07/13/2025
US Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Norman Hathcock II. Recipient of the Silver Star and Navy Commendation Medal Purple Heart:
May 20, 1942–February 22, 1999 (56 years)
Snipers are first and foremost about precision, secondly about skill and experience. Carlos Hathcock had all that and then some; his service was so legendary that a rifle was named after him: the M25 White Feather.
The world is made up of two kinds of men: the ones who spend time deciding who they want to be in the world and the ones who were born knowing. Carlos Hathcock II knew from a very early age what he wanted to become. He wanted to be a soldier; he dreamed of fighting for his country.
In 1966 Hathcock was deployed to Vietnam and worked as a military policeman, but destiny had a different job in mind for him. Capt. Edward James Land had convinced the Marines to employ snipers for every platoon, then began recruiting Marines who had set records in sharpshooting. Impressed with Hathcock’s achievements, he quickly asked him to join.
Hathcock completed his training with more ease than most and was immediately sent on assignment. He very quickly became enemy number one for the NVA. He ran up a kill count so high that eventually a $30,000 bounty was placed on his head. To put this in perspective, the usual reward for US snipers was between $2,000 and $8,000.
Hathcock was different; he and his rifle proved so destructive that the NVA believed it crucial to kill him for the sake of its own troops. He was in a league of his own; every single marksman who made an attempt on his life ended up a co**se.
To read this full story please check out the book: Giant Killers, War Heroes and Special Forces Legends.
Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/gEVjBez
