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| “ | She's a VC whore, and we're gonna have fun with her. | „ |
| ~ Tony Maserve dehumanizing his victim. |
Sergeant Tony Maserve is the main antagonist of the 1989 war drama film Casualties of War.
A brutal soldier serving in the Vietnam War, he leads his men in gang-raping and then murdering a Vietnamese woman. The character is based on David Edward Gervase, an American soldier in the Vietnam War who was found guilty of the rape and murder of Vietnamese civilian Phan Thi Mao in 1966.
He was portrayed by Sean Penn, who also portrayed David Kleinfeld in Carlito's Way, Mick O'Brien in Bad Boys, Samuel Bicke in the 2004 film The Assassination of Richard Nixon, and Mickey Cohen in Gangster Squad.
Biography[]
Tony Maserve is the leader of an Army platoon in the Vietnam War, and is first seen saving protagonist Max Eriksson from Viet Cong snipers. The platoon takes a break outside a river village in the Central Highlands. While relaxing and joking around, one of Meserve's friends, Specialist 4 "Brownie" Brown, is killed when the Viet Cong ambushes them. Brownie's death has a major impact on Meserve, leaving him bitter and angry at the entire Vietnamese people, whom he sees as less than human.
Frustrated because his squad has been denied leave for an extended period, Meserve orders the squad to kidnap a Vietnamese girl. Eriksson strenuously objects, but Meserve, Corporal Thomas E. Clark and Private First Class Herbert Hatcher ignore Eriksson's objections. At nightfall, the squad enters a village and kidnaps a Vietnamese girl, Tran Thi Oahn.
The squad and Than eventually take refuge in an abandoned hooch, where Eriksson is confronted and threatened by Meserve, Clark, Hatcher, and Private First Class Antonio Dìaz, Brown's replacement. Meserve forces Eriksson to stand guard outside while the other men take turns raping Oahn.
At daybreak, Meserve orders Eriksson to guard Oahn while the rest of the squad takes up a position near a railroad bridge overlooking a Viet Cong river supply depot. Through his acts of kindness, Eriksson manages to earn Oahn's trust and prepares to go AWOL and return Oahn to her family. However, Meserve sends Clark to get Eriksson and Than to go to the bridge before Eriksson can carry out his plan.
Meserve has Dìaz order close air support for an assault on the depot and then orders Dìaz to kill Oahn with a knife. Before Dìaz can kill her, Eriksson fires his rifle into the air, exposing them to the nearby Viet Cong. In the midst of the firefight, Oahn tries to escape. Eriksson tries to save her but is stopped by Meserve, who knocks Eriksson down with the butt of his gun. Eriksson watches helplessly as the entire squad shoots Oahn dead.
After the battle, Eriksson reports Meserve to their commanding officers, Lieutenant Reilly and Captain Hill, who both prefer to bury the matter. Hill, infuriated at Eriksson's determination to press the issue, resolves to get rid of him and orders him transferred to a tunnel rat unit. The other men in Meserve's squad will all be reassigned as well.
After narrowly escaping an attempt to kill him in the latrine with a grenade (made by Clark), Eriksson storms into a tent and hits Clark in the face with a shovel. He bluntly tells Meserve that killing him is unnecessary because no one cares about what they did. Meserve makes a shaky attempt at a joke, and Eriksson leaves.
Eriksson then meets an Army chaplain at a bar and tells him the story of what happened during the patrol. The chaplain in turn reports it, launching an investigation. The four men who participated in the rape and murder are court martialed: Meserve receives 10 years hard labor and a dishonorable discharge, Clark is sentenced to life in prison, Hatcher receives 15 years hard labor, and Dìaz receives eight years hard labor.