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Apache
Nickname Apache
Died November 13, 1966(1966-11-13) — aged 31
Place of death Hill 55, Vietnam
Allegiance North Vietnam
Years of service 1963–1966
Battles/wars Vietnam War

Apache was a female Viet Cong sniper[1] and interrogator[2] known as "Apache", because of her methods of torturing US Marines and ARVN troops and letting them bleed to death.[3]

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

The first-hand account about Apache[]

In an interview conducted by John Plaster in 1984 and 1985, Hathcock stated that Apache led a platoon of snipers near Hill 55 and had tortured Marines.[9] In interviews with Hathcock and Captain Edward James Land, conducted by Charles Henderson, Apache was a high profile target according to Military Intelligence.[10]

Apache was reportedly known for "torturing prisoners within earshot of U.S. bases", according to C.W.Henderson.[7] The founder of SEAL Team Six, Richard Marcinko, 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 in another interview.[4]

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

As a fictional character[]

Apache was the basis for the villain of the same name in H.E. Jasper's detective novel Days in Bien-Hoa.[12]

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. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1411077/A-snipers-life.html. Retrieved 17 August 2011. 
  3. Nawrozki, Joe (1992). "Disease finds sniper Viet Cong didn't A soldier's story". Baltimore Sun. http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1992-02-02/news/1992033013_1_sniper-hathcock-vietnam/2. "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. 4.0 4.1 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. 5.0 5.1 "Stalking the Apache". 
  6. Sasser, Charles; Roberts, Craig (1990). One Shot, One Kill (1990 ed.). Pocket Books. p. 202. ISBN 978-0-671-68219-4. 
  7. 7.0 7.1 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". Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post. p. 17. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/73790019.html?dids=73790019:73790019&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jan+18%2C+1987&author=Pete+Earley&pub=The+Washington+Post+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=THE+SNIPER%3B+With+the+encouragement+of+the+Marine+Corps%2C+Carlos+Norman+Hathcock+II+killed+93+Vietnamese.+He+managed+to+live+through+it.+Now+he+has+to+live+with+it&pqatl=google. Retrieved 12 January 2012. 
  9. "Marine Sniper Carlos Hathcock: In His Own Words & Bonus Program 'Advanced Snipercraft". Virginia: Loti Group. September 26, 1994. 
  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." 
  12. Jasper, H.E. (2010). Days in Bien-hoa. PublishAmerica. ISBN 978-1-4560-5970-5. 

External links[]


All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at Apache (Viet Cong soldier) and the edit history here.
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