Tony Poe
Richard H. Cummings
AMERICA'S UNKNOWN SOLDIER that appeared in
The Sunday Times Magazine, London, 25 October 1998
The article, with photographs, deals with the fascinating story of
Anthony Pospheny (Tony Poe).
These excerpts from the Sunday Times tells it all:
Despite the apparent adulation heaped upon this man, you will not have
heard of
him. Even his neighbours in this quiet San Francisco suburb of Sunset know
nothing
of his history, or how his life helped to create the greatest cinema icon
to come of the Vietnam war. This man, all but invisible for the majority of
his turbulent life, is the real Colonel Kurtz, whose fictional counterpart
was played
by Marlon Brando in Francis Ford Coppola's epic movie Apocalypse Now.
Although the film director never met him, he heard the legend of a fearless
soldier, one of America's highly decorated heroes, who went wild and
refused
to come home from the jungle. The movie depicted a colonel, a man who had
"taken a high seat among the natives," and was worshipped by thousands of
tribesmen who made offerings of human body parts.
The Pentagon sent Captain Willard, played by Martin Sheen, up the river to
exterminate him. Willard said, "Kurtz started out as an assassin and now
he's a strange man in a twilight zone, our twilight zone, America's
twilight zone."
The reality of the Kurtz legend is far stranger than fiction. After
a journey through Thailand and Laos, which took us up the Mekong River
to a remote village on the Chinese border, and then on to the United
States,
we found the real Kurtz. On the way, dozens of veteran CIA and Special
Forces
officers, diplomats, and mercenaries, and the
communist generals pitted against then, confirmed the existence of a US
super-spy code - named Upin - and eventually led us to him.
Upin was a pararnilitary expert whose identity and mission were classified
by the US government. Like the fictional Kurtz, he recruited a private
army of 10,000 tribesmen, married a princess turned his back on the US
and became as savage as the jungle he made his home
It emerged that Agent Upin, also known as Pat Gibbs, was Anthony Poshepny,
one of the CIA's most notorious and effective agents deployed in the
Vietnam war. Orders were to enter Laos illegally in 1961 and conduct a
secret war against the communists that would be denied in Congress and
hidden from the US public. Without any documents to
identify him, be was dropped enemy lines and told stop the match of the
North Vietnamese on Laos-a provincial backwater of a country, known to
its people as the Land of a Million Elephants.
But after 10 years in the jungle, Poshepny refused orders to go home,
and by the early 1970s the Chinese, the North Vietnamese, the Pathet
Lao-the communist army in Laos-and the US all wanted him dead. In the
words of the CIA, Anthony Poshepny had "gone bamboo". Everyone wanted
and tried to terminate his command. In 1975, the US withdrew from Laos,
and Poshepny vanished for two decades. Some thought he had died, others
that be had gone mad. Many wondered, but few missed him.
snip snip snip
For a man whose philosophy of life is no surrender, a personal philosophy
based on absolute strength, old age has brought with it inescapable
weakness,
Like the dying Kurtz, Poshepny is now only a pale imitation of his former
self. He is not fit to lead a war - he finds it hard to walk to the end of
his street. For the first time in his life he has been forced to surrender.
Today's government would rather he stayed m the shadows, an embarrassing
reminder of a war the US could never win. Although he draws a CIA pension,
nobody invites him to reunions.....(end of article)
Can anyone add to this story of Anthony Pospheny?
Richard H. Cummings
10662...@CompuSeve.com
Ralph McGehee
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I would appreciate a separate e-mail containing the entire article
on Tony Poe.
Richard H. Cummings wrote:
>
> Today's Sueddeutsche Zeitung carries a reprint of
> AMERICA'S UNKNOWN SOLDIER that appeared in
> The Sunday Times Magazine, London, 25 October 1998
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The below are extracts from CIABASE files on Tony Poe as requested
in the reference.
Ralph McGehee
http://come.to/CIABASE
laos, tony poe ran the secret ground war in laos and kept pickled heads.
poe a hungarian refugee who began his cia career training khamba tribesmen
to fight chinese in tibet. poe said "we got the dalai lama out of tibet."
in laos he rewarded his men for producing the ears of communists. this
ultimately too much for the cia and his cover blown in the press and he was
removed and now lives with his family on a farm in northeast thailand.
harper's 7/85 p60
air op
laos, china, 67-68 tony poe sent t-28 planes to bomb in china. corn, d.
(1994). blond ghost: ted shackley and the cia's crusades 154-5
laos, vietnam, 63 in 8/63 lair rcvd order to disrupt nvn truck traffic
thru laos by blowing up parts of route 7. from an air america plane, tony
poe dropped demolition charges. thais supervised twelve platoons of elite
meo troops called special guerrilla units as they blew up a section.
warner, r. (1995). back fire 100-1
assassinations
laos, thailand, vietnam. edgar buell, tony poshepny and william young had
personal imprint on secret war. tony poe in 58 was one of two operatives
sent to support separtists revolt in indonesia. his first assignment with
anti-sihanouk mercenaries along cambodian border in south vietnam. in laos
he offered one dollar for an ear of enemy and more for a head and cap.
details re pop buell. mccoy, a.w. (1991). the politics of heroin: cia
complicity in the global drug traffic 306-7
book review
laos 53-75 book by roger warner, back fire: the cia's secret war in laos
and its link to the war in vietnam, (1995), reviewed by susan brownmiller.
talks about pop buell and his work with the international voluntary
services in laos. discusses vang pao of the hmong tribesmen. the secret war
gained momentum - codenamed op momemtum with bill lair - an ideological
cold warrior, using thai paratroopers to train the hmong. lair had his hqs
in udorn thailand. tony poshepny, an ex-marine of hungarian origin - who
had worked with the cia's ops with the khamba in tibet and in sumatra,
indonesia was ultimately thrown out of op, a broken-down drunk. this is a
wry, compassionate narrative. "from 63 to 73, laos was a secret annex to
vietnam war, overseen by the ambassador, run by cia, and bombed by the u.s.
military, without the consent of congress." warner focuses on cia's
misbegotten strategy of the hmong counterinsurgency. a horrific tale of
blindsided do-gooders, ambitions and bungled intentions. bill lair/cia
recruited 10,000 hmong. clothed, fed and armed by cia and trained by thais,
they helicoptered to elaborate skirmishes against the pathet lao and the
north vietnamese. at peak strength of 30,000 they the only effective lao
army. vang pao took his cut from the opium trade. he deserted to the u.s.
in 75, six months before the pathet laos triumph. hmong disillusioned,
embittered refugees. warner agrees (with alfred mccoy) that the cia's
mission did not include a war on drugs, but he finds insufficient evidence
that cia ran the trade. the nation 9/18/95 288-90
laos, 55-75 book, shadow war: the cia's secret war in laos, by conboy
with morrison. book gives us the story of the men who fought in laos. they
give a comprehensive account of the cia's largest paramilitary op of the
cold war. tony poe, jerry hog daniels, major harry heinie aderholt.
history took 10 years to compile and involved more than 650 interviews.
includes cia attempt to wiretap north vietnamese city of vinh; white star
and special forces training missions in se asia; the largest successful
prison raid of vn war; the commando raiders and secret raids against dien
bien phu. conboy, lives in jarkarta. book highly recommended.
national intelligence book center bimonthly magazine surveillant vol 4
issues 4 & 5 151-2
covert a
laos, 63 in northwest laos, william young, assisted by ivs volunteer,
joseph flipse, led yao commandos in an attack on pathet lao villages. tony
poe became new cia man at long tieng. mccoy, a.w. (1991). the politics of
heroin: cia complicity in the global drug traffic 316
deaths
laos, 65 cia officer, objibway, died in helicopter crash in summer 65 and
he replaced by tony poe. mccoy, a.w. (1991). the politics of heroin: cia
complicity in the global drug traffic 337
laos, ussf captain willie card overseeing prachinburi camp. he saw a
booty-trapped supply box floating in a stream. he tried to recover the box
and accidentally detonated a claymore mine. tony poe, watching from bank,
had the middle fingers of his left hand blown off by shrapnel. card died
instantly. conboy, k. & morrison, j. (1995). shadow war: cia's secret war
in laos 311
drugs
laos. beginning in 64 vang pao became drug lord of hmong. per ouane
rattikone, commander of laotian army, and gen thao ma, then commander
laotian air force, air america began flying hmong opium to markets in long
tieng and vientiane. tony poe, a cia officer who worked with vang pao, said
vang pao made millions in drug traffic. air logistics for opium trade
further improved when cia and usaid gave vang pao financial assistance in
forming his own air line, xieng khouang air transport. formed in late 67
with two c-47s acquired from air american and continental air services.
company's schedule limited to shuttle flights between long tieng and
vientiane. mccoy, a.w. (1991). the politics of heroin: cia complicity in
the global drug traffic 318
laos, thailand, 62-72 cia worked with thai border police who assigned to
run meo op from thailand. op run from udorn airbase. thai bpp served as
radio operators, training cadre, and support troops for vang pao's men.
thais operated under control of only 2 cia officers - who lived with vang
pao - vint lawrence one and anthony poshepny. bio on both. they lived in
mountain hut for nearly 2 years - this early after 62 geneva agreements.
further details of vang pao, touby ly fong and drug traffic. grant, z.
(1991). facing the phoenix 148-160
history
laos, 61-65 after geneva accords the american military withdrew in 10/62.
a hundred thai paru stayed behind these police teams ran the radios,
advised vang pao's field commanders, and kept op momentum functioning. tony
poe and vint lawrence also stayed behind. most of the rest of cia withdrew
to thailand. at first to nong khai and then to udorn. cia building off the
massive runway known as ab-1. cia's man in pakse was roy moffitt. warner,
r. (1995). back fire 86
intel op
china, 65-70 a system of tapping chinese telephone lines from ops in laos
- most cia's base camps in lawless north burma. tony poe and enemy ears.
bill young. warner, r. (1995). back fire 250-2
op
laos, 59-75 op momentum was the support of the meo with the thai paru
with vang pao the commander. if they ultimately lost vang pao's meos could
move to sayaboury province. if thais refused they might take him in
thailand and make him a border security force. bill lair part of op as was
lloyd "pat" landry, tony poe aka anthony poshepny - poe had run pm missions
in the korean war, worked with the tibetan khamba tribesmen for a rebellion
against china, in 58 poe and landry to sumatra, indonesia to jump start a
rebellion there, until they rescued by submarine, the uss tang. tony poe 's
hobby was collecting enemy ears. jack shirley, bill young son of harold
young who had help run a cia intel net into china. u.s. army officers began
arriving - arthur "bull" simmons a special force lt. col. paru made better
advisers with meo. lair and paru officers had gone thru u.s. army ranger
training in fort benning. young tribesmen trained at paru hqs in hua hin,
thailand. the cia warehouse on okinawa prepacked weapons and ammo. air
america and bird & sons, parachuted materials to new dirt landing sites.
warner, r. (1995). back fire 47-54
paramilitary
cambodia, thailand, laos, 70-71 cambodia, indirectly, would feature
another, far bigger lao pm program when in 6/70 thai gvt declared it would
be sending thai volunteers to help defend khmer republic. dod stepped in
and agreed to pay for a 5,000 man contingent. bangkok waffled and men sent
directly to laos. force to total one artillery and nine infantry
battalions. project called unity. pentagon funded but cia administered
program in field. case officers were tony poe, dunc jewell, chuck campbell;
and, doug swanson. on 12/15/70 two thai battalions entered laos under op
name virakom (patriot) - they to mr-4. good results against pavn. op leaked
to media. conboy, k. & morrison, j. (1995). shadow war: cia's secret war in
laos 285-6
china, tibet. since 56 cia helping khamba tribesmen. between 10/58 and 2/59
cia dropped close to ten tons of weapons and supplies to newly constituted
national volunteer defense army of tibet. in spring of 59 cia helped dalai
lama flee disguised as a peasant. tony poe part of op. op to aid khambas
stayed alive into kennedy adm. parts of op pushed out of india and into
nepal. in spring of 61, khambas ambushed a pla convoy and captured 1,600
pages of valuable docs. cia analysts were able to learn sino-soviet split
real. thomas, e. (1995). the very best men 276-7
laos, 61-63 eight paru teams in xieng khouang province. cia started
handing over control of momentum net to hmong via special operations team
(sot), a 12-man hmong unit. 120 selected hmong sent to hua hin for four
months of leadership, weapons, commo, and parachute trg. in 2/62 a second
group of 160 to hua hin. in may 62 a surge in pm ops as tony poe managed.
new paramilitary formation called special guerrilla unit (sgu) - these for
offensive type ops. overall cia pm ops in laos named sky. conboy, k. &
morrison, j. (1995). shadow war: cia's secret war in laos 88-92
laos, thailand, 62-72 cia worked with thai border police who assigned to
run meo op from thailand. op run from udorn airbase. thai bpp served as
radio operators, training cadre, and support troops for vang pao's men.
thais operated under control of only 2 cia officers - who lived with vang
pao - vint lawrence one and anthony poshepny. bio on both. they lived in
mountain hut for nearly 2 years - this early after 62 geneva agreements.
further details of vang pao, touby ly fong and drug traffic. grant, z.
(1991). facing the phoenix 148-160
thailand, 53-58 training of a pm cadre began at hua hin site of king's
summer palace. in 55, police commandos redesignated royal guard - and were
responsive to cia-sanctioned special ops. they made food drops in laos.
beginning in 58 they renamed police aerial reinforcement unit (paru). they
supported various cold war actions in asia - paru riggers in 58, helped
make weapons drops to rebels in indonesia. they packed pallets at takhli
rtafb destined for anti-chinese guerrillas in tibet. beginning in early 60
paru's pathfinder company sent to laos border. they collected demographic
data on lao minority tribes. when kong le revolted, pathfinders sent to
teams to mortar vientiane. by 1/61 - project momentum - fusing paru's
advisory skills with marital instincts of the hmong hill tribe was born.
under momentum, peo was to channel dod funding thru cia to arm first 2000
hmong on experimental basis. joe hudachek and william young assigned to
project, as well as tom fosmire, jack shirley and anthony "tony poe"
poshepny - who after indonesian op had a tour with fosmire and tibetans at
camp hale. lloyd pat landry and thomas ahern also assigned to project. at
one point shirley and landry began mortaring the plain (64). conboy, k. &
morrison, j. (1995). shadow war: cia's secret war in laos 59,61
personnel
laos, china. background on tony poe who led the hmong forces in laos for
many years. poe said "we got dalai lama out of tibet." in laos he offered
rewards to hmong for the ears of communists. harper's 7/85 p60
laos, thailand, 51-72 on 10/1862 pop buell vacated long tieng with
relocation costs covered by cia. arthur elmore momentum officer from mr-2.
two paru teams remained in mr-2 (in violation of the 62 geneva accords).
tony poe and vint lawrence remained in laos. gilbert layton, case officer,
saigon station. mike lynch sent to long tieng as backup to poe or lawrence.
terry burke shifted between nakhon phanom and long tieng. louis ojibway a
case officer. jim sheldon assigned to laos. george morton. sea supply
advisors were jack shirley and jeff cheek. photos of bill lair, pat landry,
tom fosmire - cia's savannakhet chief of unit during 66-69. jack shirley,
tony poe, bill young, terry burke and tony poe's living quarters. michael
maloney. tom hewitt. russ lefevre. jerrold hog daniels an ex-smoke jumper
assigned to nakhang. frank bag odom. conboy, k. & morrison, j. (1995).
shadow war: cia's secret war in laos passim
laos, thailand, vietnam. edgar buell, tony posepny and william young had
personal imprint on secret war. tony poe in 58 was one of two operatives
sent to support separtists revolt in indonesia. his first assignment with
anti-sihanouek mercenaries along cambodian border in s. vietnam. in laos he
offered one dollar for an ear of enemy and more for a head and cap. details
re pop buell. mccoy, a.w. (1991). the politics of heroin: cia complicity in
the global drug traffic 306-7
william harvey was an incredibly good case officer. he was son of a small
town lawyer and disliked ivy leaguers in cia. his secretary was alice
mcilvaine. john mapother a vienna-based cia officer. william crowley a cia
officer. billie maroine was wisner's secretary. lloyd emerson a staffer in
dd/p. allen dulles asked him "do you read the society pages? young man that
is where i get a lot of valuable information. you should read it every day,
to get the beginning of things." air force pilots "sheep-dipped" for
overflight ops. p 169. bob king was bissell's chief assistant. jim
flannery. donald gregg in japan in late 50s. tony poshepny and campbell
james. james heir to a standard oil fortune and was educated at groton and
yale. poshepny a knuckledragger. david laux in laos and cambodia. thomas,
e. (1995). the very best men passim
tech intel
china, 69-72 commando raider company in 70 used as passive
intel-gathering role along chinese built road in north laos. cia supporting
an autonomous agent net run by rta intel against chinese road-building.
thai-run assets produced no significant intel. george kenning responsible
for liaison with the nien. due to news dispatches revealing tony poe's
role, he reassigned to thailand as pat gibbs. fox ops against china had
been wrapped up years earlier, and many tartar and scope teams - whose
incursions into china had never been deep or frequent - were recalled.
conboy, k. & morrison, j. (1995). shadow war: cia's secret war in laos
317-9
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