrades. However, academics studying the Vietnam war consider these accounts to be untrue.[4][5] Hathcock's narrative suggests he shot Apache from a distance, working with Jim Land as a spotter.[3]
Historical perspectives
[edit]Jerry Lembcke views the story as a legend.[4] He points out that, although women served in various capacities in the North Vietnamese military and the Viet Cong, there is very little evidence of women in front line combat roles during the Vietnam war, much less in positions of command. He also states that stories of Apache's alleged treatment of US prisoners of war are a distortion of the historical record, serving to dehumanise the Vietnamese for atrocities for which no evidence exists. He concludes by stating that characters such as Apache are "more likely found in the comic books than history books".[4]
Lembcke also draws attention to the parallel between Henderson's lurid description of Apache's torture of an American marine, in which she spits betel juice in his face, and the urban legend of women spitting on returning Vietnam vets.[4] He expands on this by suggesting that US popular culture's focus on female Vietnamese fighters forms part of a feminisation of the Vietnamese enemy and that this has become a key component in popular media and the American collective memory of Vietnam.[4] According to Lembcke, Apache is a fantasy springing from the psychology of defeat, in which an emasculating woman warrior symbolises the blow to male pride, sexual prowess and status associated with military failure.[7]
Ugo Fracassa considers Henderson's recounting of Hathcock's narrative to be sexualised, given its focus on Apache's physical appearance which he views as displaying an attraction combined with repulsion. He also considers the narrative to contain aspects of voyeurism, in view of its description of Hathcock and another US Marine spying on her while she urinated. He views Hathcock's account of Apache's cruelty, involving sexualised violence against men, to be an inverted representation of the reality of American rapes and sexual violence against local women.[5]
In popular culture
[edit]Hathcock's account of an encounter with Apache was the basis for an episode of The History Channel documentary series Sniper: Deadliest Missions.[8] Lembcke views the story of Apache to have been the inspiration behind the female sniper in Full Metal Jacket.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ Henderson, Charles (2001). Marine Sniper: 93 Confirmed Kills. Penguin. p. 94. ISBN 978-0-425-18165-2.
- ^ Harnden, Toby (24 October 2002). "A sniper's life". Telegraph. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
- ^ a b c Nawrozki, Joe (1992). "Disease finds sniper Viet Cong didn't A soldier's story". Baltimore Sun.
On Hill 55 near Duc Pho, Marines had been dying at the hands of a female Viet Cong sniper and interrogator nicknamed Apache. One day she had captured a young Marine during an ambush. Within hearing range of the hilltop camp defenders, she tortured him through the night.
- ^ a b c d e f g Lembcke, Jerry (2010). Hanoi Jane: War, Sex, & Fantasies of Betrayal. University of Massachusetts Press. pp. 103–118. ISBN 9781558498150.
- ^ a b c Fracassa, Ugo (2015). "Etica ed estetica del cecchino nella narrativa di Nicolai Lilin" (PDF). Nuova Corvina (28): 208–227. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
- ^ John Plaster, Carlos Hathcock (September 26, 1994). Marine Sniper Carlos Hathcock: In His Own Words & Bonus Program 'Advanced Snipercraft (VHS). Virginia: Loti Group.
- ^ Lembcke, Jerry (2010). "Lady Gaga, guns and McChrystal". Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 23, 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
- ^ Emre Sahin, Kelly McPherson, Leon Farmer, Scott Levy and Chad Mathews (3 June 2011). "Stalking the Apache". Sniper: Deadliest Missions. The History Channel.