Carlos Hathcock

9 Pages 2325 Words

amily. It was then that Carlos knew what he wanted to do, become a marine. When he was ten years old he received a .22 caliber single shot rifle from his grandmother as a present. This would be the rifle that started Hathcock toward his life as a marksman. Soon Carlos would be supplying the family with food after spending the day hunting with his dog Sassy. Carlos quickly learned to enjoy hunting and his love for the marines at the same time. He hummed the Marines’ Hymn as he marched toward the woods, his Shetland collie dog, Sassy, trotting at his heels and Carlos squarely holding the rifle at “right shoulder arms.” (Henderson, Marine Sniper Pg.26)
On May 20, 1959, Carlos’ mother signed the papers allowing him to become a Marine at the age of seventeen. He soon left Little Rock, Arkansas for San Diego, California to spend thirteen weeks at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot. Carlos was then transferred to Hawaii where he would start his shooting career with the Marines. Although a great shooter in basic training it was here that he became a member of his first shooting team, the Hawaii Marine Shooting Team. As a member of this team Hathcock attended Lt. E.J. Land’s Scout Sniper School. This would start a relationship with Land, which would last through the Vietnam War until Hathcocks death. For the next five years Hathcock lived the life of a Marine shooter attending numerous shooting matches. On August 24, 1965 Carlos went Distinguished at the Camp Perry National High Power Rifle Championship matches. (Chandler Pg.17) Down to the last three shooters and running on a time limit Hathcock was waiting for the wind to die down before making his shot. Both of the other competitors had already fired. ”Shoot, damn it Carlos,” Land said aloud as the second hand drew itself across the final few seconds of the three-minute time limit. (Henderson, Marine Sniper Pg.57) Finally the crack of Hath...