The White Feather Sniper: Carlos Hathco*ck - VA News (2024)

At a young age, Carlos Norman Hathco*ck II would go into the woods with his dog and the Mauser his father brought back fromWorld War II to pretend to be a soldier. Hathco*ck dreamed of being a Marine throughout his childhood, and on May 20, 1959, at the age of 17, he enlisted.

In 1966, Hathco*ck started his deployment in South Vietnam. He initially served as amilitary policemanand later, owing to his reputation as a skilled marksman, served as a sniper.

During theVietnam War, Hathco*ck had 93 confirmed kills of North Vietnamese Army (NVA) andViet Congpersonnel.However, kills had to be confirmed by an acting third party, who had to be an officer, besides the sniper’s spotter. Hathco*ck estimated that he actually killed between 300 and 400 enemy soldiers.

In one instance, Hathco*ck saw a glint reflecting off an enemy sniper’s scope. He fired at it, sending a round through the enemy’s own rifle scope, hitting him in the eye and killing him.

Hathco*ck’s notoriety grew among the Viet Cong and NVA, who reportedly referred to him Du kích Lông Trắng (“White Feather Sniper”) because of the white feather he kept tucked in a band on his bush hat. The enemy placed a bounty on his head. After a platoon of Vietnamese snipers tried to hunt him down, many Marines donned white feathers to deceive the enemy. Hathco*ck successfully fought off numerous enemy snipers during the remainder of his deployment.

Hathco*ck did once remove the white feather from his bush hatduring a volunteer mission. The mission was so risky he was not informed of its details until he accepted it. Transported to a field by helicopter, Hathco*ck crawled over 1,500 yards in a span of four days and three nights, without sleep, to assassinate an NVA general.At times, Hathco*ck was only a few feet away from patrolling enemy soldiers. He was also nearly bitten by asnake. Once in position, Hathco*ck waited for the general to exit his encampment before shooting. After completing this mission, Hathco*ck came back to the United States in 1967. However, missing the service, he returned to Vietnam in 1969, taking command of a sniper platoon.

On September 16, 1969, anAMTRACHathco*ck was riding on struck ananti-tank mine. He pulled seven Marines from the vehicle, suffering severe burns in the process. Hathco*ck received thePurple Heart while he was recuperating. Nearly 30 years later, he received aSilver Starfor this action.

After returning to active duty, Hathco*ck helped establish the Marine CorpsScout SniperSchool at the Marine base inQuantico, Virginia. However, he was in near constant pain due to his injuries, and in 1975, his health began to deteriorate. After diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, he medically discharged in 1979. Feeling forced out of the Marines, Hathco*ck fell into a state of depression. But with the help of his wife, and his newfound hobby of shark fishing, Hathco*ck eventually overcame his depression. Despite being retired from the military, Hathco*ck continued providing sniper instruction to police departments and select military units, such asSEAL Team Six.

Hathco*ck passed away Feb. 22, 1999, inVirginia Beach, Virginia.

We honor his service.

Contributors

Writer: Madhav Misra

Editor: Barbie Carranza

Fact checker: Enya Lowe

Graphic artist:Michelle Zischke