Carlos Hathcock

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Carlos Norman Hathcock II (May 20, 1942 – February 22, 1999) was a United States Marine Corps (USMC) sniper with a service record of 93 confirmed kills. His record and the extraordinary details of the missions he undertook made him a legend in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was honored by having a rifle named after him: a variant of the M21 dubbed the Springfield Armory M25 White Feather, for the nickname "White Feather" given to Hathcock by the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN).

Early life and education

Hathcock was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, on May 20, 1942 to parents Carlos Norman Hathcock I (1919–1985) and Mae Thompson (1920–1989). He grew up in Wynne, Arkansas, living with his grandmother Myrtle (1900–2000) for the first 12 years of his life after his parents separated. While visiting relatives in Mississippi, he took to shooting and hunting at an early age, partly out of necessity to help feed his poor family. He would go into the woods with his dog and pretend to be a soldier and hunt imaginary Japanese soldiers with the German Mauser which his father, a veteran of two wars, brought back from World War II. He hunted at that early age with a .22-caliber Stevens Model 15A single-shot rifle.

Hathcock dreamed of being a Marine throughout his childhood and so on May 20, 1959, his 17th birthday, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps.<ref name="Henderson p. 29" /> He married Josephine "Jo" Bryan (née Broughton; 1930–2016) on the date of the Marine Corps birthday, November 10, 1962.<ref name="Henderson p. 29">Template:Harvnb</ref> Jo gave birth to a son, whom they named Carlos Norman Hathcock III.

Career

Before deploying to South Vietnam, Carlos Hathcock had won shooting championships, including matches at Camp Perry near Port Clinton, Ohio, and the Wimbledon Cup. In 1966, he started his deployment in the Vietnam War as a military policeman and later became a sniper after Captain Edward James Land pushed the Marines into developing snipers in every platoon. Land later recruited Marines who had set their own records in sharpshooting; he quickly found Hathcock, who had won the Wimbledon Cup, the most prestigious prize for long-range shooting, at Camp Perry in 1965.<ref>NRA.org/NRA National Shooting Program/ NRA National Trophies/Wimbledon Cup</ref>

Confirmed kills

During the Vietnam War, Hathcock had 93 confirmed kills of People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and Viet Cong personnel.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the Vietnam War, kills had to be confirmed by the sniper's spotter and a third party, who had to be an officer. Snipers often did not have a third party present, making confirmation difficult, especially if the target was behind enemy lines, as was usually the case.

Confrontations with North Vietnamese snipers

The Viet Cong and PAVN called Hathcock Lông Trắng, translated as "White Feather", because of the white feather he kept in a band on his bush hat.<ref>Template:Harvnb "Hathcock had taken to wearing a small white feather in his boonie hat. It was just stuck in the brim ...the Viet Cong came to know the sniper as Long Tr'ang, 'the White Feather'."</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> After a platoon of Vietnamese snipers was sent to hunt down "White Feather", many Marines in the same area donned white feathers to deceive the enemy. The Marines were aware of the impact Hathcock's death would have and took it upon themselves to make themselves targets in order to confuse the counter-snipers.<ref name="Chandler p.">Template:Harvnb</ref>

One of Hathcock's most famous accomplishments was shooting an enemy sniper through the enemy's own rifle scope, hitting him in the eye and killing him.Template:Refn Hathcock and John Roland Burke, his spotter, were stalking the enemy sniper in the jungle near Hill 55, the firebase from which Hathcock was operating, southwest of Da Nang. The sniper, known only as the "Cobra", had already killed several Marines and was believed to have been sent specifically to kill Hathcock.<ref name="Chandler p."/> When Hathcock saw a glint (light reflecting off the enemy sniper's scope) in the bushes, he fired at it, shooting through the scope and killing the sniper. Hathcock took possession of the dead sniper's rifle, hoping to bring it home as a "trophy", but after he turned it in and tagged it, it was stolen from the armory.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>

Hathcock said in interviews that he killed a female Viet Cong platoon leader called "the Apache woman", with a reputation for torturing captive Marines, around the firebase at Hill 55.<ref name=crossktll>Template:Harvnb</ref> However, scholars including Jerry Lembcke have expressed their skepticism for Hathcock's account and questioned the existence of "Apache".<ref name="Fracassa">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Lembcke">Template:Cite book</ref>

Hathcock only once removed the white feather from his bush hat while deployed in Vietnam.<ref name="Henderson p. 35">Template:Harvnb</ref> During a volunteer mission days before the end of his first deployment, he crawled over 1,500 yards of field to shoot an enemy soldier who was alleged to have been a general.Template:Who<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Sasser-Roberts p. 208"/> The effort took four days and three nights without sleep and with constant inch-by-inch crawling.<ref name="Sasser-Roberts p. 208"/> Hathcock said he was almost stepped on as he lay camouflaged with grass and vegetation in a meadow shortly after sunset.<ref name="Henderson p. 29" /> At one point he was nearly bitten by a bamboo viper, but had the presence of mind to avoid moving and giving up his position.<ref name="Sasser-Roberts p. 208">Template:Harvnb</ref> As the enemy exited his encampment, Hathcock fired a single shot which struck the target in the chest, killing him.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book, autobiography of Major Clyde O. Childress, USMC (retired)Template:Self-published inline</ref>

After this mission, Hathcock returned to the United States in 1967.<ref name=dock>Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Sasser-Roberts p. 208"/> He missed the Marine Corps, however,and returned to Vietnam in 1969, where he took command of a platoon of snipers.<ref name="Chandler p."/>

Medical evacuation

On September 16, 1969, Hathcock's career as a sniper came to a sudden end along Highway 1, north of Landing Zone Baldy, when the LVTP-5 he was riding on struck an anti-tank mine. He pulled seven Marines from the flame-engulfed vehicle, suffering severe burns (some third-degree) to his face, arms, and legs, before someone pulled him away and placed him in water because he was unaware of how badly he had been burnt. While recovering, Hathcock received the Purple Heart. Nearly 30 years later, he received a Silver Star for this action.Template:Refn He and the seven Marines he pulled from the vehicle were evacuated by helicopter to Template:USS, a hospital ship, then to a naval hospital in Tokyo, and finally to the burn center at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Post-Vietnam War and health decline

After returning to active duty, Hathcock helped establish the Marine Corps Scout Sniper School at the Marine base in Quantico, Virginia. Due to the extreme injuries he suffered in Vietnam, he was in nearly constant pain, but continued to dedicate himself to teaching snipers. In 1975, his health began to deteriorate and he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He stayed in the Marine Corps, but his health continued to decline. Just 55 days short of the 20 years which would have made him eligible for regular retirement pay, he received a permanent disability separation. Being medically discharged, he received 100 percent disability pay.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He would have received only 50 percent of his final pay grade had he retired after 20 years. He fell into a state of depression when he was forced out of the Marines because he felt as if the service had kicked him out. During the depression, his wife Jo nearly left him but decided to stay. Hathcock eventually picked up the hobby of shark fishing, which helped him to overcome his depression.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>

Hathcock provided sniper instruction to police departments and select military units like SEAL Team Six.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>

Later life and death

Hathcock once said that he survived in his work because of an ability to "get in the bubble", to put himself into a state of "utter, complete, absolute concentration", first with his equipment, then his environment, in which every breeze and every leaf meant something, and finally his quarry.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After the war, a friend showed Hathcock a passage written by Ernest Hemingway: "Certainly there is no hunting like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and like it, never really care for anything else thereafter." He copied Hemingway's words on a piece of paper. "He got that right," Hathcock said. "It was the hunt, not the killing."<ref name="Henderson p. 35" /> He said in a book written about his career as a sniper: "I like shooting, and I love hunting. But I never did enjoy killing anybody. It's my job. If I don't get those bastards, then they're gonna kill a lot of these kids dressed up like Marines. That's the way I look at it."<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>

Hathcock's son, Carlos Hathcock III, later enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> he retired from the Marine Corps as a Gunnery sergeant after following in his father's footsteps as a shooter and became a member of the Board of Governors of the Marine Corps Distinguished Shooters Association.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Hathcock died on February 22, 1999 in Virginia Beach, Virginia, aged 56, from complications resulting from multiple sclerosis.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> He is buried at Woodlawn Memorial Gardens in Norfolk, Virginia.

Awards and decorations

Hathcock's awards include:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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1st row Silver Star
2nd row Purple Heart Navy Commendation Medal Navy Achievement Medal
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3rd row Combat Action Ribbon Navy and Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation
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4th row National Defense Service Medal Vietnam Service Medal
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5th row Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation
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Badges Marine Corps Rifle Expert Marksmanship Badge Marine Corps Pistol Expert Marksmanship Badge

Silver Star citation

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Citation:

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Legacy

Hathcock remains a legend in the U.S. Marine Corps. The Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock Award is presented annually by the National Defense Industrial Association "to recognize an individual who ...has made significant contributions in operational employment and tactics of small arms weapons systems which have impacted the readiness and capabilities of the U.S. military or law enforcement."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Marine Corps League (MCL) sponsors an annual program with 12 award categories including the Gunnery Sergeant Carlos N. Hathcock II Award, presented "to an enlisted Marine who has made an outstanding contribution to the improvement of marksmanship training."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref> A sniper range named for Hathcock is at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

In 1967, Hathcock set the record for the longest sniper kill. He used an M2 .50 Cal Browning machine gun mounted with a telescopic sight at a range of Template:Convert, killing a Viet Cong guerrilla.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> In 2002, the record was broken by Canadian snipers (Rob Furlong and Arron Perry) from the third battalion of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry during the War in Afghanistan. Hathcock was one of several individuals to utilize the M2 Browning machine gun in the sniping role. The success led to the adoption of the .50 BMG cartridge as a viable sniper round. Springfield Armory designed a highly accurized version of their M1A Supermatch rifle with a McMillan Stock and match grade barrel and dubbed it the "M-25 White Feather". The rifle had a likeness of Hathcock's signature and his "white feather logo" marked on the receiver.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Turner Saddlery similarly honored Hathcock by producing a line of leather rifle slings based on his design and the slings are embossed with Hathcock's signature.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> On March 9, 2007, the rifle and pistol complex at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar was officially renamed the Carlos Hathcock Range Complex.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Books

Hathcock is the subject of a number of books including:

Weaponry

Hathcock generally used the standard sniper rifle: the Winchester Model 70 chambered for .30-06 Springfield cartridges, with the standard 8-power Unertl scope. He also used the M40 Remington 700 chambered in .308 with a Redfield 3-9x scope. On some occasions, however, he used a different weapon: the M2 Browning machine gun, on which he mounted an 8X Unertl scope, using a bracket made by metalworkers of the Seabees. Hathcock made a number of kills with this weapon in excess of 1,000 yards, including his record for the longest confirmed kill at 2,500 yards (since surpassed).<ref>Sasser (1990) p. 82</ref> Hathcock carried a Colt M1911A1 pistol as a sidearm.<ref name=crossktll />

Hathcock's career as a sniper has been used as a basis for a variety of fictional snipers, from the "shooting through the scope incident" to the number of kills he made.

Film

Television

  • The Discovery Channel series MythBusters tested the question of shooting another sniper through his riflescope. Episode 67, entitled "Firearms Folklore" (November 29, 2006) featured the test: "Can a bullet travel through a sniper's scope and kill him?" Using a police industry standard SWAT sniper rifle and standard police match ammunition, the MythBusters fired several shots at a scoped rifle mounted on a ballistics gel dummy. The bullet was unable to hit the dummy: it was either stopped or deflected by the multiple layers of lenses in the scope, leaving the dummy relatively unharmed. Without any clear evidence that a bullet can penetrate a sniper scope, the MythBusters decided to label the myth as "busted".<ref>Template:Cite episode</ref> But, due to much debate by viewers, it was revisited in episode 75. Using a period-accurate scope (this story originates from reports of Carlos Hathcock in the Vietnam War and the scope used by Hathcock's opponent did not have the numerous internal optical elements of the scopes tested), it was found to be plausible.<ref>Template:Cite episode</ref>
  • Hathcock was mentioned in the NCIS episode "One Shot, One Kill", when a white feather was found at two crime scenes where the victims were shot and killed by a sniper. The series' protagonist, Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, a former Marine scout sniper, realized the significance of the feather as the perpetrator's "calling card", referencing Hathcock's nickname during the Vietnam War ("White Feather Sniper"). He credits Hathcock with "39 confirmed kills", apparently having transposed the digits of Hathcock's actual 93 confirmed kills.<ref>Template:Cite episode</ref>
  • Hathcock's duel with Cobra was mentioned in the History Channel Sniper - Inside The Crosshairs in 2016. As in Mythbusters, the show also tested the question of whether shooting a sniper through his scope was possible and came to the conclusion that it was highly plausible after four shots by a modern Marine sniper.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Books

See also

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References

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Sources and further reading

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