This book focuses specifically on the marine corps programthe circumstances behind the training and employment of snipers, the equipment sent to vietnam for sniper use, the transition from the vietnam era m700 sniping rifle to the contemporary m40a1 and the extreme effectiveness with which marine scout snipers countered the tactics of the. This marine was the american sniper of the vietnam war. This page is in no way intended to glorify the amount of people these soldiers have killed, it is intended to recognize the manner in which these soldiers excelled at accomplishing the misson assigned to them in a time of war. Patrols, ambushes, plunging down vc tunnels, search and destroy missionsthere were many ways to drive the enemy from his own backyard, as ronnau quickly discovered. This sniper crawled nearly 2 miles to kill one enemy. The steady improvement in sniper results, culminated in 346 enemy killed in the month of april and leveling off at about 200 kills per month. Scout snipers must earn the rank of lance corporal, be selected by their battalion to join the scout sniper platoon, and complete an. I found myself inspecting the new guys rucksacks and weapons load prior to a three day mission up to the north and west of kontum. The sniper story during our humping through the boonies the nva could hear us a mile away and we would sometimes be caught in an ambush.
Hathcocks vietnam service ended when a vehicle he was in struck a land mine. One of the most lethal snipers in history, he even repeatedly succeeded in killing snipers sent to hunt him. This would free up much needed nva troops to wage the war in the south. An oral history by wallace terry is one of the most powerful and moving books from the point of view of the soldiers who fought the battles day in and day out. The entire study is a quick read and it will let you know just how dark the night for american sniping was in the mid1960s. A snipers vietnam, released in 1991 by marine sniper joseph ward, marine sniper and vietnam. Adkins stressed that proceeds from his book, a tiger among us. He tells about his chronological experiences in the jungles of vietnam where he was deployed for a year. The book is an interesting biography and treatise on what it takes to be. You can try sniper on the easter front by albrecht wacker about sepp alleberger, a crack german sniper on ww2 credited with 257 kills and possibly responsible for 5x more.
Vietnam us marine sniper fired 16 headshots in 30 seconds in pitch. The marine snipers vietnam story continues 9780425188644. At 700 yards in, one of them stepped off the trail, and hathcock took what he calls the best. As a former sniper with the 9th infantry division, i had the opportunity to meet many folks. He is the son of a wwii war hero, so he has a lot expected of him. Legendary medal of honor recipient now critically ill. Hathcock said in a book written about his career as a sniper. Us army sniper program charlie company vietnam 19661972.
Once the snipers began to get personal attention and could handpick their assignments and fit their talents to the mission, the results were extraordinary. Charles benjamin chuck mawhinney born 1949 is a former united states marine who holds. First, shoot the one whos further, otherwise hell lie down and you wont be able to reach him anymore. Culbertson, a former 5th marine sniper himself, presents the riveting true stories of young americans who fought with bolt rifles and bounties on their heads during the fiercest combat of the war, from 1967 through the desperate tet battle for hue in early 68. The number of usmc reconners in vn was not a big number. This marine sniper left vietnam with 103 confirmed kills military times. There have been sharpshooters and snipers ever since the advent of firearms. As early as the late 1950s, intensified guerrilla activities had been observed by the cia in south vietnam.
And now so many of those that did are dead or dying. But the latter soon proved particularly pointless as the private first class found himself in the thick of two pivotal. The american sniper of the vietnam war business insider. The sniper initially started his deployment in vietnam as a military policeman before carrying out feats of stamina, skill, and endurance that wouldnt sound out of place in a historical fiction novel. Prior to the publication of this book, the legendary carlos hathcock was considered the record holder with 93. Carlos norman hathcock ii may 20, 1942 february 22, 1999 was a united states marine. There he worked as a scout sniper for different companies with the 1st, 2nd and 3rd battalions. Choose your favorite vietnam war paintings from millions of available designs. Based on the journal ronnau kept in vietnam, blood trails captures the hellish jungle war in all its stark lifeanddeath immediacy. Other snipers have written books or had books written about them. He sustained burns to 40% of his body, but received the silver star for his actions in pulling seven fellow marines out of the burning vehicle. In one of his last missions on a tour in vietnam, he crawled nearly two miles to kill a vietnamese general and escape. From the best snipers around the world to the most accurate snipers of all time, this top 10 list of snipers.
Gerber is to lead a team with a marine sniper to take out this delegation. Systrom hands ivan the m21 sniper system to take look out overa field while they were surveying the area. Blood trails is an intriguing dairy of a us army foot soldier in vietnam. The book is well written and outlines hathcocks shooting career and then his subsequent deployment to vietnam where he carries out the most audacious sniper. A snipers vietnam, wherein he credited mawhinney with 101 confirmed kills. These pictures were taken after i graduated from sniper school and was transferred to 347th, stationed at a small. Marine corps infantrymen and reconnaissance marines that have graduated from a u. The runaway success of a snipers gruesome memoir speaks.
A vietnam war sniper crawled for 3 days across 2000m of. United states marine corps scout sniper mos 0317, formerly 8541 is a secondary mos military occupational specialty designator of u. Terry is the renowned authority on the african american soldier and experience in vietnam. The real reason for transplanting the mad kurtz from the congo to the nomans land beyond vietnam can be found in the cias covert operations in laos and cambodia. At about the same time, the marine corps sent land to vietnam to organize and train snipers. The descriptions and examples of various types trap devices commonly used by the guerrilla defenders in southeast asia are explained. No other marine sniper in vietnam had more confirmed kills of viet cong. Donald trump tours chemtrail plane, promises to terminate. C donald trump, accompanied by select members of his cabinet, toured a chemtrailoutfitted dispersal airplane at andrews air force base yesterday afternoon, according to an nbc news report today the president is fulfilling a promise to end the controversial program and redirect government funding away from geoengineering operations and towards other programs like roads, the. All vietnam war paintings ship within 48 hours and include a 30day moneyback guarantee.
The dairy is a nonfiction piece of writing written by the author during his tour in the vietnam war. On one level, this pride of craft made a certain sick sense. This is a book of stories wrapped in fiction, about our men that fought in t. This book was a fairly accurate portrayal of what it was like to serve in this unit. The chinese are ready to commit 100,000 troops to protect the ho chi minh trail. By the summer of 1970, the nva were pouring down the ho chi minh trail at the rate of about 22,000 soldiers per month, many crossing the border into south vietnam from their base sanctuaries in laos and cambodia. One day orders came down that there was an opportunity to go to long range firing training for those who were classified as an expert rifleman.
Carlos norman hathcock ii was a united states marine corps usmc sniper with a service record of 93 confirmed kills, hence the book. The exnavy seal, awarded two silver stars and five bronze stars with valor, among other medals, is. In the next part of the mission youll be using the sniper sonny armstrong and the soldier with a silenced rifle john merrill. In his book, ward listed his close friends confirmed kill count as 101, a number that aggravated recordkeepers who insisted hathcocks 93. Charles chuck mawhinney was one of the most lethal snipers of the vietnam war with 103 confirmed kills. Carlos hathcock is a legend of marine corps history. Browse a new selection of discounted kindle books each month. From there he received orders to vietnam where upon arrival he was assigned as a rifleman to 1st marine. Blood trails is a firstperson shooter video game developed by rebellion developments and published by eidos interactive for microsoft windows, playstation 3 and xbox 360. I had been a member of the mike forces and trained to infiltrate behind enemy lines to look and listen for enemy movements along the trail which runs from north vietnam down through laos and crosses into cambodia then works its way southeast into vietnam along the mighty mekong river in the delta area and then runs into the south china sea.
Turner, a vietnam veteran since age 18, grew up in the shadow of his great hero image, the incomparable eric england. Check out the top 7 best snipers in american history. Reason i ask is because i was at a garage sale and the guy said he was gonna bring his grandfathers sniper battle uniform including the veil and boots tomorrow from his storage locker. Upon returning to the united states, he set up the marine sniper. I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in vietnam books. He came into prominence after his fellow marine sniper, joseph ward, authored the book, dear mom.
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