Apache (Viet Cong soldier)

Apache was a female sniper and interrogator for the Viet Cong during the War in Vietnam.[1][2] While her real name is not known, 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]

Apache
Nickname(s)'Apache'
Born1936
French Indochina
Died13 November 1966 (age 30)
Hill 55, Vietnam
Allegiance Viet Cong
Service/branch Liberation Army of South Vietnam
Years of service1963–1966
Battles/warsVietnam War  †

She was reportedly killed in 1966 by US Marine sniper Carlos Hathcock, who was part of a Marine Corps sniper team.[4][5][6] His partner, Captain Edward James Land, manned a spotting scope, while Hathcock hit her with both of the rounds that he had fired.[7][8]

First-hand account of Apache

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.[9] In later interviews with Hathcock and Land by author Charles W. Henderson, Apache was said to be a high-profile target, according to Military Intelligence.[10]

Apache was reportedly known for "torturing prisoners within earshot of US bases", according to Henderson.[7] Richard Marcinko, the founder of SEAL Team Six, said in 1995 that Hathcock had told him one of Apache's "trademarks" was to cut off her victim's eyelids and keep them as souvenirs.[11] Apache often emasculated her captives, according to Hathcock.[4]

Hathcock's encounter with Apache was the basis for an episode of The History Channel documentary series Sniper: Deadliest Missions.[5]

References
  1. Henderson, Charles (2001). Marine Sniper: 93 Confirmed Kills. Penguin. p. 94. ISBN 978-0-425-18165-2.
  2. Harnden, Toby (24 October 2002). "A sniper's life". Telegraph. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  3. 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.
  4. Roberts, Craig; Charles W. Sasser (2004). Crosshairs on the Kill Zone: American Combat Snipers, Vietnam Through Operation Iraqi Freedom. Simon and Schuster. p. 75. ISBN 978-1-4165-0362-0.
  5. Emre Sahin, Kelly McPherson, Leon Farmer, Scott Levy and Chad Mathews (3 June 2011). "Stalking the Apache". Sniper: Deadliest Missions. The History Channel.
  6. Sasser, Charles; Roberts, Craig (1990). One Shot, One Kill (1990 ed.). Pocket Books. p. 202. ISBN 978-0-671-68219-4.
  7. Henderson, Charles (2001). Marine Sniper: 93 Confirmed Kills. Penguin. pp. 131–132. ISBN 978-0-425-18165-2.
  8. Earley, Pete (Jan 18, 1987). "THE SNIPER; With the encouragement of the Marine Corps, Carlos Norman Hathcock II killed 93 Vietnamese. He managed to live through it. Now he has to live with it". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. p. 17. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  9. John Plaster, Carlos Hathcock (September 26, 1994). Marine Sniper Carlos Hathcock: In His Own Words & Bonus Program 'Advanced Snipercraft (VHS). Virginia: Loti Group.
  10. Henderson, Charles W. (2003). Silent Warrior (2003 ed.). Berkley Books. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-425-18864-4.
  11. Marcinko, Richard; John Weisman (1995). Rogue warrior: Green Team. Pocket Books. p. 280. ISBN 978-0-671-89671-3. Cutting off her victim's eyelids was her trademark.
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