FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — The deadliest sniper in the history of the U.S. Marine Corps was born in and raised in Little Rock.
Meet Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Norman “Gunny” Hathcock II, who is believed to hold the highest number of recorded kills in the United States Marine Corps (USMC), according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
Early and personal life
Hathcock, born on May 20, 1942, in North Little Rock, grew up with a passion for firearms.
He hunted for his family with a .22 rifle at age ten., according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas. After dropping out of high school, he enlisted in the USMC on his seventeenth birthday.
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Hathcock quickly excelled in marksmanship, setting records at Cherry Point and becoming a Marine Corps Distinguished Sniper by 1965. Later that year, Hathcock won the 1,000-Yard National High-Power Rifle Championship (aka the Wimbledon Cup), the premier NRA long-range trophy in U.S. high power rifle shooting since 1876.
Hathcock married Josephine Bryan Winstead in 1962, and they had one son, Carlos Norman Hathcock III, who also joined the USMC.
Military career
Hathcock had 93 confirmed sniper kills during the Vietnam War. While others have surpassed this number, his true count is estimated to exceed 300.
During his two tours in the Vietnam War, Hathcock set a then-record for the longest sniper kill at 2,500 yards with a .50-caliber machine gun.
He also played a crucial role in a five-day battle that wiped out a Viet Cong company. One of his most disciplined kills involved crawling 1,500 yards over three days to take out a Viet Cong general, though skeptics question if a general died from a gunshot during Hathcock’s time in Vietnam, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
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One of Hathcock’s most technical kills occurred when he shot an enemy sniper who was hunting him for a bounty placed by the Viet Cong. Hathcock shot through the enemy’s scope, killing him instantly.
This type of shot through the scope was later popularized in movies like “Saving Private Ryan.”
Hathcock’s second Vietnam tour ended on September 16, 1969, when he was severely burned by a landmine explosion but still rescued seven Marines.
He declined a Medal of Honor nomination but received a Silver Star in 1996, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
Later life
After recovering from his burns, Hathcock continued to serve for another decade, training USMC snipers until his medical retirement in 1979 due to a 1975 diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.
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After battling the disease for over 25 years, Hathcock passed away on February 22, 1999, leaving behind his younger brother, Billy Jack, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas. He is buried at Woodlawn Memorial Gardens in Norfolk, Virginia.
The USMC’s award for top marksman and the USMC library in Washington, D.C., both bear his name.
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