Anthony Poshepny was known for controversial actions during his service in Laos with Special Guerilla Units under the command of General Vang Pao, a US-funded secret army in Laos during the Vietnam War, and is recognized as the possible primary inspiration for Colonel Kurtz in the movie Apocalypse Now.
13 Facts About Anthony Poshepny
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Anthony Poshepny's father was a United States Navy officer whose parents were immigrants from Bohemia.
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Anthony Poshepny received the Purple Heart twice and was a Sergeant by the time he was honorably discharged.
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Anthony Poshepny was active in Korea during the Korean War, training refugees for sabotage missions in the North.
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In 1958, Anthony Poshepny tried unsuccessfully to arrange a military uprising against Sukarno, the president of Indonesia.
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Anthony Poshepny's practices were described as barbaric when they later came to light.
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Anthony Poshepny paid Hmong fighters to bring him the ears of dead enemy soldiers, and on at least one occasion mailed a bag of ears to the US Embassy in Vientiane to verify his body counts.
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Anthony Poshepny dropped severed heads onto enemy locations twice in a grisly psy-op.
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Anthony Poshepny moved the family to California in the 1990s.
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Anthony Poshepny frequently appeared at Hmong veterans' gatherings and helped veterans immigrate and settle in the US.
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Anthony Poshepny defended his controversial acts during the war to reporters and historians, claiming they were necessary response to fight the war.
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Anthony Poshepny died in California on June 27,2003, aged 78.
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An exhibit about Anthony Poshepny is on display at the Patpong Museum in Bangkok, Thailand.