Caeca Invidia Es
Staff Alumnus
THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
BAKER CITY, Ore. -- In the hurly-burly of military demobilization after the Vietnam War, the Marine Corps brass was unaware of the final number of people Chuck Mawhinney had killed as a sniper.
It was widely believed in the corps that the highest tally of confirmed kills was 93 and belonged to Gunnery Sgt. Carlos Hathcock, a legendary figure for his marksmanship, his bravery in saving seven Marines from a burning vehicle, and his efforts to establish corpswide sniper training.
Hathcock, who died last year at 57, was lionized in a 1986 book by Charles Henderson. The book states that Hathcock's record of 93 "has never been matched."
Meanwhile, a book by Joseph Ward, Mawhinney's fellow Marine sniper -- Dear Mom: A Sniper's Vietnam" -- mentioned him briefly. Without talking to Mawhinney, and relying on memory, Ward wrote that Mawhinney had 101 confirmed kills.
The keepers of the Hathcock legend reacted negatively. One free-lance journalist dug into Marine Corps records in an effort to debunk the 101 figure.
The search was possible because snipers were required to provide written reports of their actions. The true number for Mawhinney, it turned out, was 103.
Word moved slowly through the world of military publications and did not immediately reach Mawhinney's working-class town.
But knowing it eventually would, Mawhinney gathered a few friends one night and told them. He let them spread the word among other friends. For months afterward, Mawhinney and his wife, Robin, would walk into one of their haunts, a restaurant maybe, a neighborhood tavern or a school meeting, and their friends would fall silent and get guilty, uncomfortable looks.
"People were stunned," said Mark Spurlock, a contractor.
Eventually, though, Mawhinney's friends drifted back.
------------------
"Freedom has always existed in a very percurious balance. And when buildings stop blowing up, people’s priorities tend to change..." Enemy of the State
BAKER CITY, Ore. -- In the hurly-burly of military demobilization after the Vietnam War, the Marine Corps brass was unaware of the final number of people Chuck Mawhinney had killed as a sniper.
It was widely believed in the corps that the highest tally of confirmed kills was 93 and belonged to Gunnery Sgt. Carlos Hathcock, a legendary figure for his marksmanship, his bravery in saving seven Marines from a burning vehicle, and his efforts to establish corpswide sniper training.
Hathcock, who died last year at 57, was lionized in a 1986 book by Charles Henderson. The book states that Hathcock's record of 93 "has never been matched."
Meanwhile, a book by Joseph Ward, Mawhinney's fellow Marine sniper -- Dear Mom: A Sniper's Vietnam" -- mentioned him briefly. Without talking to Mawhinney, and relying on memory, Ward wrote that Mawhinney had 101 confirmed kills.
The keepers of the Hathcock legend reacted negatively. One free-lance journalist dug into Marine Corps records in an effort to debunk the 101 figure.
The search was possible because snipers were required to provide written reports of their actions. The true number for Mawhinney, it turned out, was 103.
Word moved slowly through the world of military publications and did not immediately reach Mawhinney's working-class town.
But knowing it eventually would, Mawhinney gathered a few friends one night and told them. He let them spread the word among other friends. For months afterward, Mawhinney and his wife, Robin, would walk into one of their haunts, a restaurant maybe, a neighborhood tavern or a school meeting, and their friends would fall silent and get guilty, uncomfortable looks.
"People were stunned," said Mark Spurlock, a contractor.
Eventually, though, Mawhinney's friends drifted back.
------------------
"Freedom has always existed in a very percurious balance. And when buildings stop blowing up, people’s priorities tend to change..." Enemy of the State