US Marine Corps Sniper Carlos Hathcock Held the Record For Longest Sniper Shot For Over 35 Years

US Marine Corps sniper Carlos Hathcock is celebrated as one of the greatest snipers in history, ranking with legends such as Vasily Zaytsev , Lyudmila Pavlichenko and Simo Häyhä . Throughout his service in Vietnam, he recorded nearly 100 confirmed kills, with many others likely unconfirmed. His fearsome reputation prompted the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) to assign a sniper nicknamed "Cobra" with the sole purpose of eliminating him.

Carlos Hathcock served valiantly with the US Marine Corps

Carlos Hathcock was born in 1942 in Little Rock, Arkansas, into a family that depended on hunting for survival, fostering his early familiarity with firearms. His lifelong ambition was to join the US Marine Corps, which he fulfilled at the age of 17.

Deployed to Vietnam in 1966 as a military policeman, Hathcock swiftly garnered attention for his natural marksmanship abilities. Recognizing his exceptional talent, his commanders reassigned him to Capt. Edward James Land's sniper platoon, a role he enthusiastically embraced.

Taunting enemy soldiers with a white feather

Before long, Hathcock had dispatched a large amount of targets and earned himself a fearsome reputation. He was known to wear a white feather during missions as a way of taunting the enemy soldiers, which became infamous among the North Vietnamese, who called him " White Feather ."

Given how lethal Hathcock was, the North Vietnamese Army placed a $30,000 bounty on his head, the highest of the war. Plenty of snipers attempted to collect the reward, but, as Marty Robbins' song "Big Iron" goes, "Many men had tried to take him and that many men were dead."

Recounting his encounter with 'the Apache woman'

Carlos Hathcock's popularity is partly due to the vivid detail he provided when describing his missions. One particularly distressing encounter involved "the Apache woman," a female sniper who had been active in the jungles of Vietnam long before his arrival, torturing captured Marines within hearing distance of their bases.

While on patrol one day, Hathcock encountered a group of Viet Cong fighters. He initially saw nothing unusual until one of them squatted down to urinate. At that moment, he realized he had found the Apache woman and quickly eliminated her.

Carlos Hathcock vs. 'Cobra'

Carlos Hathcock's most renowned wartime story centers on his encounter with "Cobra," an NVA sniper tasked with killing him . Hathcock recognized Cobra's expertise, setting up a showdown to see who would make the first move. As he moved through the dense Vietnamese jungle , Hathcock tripped over a fallen tree. It was at that precise moment that Cobra fired at him, missing narrowly and striking Hathcock's spotter's canteen instead.

After the missed shot, Cobra changed his position according to sniper protocol, and both marksmen repositioned themselves from their original locations. Unfortunately for Cobra, he ended up with the sun at his back, inadvertently revealing his position. Taking advantage of this, Hathcock quickly aimed and took down his opponent before Cobra could get off another shot.

How many enemy soldiers did Carlos Hathcock dispatch?

Carlos Hathcock ended his service in Vietnam with 93 confirmed kills and the world record for the longest sniper shot, which remained unbroken for 35 years. Due to the way kills were confirmed during the war, his tally is likely much higher, with he himself having estimated it to be between 300 and 400 .

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The heroic Marine Corps sniper passed away on February 22, 1999, at the age of 56.