He was only 17 when, in 1959, he enlisted in the Marine Corps. While stationed in Hawaii with Company E of the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, he won the Pacific Division Rifle Championship. He set the Marine Corps record on the "A" Course at Chrry Point with 248 out of a possible 250 points, and won the Wimbledon cup by out-shooting more than 3000 other servicemen in competition in 1965.

As impressive as his competitive shooting was, though, Gy Sgt. Hathcock was not a showpiece. He was a true Marine, and proved it in service in Vietnam. He joined the new sniper program, and went to work on Hill 55, southwest of Da Nang. He and his fellow snipers took such a toll on the enemy that the NVA put a $30,000 price on the head of the man they called Long Tra'ng - white feather, for the item he wore in his hat to taunt his enemies.

Hathcock made good on his words - "one shot...one kill." He was involved in a number of covert ops, in some cases accepting assignments he was given a very small chance of living through. Hathcock was responsible for the swift and sure demise of a French interrogator who worked for the North Vietnamese - torturing captured American Airmen. He took out one North Vietnamese general from 800 yards away.

One enemy sniper learned the hard way exactly how good Hathcock was. After a long "cat and mouse" session, Hathcock, with the help of his spotter, shot the enemy sniper from 500 yards away, the bullet going right up through the scope of the enemy's rifle.

Unbelievably, one of Hathcock's kills involved a shot from a scope-mounted Browning M-2 .50 caliber machine gun at a staggering 2500 yards! It stood as the record for a combat kill until 2002, when it was broken by a Canadian sniper team led by Master Corporal Arron Perry of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. Perry's shot was from a distance of 2,430 meters from a McMillan Long-Range Sniper Weapon - it took out a Taliban fighter during Operation Anaconda.

It wasn't just Hathcock's shooting, though, that made him so highly regarded among his fellow Marines. In 1969, when the Amphibious Tractor he was riding in ran over an anti-tank mine, he was severely burned rescuing his brothers. He pulled seven from the flames before jumping to safety. His injuries were devastating - severe burns over ninety percent of his body (forty nine percent were third-degree burns).

And yet, even that did not take him from the Corps. Though he could not effectively return to combat, neither did he disappear. He instead devoted his energies to helping establish a scout and sniper school at Quantico. Sadly, it would be Multiple Sclerosis that eventually separated Hathcock from his beloved Marines - just 55 days shy of the 20 years of service that would have earned him full retirement pay.

Inexplicably, Hathcock was never honored with an award so many believe he truly earned - the (Congressional) Medal of Honor. A humble Hero, Hathcock did not seek commendation from his superiors - typical of the truly noble.

Though he eventually lost his battle with Multiple Sclerosis at 0630 on February 23, 1999, he remains to this day the ideal of the Marine Corps Hero.

Links for information about GySgt Hathcock:
MarineScoutSniper.com
Cybersniper.com
Sniper Central
Sgt Grit
US Marine Corps News
Carlos Hathcock Award
Carlos Hathcock Tribute Page




Heaven is well guarded indeed.

GySgt. Hathcock is there, his white feather softly waving, on a hill keeping watch.