He’s the most famous sniper you’ve probably never heard of. Marine Gunnery Sergeant Carlos N. Hathcock II was a Marine Scout Sniper who served two tours in Vietnam, first in 1966, and returning in 1969. Until the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq he held the record for the most confirmed kills in the United States military. During the course of his two tours in Vietnam he recorded 93 confirmed kills and over 300 unconfirmed kills, building a reputation that was so renowned the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong placed a bounty on his head that was equal to three years pay or approximately $30,000. He was known by the army he hunted as “White Feather” for the single white feather he kept tucked in a band on his bush hat. His exploits against such deadly adversaries as “The Apache,” “The Cobra,” and “The General” were the stuff of legend!
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Notes:
Sniping in Vietnam: An Inside Look at USMC Snipers in 1967
Sergeant Carlos Hathcock: White Feather and the Cobra
Amazon.com: Marine Sniper: 93 Confirmed Kills by Charles Henderson
Amazon.com: Silent Warrior: The Marine Sniper’s Story Continues by Charles Henderson
And from the intro…
Amazon.com: I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution by Craig Marks and Robb Tannenbaum
