Carlos Hathcock Born May 20, 1942 d. 1999
American soldier. Regarded as the deadliest sniper of the Vietnam War. He has 93 confirmed kills and estimated 300-400 total kills. For one of his most famous kills, he was sent to kill the enemy sniper known as the “Cobra”, who had already killed several U.S. marines and was believed to have been sent to kill Hathcock. Hathcock saw the Cobra’s scope reflecting in the sun and fired a shot that went through the scope striking him in the eye, killing him instantly. On another mission, he was sent to kill an enemy general. For the mission, he had to crawl camouflaged, inch-by-inch over 1,500 yards of field for four days and three nights without sleep until he was able to make his shot, killing the general with a single shot to the chest.
The Vietnamese placed a record bounty of $30,000 on Hathcock, and it is believed he killed every Vietnamese marksman who sought him to collect it.
Hathcock became a marine sniper after joining the United States Marine Corps and winning numerous shooting competitions, including the Wimbledon Cup, the most prestigious prize for long-range shooting, at Camp Perry in 1965.
Known as “White Feather” for the white feather he wore on his bush hat, the Springfield Armory M25 White Feather rifle was named after him.
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