Walter E. Kurtz served two tours of duty in Vietnam before he established his Cambodian outpost and became a pariah to the U.S. military establishment.


During those two tours of duty, Walter E. Kurtz was a part of the Gamma Program, the recruitment of montagnard tribesmen from the highlands of Vietnam and Cambodia to conduct a war of attrition against the North Vietnamese.

"I'm an American! Yeah, American civilian. Hi yanks... American, American civilian. It's all right. And you got the cigarettes, that's what I've been dreaming of."

Walter was intrigued by Wilke and spent a lot of time studying him as they both tried to pass the initial long, hot, seemingly endless moments of inactivity, and was fascinated by Wilke’s animal-like mannerisms and instincts.  He walked in and out of the jungle as quiet as a ghost and seemed to have eyes in the back of his head, catching Walter staring at him from behind on several occasions.  Sudden sounds emanating from the jungle could not catch Wilke unprepared for fight-or-flight no matter how quickly they erupted.  Years of constantly living only seconds away from death by way of man, nature, and beast, has sharpened his senses like that of fine cutlery, putting him in perfect harmony with the jungle.