Disguised as American serviceman "Washington", a Russian soldier served under Colonel Antonin Dovchenko and Colonel Doctor Irina Spalko, helping them to infiltrate Hangar 51 in Nevada in 1957.
Biography[]
In 1957, disguised with his comrades as US military soldiers, "Washington" aided Colonel Antonin Dovchenko and Colonel Doctor Irina Spalko in infiltrating Hangar 51 in Nevada, USA as part of a covert Soviet invasion of America to acquire the New Mexico specimen.[1]
Washington accompanied his superiors to Hangar 51 in the passenger seat of a small roofless jeep along with Hoover. On the way to the hangar, Washington disapproved of several teenagers led by Jimmy Keegan speeding past in their hot rod. Once they arrived at Hangar 51, Sergeant Wycroft and his MPs approached them, informing them that the base they were entering was closed due to weapons testing. Washington was among the four soldiers who executed the guards with their machine guns as Dovchenko tied his shoelaces, and then they leapt into a roofless jeep and were led into the hangar itself.[1]
Their prisoners, Indiana Jones and George "Mac" McHale, were released under Dovchenko's orders, and were surrounded by the Soviets as Jones retrieved his fedora. After Jones was coerced into finding the crate holding the Roswell crash victim, he led the group into the hangar, where they awaited further instructions from their captive. When Jones asked Colonel Dovchenko for bullets, the Colonel translated this to his subordinates and they all laughed at Indy. However, the archaeologist was able to convince Dovchenko to give him several bullets which he used to locate the highly magnetized crate in which the Roswell remains were kept.[1]
The Soviets looked on in awe as Spalko opened the crate, showing them all the corpse of a deceased being from another world. However, Jones used the distraction of the inhuman body to disable the Soviet guarding him and steal a machine gun from both the latter and Franklin for himself and Mac. The two threatened Spalko, but after Mac revealed his loyalty was to the Russians, Indy realized he was outnumbered. Dovchenko ordered him to drop his gun, but when Jones did, the machine gun fired and the bullet hit a Soviet in the foot. This distraction provided the archaeologist time to climb a wall of crates and make his escape, despite the efforts of several soldiers to kill him.[1]
Mac barely escaped the blaze that consumed the Soviets.
A chase ensued, and after causing a large car crash Jones ended up being kicked by Dovchenko into an underground testing site. During the two's brawl, a prototype rocket sled was activated and began to slowly power up. Just as Washington and four other Soviets arrived to back up their Colonel along with McHale, flames shot out from the back of the rocket sled which incinerated all five soldiers, Washington included, while McHale barely avoided the same fate by stepping behind cover just in time.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
Although "Washington" was uncredited, the character was portrayed by stunt performer Tom Cohan in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.[1] Like many of the Soviet Special Forces who infiltrated Hangar 51, Washington shares his name with a US president, in his case George Washington.
As seen in the film's two-set disc featurette Pre-Production, pre-visualization on the Hangar 51 escape scene shows that upon being fatally burned by the propeller flames, Washington was to be knocked off his feet to the ground like the rest of his comrades, save for George McHale.[2]
In Dark Horse Comics' comic book adaptation, Washington and his comrades are not killed by the rocket sled as the pursuing Soviet soldiers are not depicted as being present during the sled's departure.[3]
Appearances[]
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (First appearance)