Maggie’s Memories of Carlos Hathcock

[AXEMAN]

Re: Memories of Carlos Hathcock

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: mexican match</div><div class="ubbcode-body">lockedandloaded, sir this is the first time i have read your post and to be honest i had to read some and walk away several times for my eyes would water up and i get a lump in my throat. i have no pictures of gunny in my house , only the fond memories of our conversations on the phone and when we would meet up at shows. they are in my head and i can visit them any time i wish to, i am sure others do the same it's a private thing. </div></div>

i thought i was the only one. you know after reading all the stuff posted about him, i expected him to be 10 feet tall and built like the hulk. it was a jolt to see him in the pictures posted. looks like my uncle or any of my cousins, all nam vets. he was so young, 57. i'd have loved to have the honor of meeting him. i thank you all for posting your memories of him and allowing me to know him thru your eyes. god bless you gunny, and all who have served

 

[chris223]

Re: Memories of Carlos Hathcock

BUMP

 

[lockedandloaded]

Re: Memories of Carlos Hathcock

Off a week for Gunnies anniversary date: Hathcock died on February 23, 1999

Godspeed

 

[Helidriver]

Re: Memories of Carlos Hathcock

I didn't look up to many people as a kid but I did look up Gunny Hathcock. He's one of the reasons I joined the Corps. I never met the man but I read all I could get my hands on about him. I lost touch with shooting for a while and when I came back to it I was devastated to hear he had passed.

Most people ask who was your favorite superhero as a kid. My answer always causes confused looks. I just tell them he was a real man and a real hero. Not a comic book or movie character. But a man that gave all he had every day of his life.

Now instead of morning his death I celebrate a live well lived.

Thanks for what you've done for us Gunny.

 

[nashlaw]

Re: Memories of Carlos Hathcock

I have a copy of "93 Confirmed Kills" he autographed. It was in the mid-90s and the books were offered by Precision Shooting.

It is much cherished.

 

[mexicanmatch]

Re: Memories of Carlos Hathcock

Never forget him, never.

 

[soleus123]

Re: Memories of Carlos Hathcock

Wish I had the honor of meeting him.

 

[msiebert]

Re: Memories of Carlos Hathcock

In the 80's my sister lived down the street from him in Va. Beach. I still have his autograph on a poster of a Marine sniper in Korea. I had it matted and framed a few years back. He signed it in silver ink and it is still a little hard to see. I was gonna sell the poster because to me it belongs in the hands of a Marine. I just cant bring myself to get rid of it. In those days he liked to fish for sharks and there were alot of them. I never fished with him but wished I had.

 

[weemsw]

Re: Memories of Carlos Hathcock

Only got to meet him once. He spoke at the Marine Corps birthday ball in 1988 at the NATC in Memphis. Shook his hand and kept moving but for an 18 year old private 6 weeks off Parris Island it is something I will never forget. Best ball ever!

 

[BamaLoaded]

Re: Memories of Carlos Hathcock

I never met Carlos but I am reminded of him daily. I bear his last name and am constantly asked if I am related to him. I have a son in the Corps in Afganistan at the present time. He caught hell going through basic with the last name Hathcock. When he was in Iraq a few years back he met the only other person in the Corps with the last name Hathcock. Small world.

Randall Hathcock

 

[Scarrow]

Re: Memories of Carlos Hathcock

IIRC, one of Hathcock's favourite quotes:

"It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."

-Theodore Roosevelt-

This quote stayed with me.

 

[ggmanning]

Re: Memories of Carlos Hathcock

My 8 year old son had to do a presentation on great Americans a few weeks ago for school. I was surprised and proud that little man came to me and wanted his to be on Gy "Hapcock". I have never discussed Gy Hathcock one on one with him but it goes to show what they pick up. He sees the books around the reloading bench and we are big into shooting together so he has learned by listening and watching that the man was a real hero. Happy to say it made me feel like I am getting it right in raising him. The spoiled athletes of the world so often worshipped by kids couldn't clean the boots of this county's real heroes.

Never met him, would have been honored to shake his hand.

 

[HC260]

Re: Memories of Carlos Hathcock

Thank you lockedandloaded.

 

[MacM11]

Re: Memories of Carlos Hathcock

I met Gunny as a young Marine at Quantico in the late 70's. He spoke to us on the rifle range early one morning. All I remember was the color/texture of his skin. The significance of who he was didn't fully sink in until I read his book some years later.
I wish I could go back in time.

 

[aggiesig]

Re: Memories of Carlos Hathcock

I've got the Marine Sniper on audiobook I've been listending to on my hour commute the past few days.

The thing that strikes me the most about him, is how humble and unassuming he is. If I had the opportunity to meet him casually somewhere not knowing all of his accomplishments my reaction would probably be "He's good people"

 

[Dizzny]

Re: Memories of Carlos Hathcock

To the pioneer of the deadliest game on the planet
Semper Fi Gunny

 

[aussiem1a]

Re: Memories of Carlos Hathcock

a legend

 

[BradfromND]

Re: Memories of Carlos Hathcock

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: aussiem1a</div><div class="ubbcode-body">a legend </div></div>

What are you getting ready to sell, aussiem1a?

28 Bullshit posts in a row in an hour.....HMMMMMM?

 

[DAFAR]

Re: Memories of Carlos Hathcock

Wow I cant believe I just saw this thread.
I meet Gunny in May of 1990, I was walking of the 500 yard line at Damneck Naval Station in Virginia Beach VA and I had just been shooting my brandie new Remington 700 special police(I still have it)it was considered to be qite the rifle back then. Anyway I am waliking off the line and this guy comes up to me and starts telling me that my prone position was off and that I could tighenen my consistancy up by moving my feet and legs into a differant position. My first thought was who the hell is the scraggly guy telling me how to position my feet. Anyway, as I listened I noticed the hat on his head with the gunny symbol and the words that read mast sniper on them, then I noticed how his hands shook as he lit his cigerette . The final thing I saw was the small white feather pulled through the webbing on the left side of his hat and thats when I knew who it was. THat was how I met him, we ended up training with him on Wednesdays for almost a year until there was an unfortunate yet totaly unrelated accident that involved the death of an operator during a traing security drill on the base. Politics reared it's ugly head and Gunny said I have had enought and the training stopped. I sat in his house a few times with him and Joe and we would always chat about all the crap going on in the world, he was never a braggard and he didnt dwell on his illness, he hated politicians and redtape. He was an old school man with simple clear values and an undying love of the corps

 

[bignada]

Re: Memories of Carlos Hathcock

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: lockedandloaded</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Saw this thread go BTT. Thought I'd post some references to magazine articles worth researching on Gunny.

Precision Shooting, May 1996 Pg. 62
Precision Shooting, March 1996 Pg. 30
Soldier Of Fortune, Feb. 1987 Pg. 64

Feel free to add any others you can find.</div></div>


Kept the May `96 copy of American Survival Guide magazine all these years because it had these articles in series:
=Chandler Sniper Rifle= detailed how Chandler Bros IBA built a rifle to present to Carlos Hathcock.
=Marine Sniper= article on Hathcock by Dr. J. Kell
Also a review of the Death From Afar book series.

Not like in `96 you could find articles on sniping, much less 3 in one magazine the same month.

 

[lockedandloaded]

Re: Memories of Carlos Hathcock

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: DAFAR</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Wow I cant believe I just saw this thread.
I meet Gunny in May of 1990, I was walking of the 500 yard line at Damneck Naval Station in Virginia Beach VA and I had just been shooting my brandie new Remington 700 special police(I still have it)it was considered to be qite the rifle back then. Anyway I am waliking off the line and this guy comes up to me and starts telling me that my prone position was off and that I could tighenen my consistancy up by moving my feet and legs into a differant position. My first thought was who the hell is the scraggly guy telling me how to position my feet. Anyway, as I listened I noticed the hat on his head with the gunny symbol and the words that read mast sniper on them, then I noticed how his hands shook as he lit his cigerette . The final thing I saw was the small white feather pulled through the webbing on the left side of his hat and thats when I knew who it was. THat was how I met him, we ended up training with him on Wednesdays for almost a year until there was an unfortunate yet totaly unrelated accident that involved the death of an operator during a traing security drill on the base. Politics reared it's ugly head and Gunny said I have had enought and the training stopped. I sat in his house a few times with him and Joe and we would always chat about all the crap going on in the world, he was never a braggard and he didnt dwell on his illness, he hated politicians and redtape. He was an old school man with simple clear values and an undying love of the corps </div></div>

Any other memories of info he shared with you and your team?

Would've been great to observe his prone shooting position firsthand!

 

[MarkinAZ]

Re: Memories of Carlos Hathcock

I was at Quantico in the mid 1980's shooting one of the monthly pistol matches and was standing outside the door to the indoor range with Sgt. Dean Duncan, who was running the shooting club at the time.

Across the road at he sniper shack stood a whole bunch of Marines surrounding what looked like a skinny civilian wearing a western jacket, slacks and highly polished cowboy boots. These guys couldn't get enough of this guy, it seemed.

I asked Dean who he was, and Dean looked at me as if I had two heads on my shoulders. He then informed me, in no uncertain terms EXACTLY who this living legend was. I was flabbergasted and looked back over in that direction.

Carlos Hathcock was one NOT to miss anything, because when I turned to look in his direction, he was intently looking at me, even with all these guys around him vying for his attention.

I respectfully nodded to him, at which point he nodded back, then continued to talk with the guys around him. I went back inside to shoot my relay and never saw him again.

It wasn't until shortly later when I purchased and read his book that I realized I was in the presence of greatness. I am not ashamed to admit that I had giant tears welling in my eyes as I read "SILENT WARRIOR" and the last moments of his life.

Hard to believe that he is gone, but his memory will live on forever.

S/F

 

[lockedandloaded]

Re: Memories of Carlos Hathcock

bump

 

[Unknown]

Re: Memories of Carlos Hathcock

He was too good of a man to just let this thread fade away.
Semper Fi.

 

[flylo]

I just found this & agree it should be kept going. I never met him but he's been my hero for a long, long time. You guys that got to meet him are very lucky. Here's to you Gunny! God Bless, RIP & Thank You!

[@%1;QUOTE=Unknown;1843856]He was too good of a man to just let this thread fade away.
Semper Fi.[/QUOTE]

 

[Spartan67]

Bump to get this back on top..... A sticky perhaps?? What do you guys think??

 

[reeljob]

I had the privilege to hold the door for him at a service station near VA Beach. I didn't know who the gentleman was until we passed and the fellow at the cash register asked me if I knew who I had held the door for. He told me that was Carlos Hathcock. Though we never really spoke, "thank you young man" was all that was said, I have never forgotten that though brief I had been in the presence of a legend and true American hero.

 

[verdugo60]

+1 ont the sticky, I never saw this thread before but damn if I didn't get a bit of sand in my eye reading it.

His biography got me into long distance shooting, I have read it every few years since. What a man.

 

[40xs]

A good friend of mine started working for Remington around 1998 when he and his boss went to ( I believe Quantico ) for a shoot and demonstration for the company. It was hot and my friend noticed a gentleman sitting in a wheelchair under a shade tree. My friend said the man looked like he could use a cold drink so he picked up two and carried them to where he sat and started a conversation. After a few minutes the gentleman realized that my friend had no idea who he was and thanked him for the drink and said it meant a lot to him for a stranger to come and offer him something cold to drink not knowing who he was and at that time introduced himself to my friend. He was blown away. Carlos went on to say that a lot of people want to associate with him because of who he is but my friend just wanted to do something kind to a stranger, and he enjoyed the visit and drink with him. My friend will never forget that day.

 

[George Az]

Aug 1987

I never saw this thread. August 1987. His book came out and sold out - try and find a first ed. There was none to be had in the Camp Lejeune area, even the military book club went on backorder. It was unprecedented. First understand the time period. This is during the same time old Dick Marchinko was bragging about his budget for ammo was bigger than the corps. Our shooting program for the USMC was not healthy at the time. Sniper school was severly underfunded as it is during peacetime and Beruit was behind us. So Gunny Hathcock and Maj. Land went on tour, speaking to the snuffies and making rounds often outside the base on behalf of the proper well placed shot.

At first he was not welcomed with open arms by the brass. They had a program where if you paid a little bit, off base, you could go shoot some intresting stuff, like a proto .50 cal and some upgraded sniper stuff. But they mostly spoke to the guys who wanted to be there, Recon Marines, Snipers, shooting team guys. It kind of went viral. I remember getting called into the XO's office (he was a mustang) and questioned about what went down. You have to understand a lot of this stuff was done off base and word of mouth back then - there weren't no cell phones nor social media. It is in my opinion, training got a little better after they came around. We got a few more rounds to practice with.

It wasn't all secrets, but we have it way better now than back then. We were really restricted on knowledge. The secrets were held by a handful of shooters and armorers at Pendelton, Quantico and Lejeune along with a few at Bragg. Some benchrest guys in Texas doing crazy stuff like like turning necks were getting some knowledge, but it isn't like today. We all learned off one another. But the art of the rifle was then held by far fewer individuals than today, if you don't believe it, look at the distances we are pushing today vs 1980.

We own a significant debt to Gunny Hathcock and Maj. Land, they brought to the forfront the value of ONE Shot! One well placed round vs the spray of waste that was being followed. He was not welcomed, but he worked it anyway. His word carried too much weight for the politician and brass to argue against.

Gunny Hathcock was a soft spoken man, he could be hard when he needed to be. He was a great man. I had the pleasure as a young dumb ass lance coporal to meet him and run a couple rounds down range with him. Good times a long time ago.

 

[Gunga]

I never met White Feather himself but I was in the same squadron out of New River MCAS as his son for 3 years around 1990, . The Carlos Hathcock I served with was an outstanding Marine also. We deployed on LF6F Med floats together and went to the rifle range together,,, and Desert Storm now that I think of it, Liberia Africa, for Operation Sharp Edge also. I always did make a point to shake his hand and speak to him on qualification day at the rifle range. It felt like good ju-ju. His father had every right to be proud of the son that bears his name.

 

[MarinePMI]

I never saw this thread. August 1987. His book came out and sold out - try and find a first ed. There was none to be had in the Camp Lejeune area, even the military book club went on backorder. It was unprecedented. First understand the time period. This is during the same time old Dick Marchinko was bragging about his budget for ammo was bigger than the corps. Our shooting program for the USMC was not healthy at the time. Sniper school was severly underfunded as it is during peacetime and Beruit was behind us. So Gunny Hathcock and Maj. Land went on tour, speaking to the snuffies and making rounds often outside the base on behalf of the proper well placed shot.

At first he was not welcomed with open arms by the brass. They had a program where if you paid a little bit, off base, you could go shoot some intresting stuff, like a proto .50 cal and some upgraded sniper stuff. But they mostly spoke to the guys who wanted to be there, Recon Marines, Snipers, shooting team guys. It kind of went viral. I remember getting called into the XO's office (he was a mustang) and questioned about what went down. You have to understand a lot of this stuff was done off base and word of mouth back then - there weren't no cell phones nor social media. It is in my opinion, training got a little better after they came around. We got a few more rounds to practice with.

It wasn't all secrets, but we have it way better now than back then. We were really restricted on knowledge. The secrets were held by a handful of shooters and armorers at Pendelton, Quantico and Lejeune along with a few at Bragg. Some benchrest guys in Texas doing crazy stuff like like turning necks were getting some knowledge, but it isn't like today. We all learned off one another. But the art of the rifle was then held by far fewer individuals than today, if you don't believe it, look at the distances we are pushing today vs 1980.

We own a significant debt to Gunny Hathcock and Maj. Land, they brought to the forfront the value of ONE Shot! One well placed round vs the spray of waste that was being followed. He was not welcomed, but he worked it anyway. His word carried too much weight for the politician and brass to argue against.

Gunny Hathcock was a soft spoken man, he could be hard when he needed to be. He was a great man. I had the pleasure as a young dumb ass lance coporal to meet him and run a couple rounds down range with him. Good times a long time ago.

I remember those days well (89-94 LeJeune), and what you say is true. Unlike today, the way of the rifle back then was a closely held and guarded skill. I remember the run that occurred (I think it was one of the STA plts that did it), where they ran up to Va. Beach. IIRC, it was a formation run for 4 miles, then every sniper took a turn running 3 miles, rotating continuously, until they were 3 miles from Gy Hathcock's house, where, in Marine fashion, the last three miles were done in formation, with cadence echoing down the street/road.

I never met him personally, but do recall seeing him at one of the matches. I want to say it was Eastern Division Matches in '92 (I was a tyro that year), and he was just there during match day 1. I think that was one of the few years where the high shooter was also the high tyro as well (back when the Corps used to give out a Rem 700 and an M1A1 as prizes for first place and high tyro). But I digress...

We are diminished by his passing.

 

[lockedandloaded]

Trying to bring this thread back

 

[wilsoncs3980]

Glad you revived this thread. In the late 90's I was just getting into long range shooting and happened to read his books. I wasn't in the Marines, I was a paratrooper in the 82nd so I had never heard of him. I loved his books and I heard about a Sniper Competition they were doing in Elk Garden, W. Virginia at Storm Mountain's range to raise money for him and he was going to be there so I drove from Cincinnati just to get the chance to meet the man. I got a signed 8x10 and was able to shake his hand and chat a bit. I didn't know much about long range shooting, I was shooting benchrest back then but i had just bought a Remington VSSF in .308 and had it accurized by a gunsmith out west and was starting to shoot longer ranges. He gave me some shit about being in the Army and I gave him some shit about being in the Marines, & we laughed. He was a very down to earth man. I was really honored to be able to meet him.

 

[NukeMMC]

I was shooting the Atlantic Fleet and All Navy Matches in Dam Neck back in 88-94. GySgt Hathcock was at the award ceremony for the 1990 All Navy Matches. I asked him to sign 2 things for me, a paperback copy of 93 Confirmed Kills and an MRT sling. He asked me what I wanted written on the book. I said "How about "Good luck with your shooting"" He just looked up at me and said "Ain't no luck in shooting. It's all in what you make of it." I told him that sounded like words I needed to read once in a while. I remember a bunch of the SEALs that were there had gone thru his instruction. He and MCPO KaBar talked for quite a while.

He was back at another of the All Navy Awards ... maybe 1994? He was a bit more shaky, but still sharp as a razor.

I first met his son Carlos at the 91 Interservice Matches. Saw him again at the 93 National Matches. He was a great reflection of his father, yet still quite his own man. Pretty sure he is one of a few Marines I hauled back to Perry from Port Clinton thru a police DUI checkpoint.

 

[lockedandloaded]

This thread is now 10 years long. Thank you to all who posted, and those who continue to keep the memories of Gunny alive.