bag full of ears

July 9, 2003 3:47 PM

R.I.P., Colonel Walter E. Kurtz 1925 - 2003."In the post-Sept 11th security environment, fearless men like Tony 'Poe' are what America needs to combat and counter terrorism and the new unconventional threat that America faces from abroad in exotic and uncharted lands."
posted by majcher (21 comments total)

Oh god, I can't help myself... sorry...

"Mistah Kurtz. He dead."
posted by jokeefe at 4:10 PM on July 9, 2003

Poshepny said he twice hurled human heads from an aircraft on to his enemies in Laos, to terrify them. "We flew in real low, in front of that bastard's house and I threw the head so it bounced right on his porch and into his front door,'' Poshepny, laughing, told me at his San Francisco home in 2001.

None of this will come as a suprise to those who have read about this war... Michael Herr also writes about the bags of ears in Dispatches (amazon link).
posted by jokeefe at 4:16 PM on July 9, 2003

Great link, majcher. I had no idea such a character really existed. That's fascinating and terrifying at the same time.
posted by ttrendel at 4:20 PM on July 9, 2003

Speaking of Laos, TIME recently reported on the Hmong, our allies during Vietnam who are still fighting for their survival against the Laotian government. For them, the war never ended. There are more links on the Hmong in this WarFilter thread.
posted by homunculus at 4:21 PM on July 9, 2003

"Mistah Kurtz. He dead."
damn, too slow. that's a setup if i ever saw one.
posted by juv3nal at 4:22 PM on July 9, 2003

Oh, man - I thought Brando had died. Scared me for a moment!
posted by GriffX at 4:29 PM on July 9, 2003

Considering "Kurtz" is based on a "Vietnamisation" of the "Kurtz" of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, which was written somewhat before M. Poshepny was born, I find the claim that he was the inspiration for the character somewhat dubious. That said, he certainly seems to've played the same part, only in real life.
posted by Pseudoephedrine at 4:36 PM on July 9, 2003

After reading the article, I have trouble believing that anyone is mourning this man. What a horrible piece of work. Probably guys just like him operating right now, too.
posted by GriffX at 4:39 PM on July 9, 2003

um, uncharted lands?
posted by mcsweetie at 4:48 PM on July 9, 2003

Next we're going to be mourning Dan Mitrione.

Poshepny was a nauseating troglodyte whose methods went way beyond the "unsound." I'm sure he was effective, but then, atrocities are always effective at achieving some narrow aim.

The question is whether we want to conduct policy by serial atrocity, however sub rosa, via proxy, and/or deniable. And I just don't want to live in a nation that condones that kind of thing.
posted by adamgreenfield at 6:06 PM on July 9, 2003

None of this will come as a suprise to those who have read about this war... Michael Herr also writes about the bags of ears in Dispatches.

Also, read more of Poshepny's atrocious boasts (and much, much more) in Roger Warner's Shooting at the Moon, as mentioned in the article. (another shameless Amazon link)

It just makes me feel terrible that not only are guys like this out there, still doing these horrific things in the name of freedom, democracy, and America, but that many people see them as "war heroes". I can only imagine what kind of stories are going to turn up in ten or twenty years about our current actions.
posted by majcher at 6:38 PM on July 9, 2003

Considering "Kurtz" is based on a "Vietnamisation" of the "Kurtz" of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, which was written somewhat before M. Poshepny was born, I find the claim that he was the inspiration for the character somewhat dubious.

Yes, but the Kurtz of Apocalypse Now, as interpreted by Brando and Coppola, and as partially written by Michael Herr (see Dispatches, above) was certainly inspired by the actions and personalities of the American command in Vietnam. I can't recommend Dispatches enough--Herr faces his own fear and admits to machismo theatrics with exactitude and courage. And if youare interested in Apocalypse Now, there are whole sequences in that book which were lifted for the movie, such as the Do Long Bridge scene. After reading Dispatches, you come to view Apocalypse Now as more a documentary than a flawed but astonishing interpretation of Heart of Darkness.... its reach exceeded its grasp, but hell, it's still a great movie. As for this horrible man, who is unmourned by me, there have always been people like him and there always will be. If he wasn't throwing decapitated heads out of helicopters he would have been sneaking up behind the person who had just figured out how to make fire and pushing him/her into the flames just to watch the screams.
posted by jokeefe at 7:19 PM on July 9, 2003

Agreed, jokeefe, that there will always be people like him. I'm not sure which is worse, however: people like him, or the people in government who allowed him to behave as he did. If somebody on "the other side", say an Iraqi or a N. Korean did as this man did, he would be condemned as being evil and a threat of the highest order against America. Fortunate for Poe that he worked for the Man, eh?

The things that this man did, were they effective? Did his efforts make any difference in the grand scheme of things? My feeling is that he was a pointless cog in the machine. This disgusts me.
posted by ashbury at 7:30 PM on July 9, 2003

Yes, ashbury, you are absolutely right.
posted by jokeefe at 7:42 PM on July 9, 2003

Actually, ashbury, first we'd use him for a while. Maybe...have him train terrorists to use on non-Americans, or something... Then, when he's no longer a use to us, we'd call him into a threat.
posted by graventy at 9:02 PM on July 9, 2003

I should throw in a vote for "Dispatches," one of my favorite books, on any topic, anywhere. (Herr was "consulted" on Apocalypse, similarly one of my favorite movies, which may just mean that John Milius lifted Sheen's voice-overs from him.)

The "let him drink paddy water" vignette, BTW, was lifted whole from Griffiths' "Vietnam Inc.," still the best photographic documentation of the US involvement.
posted by adamgreenfield at 10:03 PM on July 9, 2003

Does war require people like this?
posted by alumshubby at 11:24 PM on July 9, 2003

We flew in real low, in front of that bastard's house and I threw the head so it bounced right on his porch and into his front door,'' Poshepny, laughing, told me at his San Francisco home in 2001.

Sounds like this bloke was wasted on CIA black ops, he clearly should have been helping teach precision bombing in the airforce.
posted by biffa at 4:04 AM on July 10, 2003

alumshubby: In my semi-professional opinion, no.
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:12 AM on July 10, 2003

At least the US brought Hmong back to the US. We have a relatively large community here. First Hmong state government rep was elected within the past few years (2000 IIRC).

An interesting community as they had no written language until a few decades ago and the usual generation assimilation issues are present in that community.

IMHO anybody that fights for the US (rightly or wrongly) should be allowed to emigrate to the US.

As for the Colonel, all I can say is some people have anti-social behavior thrust upon them and some are born with it. I wonder if his behavior would have found an outlet had he not been in warzones. Interesting how the article mentions all his warzones were failed attempts though. If he had been doing similar things in Nicaragua would it have changed public opinion more?
posted by infowar at 8:21 AM on July 10, 2003

Oh, man - I thought Brando had died. Scared me for a moment!

Now why would that be scary? Brando hasn't done a good movie since the Godfather.
posted by insomnyuk at 9:12 AM on July 10, 2003