This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human. Spending time outdoors, then let's talk about skin cancer. Non-melanoma skin cancers, or NMSCs, including basal cell carcinoma and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, are the most common cancers in the U.S. and can become harder to treat if left undetected.
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No single soldier on the battlefield is more revered. or more reviled than the sniper. They are seen as either cowardly assassins or surgical soldiers. With a single bullet, snipers can change the outcome of a battle. or even a war.
Long before Chris Kyle penned American Sniper. which became Clint Eastwood's Oscar-nominated movie Masterpiece. Carlos Hathcock was already a legend. Hathcock was so efficient and fearless during the Vietnam War that he wore a white feather on his gear. hunting the communists to come find him.
Our next story comes to us from Colin D. Heaton and Mike Droeberg. two military veterans and the founders of the YouTube channel Forgotten History. Their videos focus on military heroes, actions, and events. Spanning across the globe.
and are watched by hundreds of thousands of people. Here's Colin Heaton. with the story. Uh Carlos Norman Hathcock was born on May 20th, 1942, in Little Rock, Arkansas. Hathcock supported his extremely poor family by shooting and hunting at an early age.
with a twenty two caliber J C Higgins single shot rifle. He later graduated to using a Kar 98 German Mauser that his father had brought back from World War II. Hathcock joined the Marines on May 20, 1959, at the age of 17, and rapidly became a known quantity. He had won the matches at Camp Perry in 1965 and the Wimbledon Cup shooting championships. In nineteen sixty six Hathcock deployed to South Vietnam as a military policeman, but later became a sniper after Captain, later Major, Edward James Land wanted snipers in every infantry platoon.
At that time there was no formal sniper school in the Marine Corps, and snipers were designated according to a Marine's marksmanship record and field expertise. Land knew right away that Hathcock was a natural. Hathcock soon went to work protecting Marines, and one enemy was a woman. The story of the woman V C called the Apache has been questioned, but here is how Carlos explained it.
Okay. I really don't like to talk about her, to tell you truth. She was a I don't like these bad words. She was a very bad woman, a very bad woman. Had our own sniper platoon down here.
And I think they were out to get all my snipers, myself, and everybody. And She'd been torturing a lot of people. prior to us getting there and That was the primary objective. Kind of for me. And uh I was in her own backyard, She was troughing out her mind, and I didn't like that.
Uh She skipped that one kid that she'd captured. This one's a very, very personal. Very partial.
So her Kinda saw the group coming. Yeah, there's about five of 'em. And uh So there's quite damned though. Tranquil. I ascertained that was her.
And uh The guy in front of her was trying to get her to stop. 'Cause they were running right towards us where we're where they'd seen us before. Are you trying to get her to stop? She didn't. But I stopped her.
Now put on one extra for good measure. 'Cause I That was the Best. shot ever made, I think. Best shot ever, mate. The NBA and BC called Hathcock long trang, which means white feather.
because of the white feather he kept in the band on his bush hat. At that time in Vietnam, all the troops was wearing garbage on the dog tags. Peace symbols, right? We need a peace symbol. And all kind of garbage.
Grenade pins, all kinds of messing their hats and stuff. Uh Well, I picked it up. Why I picked it up was because I was just going to the bad guys, see? And the snipers don't do this. Not supposed to do it.
But I was kind of a Very belligerent individual, I guess, as a sniper. And uh Kinda like to flaunt my authority, I guess. After a platoon of Vietnamese snipers failed to kill him, many marines in the same area donned white feathers to deceive the enemy and confuse them. Ho Chi Min placed a bounty of thirty thousand dollars on Hathcock because he was so effective, and, through a mishap, they learned his name. It was believed that one of the local women working on the base accessed Hathcock's service record book.
In those days sniper kills were recorded in the SRB. Generally, rewards put on U.S. snipers range from $8 to $2,000. Hathcock held the record for the highest bounty ever placed on a Marine and he killed every Vietnamese sniper who came after him. In one of the most remarkable sniper versus sniper duels in history, Hathcock and his spotter John Roland Burke.
We're stalking the enemy sniper called the Cobra in the jungle near Hill 55. This was a fire base southwest of Da Nang, where the Cobra had already killed several marines. to lure Hathcock out to kill him. The stocking lasted for two days. Carlos said This North Vietnamese sniper was sent down there to get me.
And which I really didn't appreciate. And he was doing a bad job on the hill. A cold gunner was starting right outside my door with my hooch. And I watched him die. And uh Took a vow right then.
I was going to get him somehow or another. I left Vietnam the first time with 86 confirmed and the whole gob of probables. And I figured I was a little bit better than what they were.
So Just a smege, because I was still alive. And uh Okay. I got John Burke, who's my partner. And we went out. As a team leader, I trailed it.
Very cagey, very smart individual, and I figured he was. close to being as good as I was, but ain't no way. Ain't nobody that good. Uh And you gotta think like that too. You've got to think like that.
In I made a mistake. I fell on a rotted tree. And he made a shot. and hitting a partner's canteen. And Burke and I both thought he was hit.
'cause all the warmness is running down over his legs and stuff.
Okay. and uh noticed a hole in his canteens, you ain't hurt. Yeah. You ain't hurt, just you killed the devil out of your canteen, that's all. And we mosed around and mingled around and He started running.
The bad guy started running now. And we worked around to where I was in his old spot, he was in my old spot. Butchers. A bad thing for him because he was facing the sun by that time. That was afternoon.
By the end. And uh The saint landed off his lands of the scope, I guess, and which I didn't know at that time.
So I saw the glint. I shot it where the glint was. Um It just happened to be the right time. And by the looks of things, I was just the quickest on the trigger, otherwise, Nan did kill me. I shot right through his scope, right straight through the scope, didn't touch side.
Did touch his sides. And it didn't do his eyesight no good in that side either. Hathcock and Burke collected the dead sniper's rifle, as Hathcock wanted to keep it as a trophy. but it was later stolen from the armory after he checked it in. And you're listening to the story of Carlos Hathcock, and it's being told by Colin Heaton.
and Mike Droeberg of Forgotten History. And you're also hearing from Carlos Hathcock himself. Born in Little Rock, he supported his family hunting. And obviously that marksmanship came in handy when at seventeen he signed up for the Marines. there was a thirty thousand dollar bounty on his head by Ho Chi Minh himself.
That's how feared. Hathcock was. When we come back, more of this remarkable story: a true American sniper, and believe me, you want a good sniper on your team in deployment. For sure. More of this remarkable story here.
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Spending time outdoors, then let's talk about skin cancer. Non-melanoma skin cancers, or NMSCs, including basal cell carcinoma and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, are the most common cancers in the U.S. and can become harder to treat if left undetected. That's why sun protection and timely detection matter. Our sponsor, Regeneron, is raising awareness about advanced NMSCs.
Learn more and take the pledge to see a dermatologist annually at let's get real about skincancer.com. Hi, I'm Steph and I work at United Healthcare. When I think about United Healthcare's members, I think of my own family. My niece was diagnosed with an ultra-rare genetic disorder. I know how hard it is for families at United Healthcare.
We can make it easier. I'm Brian. I care because I know what it's like to not speak the language. It's not easy. Health insurance is complicated.
I would say our job is to make everything easy for our UXC members. I work for United Healthcare. I'm committed to care. IceCube's big three season is heating up. The most competitive basketball league on earth is on CBS this Sunday.
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Eastern, 10 a.m. Pacific, and catch replays Monday on BET. Presented by iHeart. And we continue with our American stories. Few Vietnam-Ear Marines are more storied.
and legendary sniper Carlos Hathcock. yet his legend is not rooted in confirmed kills. or the longest shots taken. though he held both records in his lifetime. It was his talents for tracking and hunting.
They were his greatest weapons. He taught himself to shoot as a boy just like Alvin York and Audi Murphy before him. He dreamed of being a U.S. Marine his whole life. and enlisted, as I said before, at the age of seventeen.
Hathcock was a world-class sharpshooter by then, winning the Wimbledon Cup Shooting Championship in 1965. The year before he would deploy to Vietnam and change the face of American warfare. Forever. I like shooting and I love hunting, but I never did enjoy killing anybody. It's my job.
He said famously, Let's continue with the story here again. is Colin Heaton. Hathcock was offered a top secret mission. which he accepted, knowing nothing about it until he was briefed after acceptance. The mission was to kill a North Vietnamese general.
far behind enemy enemy lines. and he would be alone this time. Following his insertion several miles away, he entered the enemy controlled area. It took him four days and three nights without sleep, as he crawled, inch by inch, over one thousand five hundred yards of an open field after already covering two miles just to get to that point. Hathcock was wearing a hastily assembled ghillie suit from the local vegetation to blend in with the surrounding terrain.
and he was almost stepped on by patrols as he lay camouflaged with grass and vegetation in a meadow shortly after sunset. During this process he came face to face with a deadly bamboo viper, and managed to outlast the reptile until it crawled away. He then managed to complete the stalk and get into a concealed position. and not long afterward the general came into view. I did not know what none of my people did.
Um So I took the mission on myself. and figuring out was maybe a little bit better and all rust up. 'Cause I was the one training all. It's supposed to be better. And uh Huck him out tree line.
Back there. And uh I got onto the open land and I went to my side. I didn't go flat on my belly because I made a bigger slug trail when I was on my belly. And I'm warmed on my side. very minutely.
Very minutely. I knew I had a long ways to go. Didn't want to tire myself out too much. And uh Patrols were within arm's reach of me. I could have tripped the majority.
Some of them. And they didn't even notice her. I was in their backyard. I was in their backyard. And then you expect a one-man attack?
They need that. And I knew from the first time when that's come lollygagging by me, that I had it made now. Let's be good. Let's be real good.
So I just continue squirming along, squirming along, and uh Can't go. Come many patrols, many patrols. come by there was Two. Uh 2051s on my left. two twin-fid ones on my right.
And I see them cooking their groceries and wishing I was there to have a little bit of it, but I was definitely hungry. I was thirsty. But you got a job to do. You can't let none of that enter. Just you're in your bubble.
And that's all is your job. your job. And uh crawl up on that little rise with a That escape route to my right. Yeah, that's made of the win. and temperature, humidity, the whole ball of wax.
try to run through my mind real quick. Uh No, don't the bad guy. Hathcock fired a single shot that struck the general in the chest. Killing him from a distance of 700 yards using his preferred Winchester 300 Magnum bolt action rifle. Carlos was deep inside the enemy compound.
But this was the easy part.
Now he had to escape the area without being captured. His egress and evasion was on. He egressed out of the area as the soldiers went to the trees to hide, and he made his escape without being actively pursued. That is the toughest part of a deep penetration mission, surviving after making the shot. On September 16th, 1969, Hathcock was riding on a LVTP-5 armored personnel carrier full of Marines on Highway 1 north of Landing Zone Baldi, a U.S.
Marine Corps and Army Army Republic Vietnam base located northwest of Chulai in Quang Nam Province. When the APC rolled over an anti-tank mine, The explosion rocked the heavy vehicle and wounded all the Marines on board, and a fire broke out. Hathcock jumped off and ran to the rear and pulled seven Marines from the vehicle which was an incinerator. Hathcock then collapsed, suffering first, second, and third degree burns to his face, arms, and legs, and his uniform was aflame. Another marine grabbed him and pulled him away and placed him in water alongside the road in a rice paddy.
And he was still smoking. While recovering, Hathcock received the Purple Heart. Nearly thirty years later, he received the Silver Star for this action saving those Marines. Although Hathcock had 93 confirmed kills, which had to be confirmed by the spotter and a third party who had to be an officer. He estimated that he had killed between 300 and 400 enemy personnel during the Vietnam War.
However, not to be sidelined, Hathcock returned to active duty, and along with now Major Ed Land established the Marine Corps Sniper School at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia. The results of his efforts saw the establishment of scout sniper schools at Stones Bay, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Camp Bendleton, California. at Marine Corps Base Kaneoe Bay in Hawaii. Despite returning to active duty, Hathcock was in daily constant pain, but he continued teaching snipers. Hathcock's health began to deteriorate, and in nineteen seventy five he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
and he was medically retired with full benefits and 100% of his pay, just 55 days short of the full twenty-year retirement requirement. Hathcock was honored by having a rifle named after him, derived from the older semi automatic M fourteen, and named the Springfield Armory M twenty five Whitefeather, due to his nickname. I met Carlos Hathcock twice. having been a sniper myself, I was well versed in his exploits. Carlos summed up his philosophy.
Cycle Model Infection is great. It's very, very great, and very harmful to the bad guys. Very harmful. One shot. One shot will put a whole company down.
A whole company. Because it It denies a movement. It denies a movement. restricts their movement. And uh that's what you go from landing in.
Very good for lanyard. I did not like to kill him. I really didn't like to kill him. But to pit myself against another living, breathing human being who could. Kill me to the screen that I could him.
That was the challenge of it. That was the challenge. See, only when you're needed. Only when you're needed are you the good guy. Only when you're in it.
Seems like. Because that's Training the powers that are. They look down on the snipers. And everybody else looks down on snipers. Because we have a job.
People down below do not understand that job. Do not understand what can be done for them. Bust not. Carlos Hathcock, the legendary Whitefeather, died on February 22, 1999, in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He is buried at Woodlawn Memorial Gardens in Norfolk, Virginia.
and his legend still stands. Yeah. And a terrific job on the editing, storytelling, and production by our own Greg Hengler. and a special thanks to Colin D. Heaton and Mike Troburg.
Two military veterans and the founders of the YouTube channel Forgotten History and terrific partners of this show. Visit their YouTube channel. Visit it often. and especial thanks posthumously to the legend. to the great Carlos Hathcock.
the sniper par excellence. Who in the end Started Marine Sniper Training. It had not existed before. and my own mother's brother Well, he did something called paratrooping, which had not existed before. in World War II.
And so many of those innovators and those dreamers paid the price of being the first. and imagine being a sniper without training. Because it is one of the deadliest jobs. there is in the military, is the other guy sniper. is looking for yours.
and yours theirs. It is a very special and very singular type of talent. And, my goodness, that secret assignment that he described to kill a Vietnamese general and how many lives he could save crawling those fifteen hundred yards As he said, Squirming. not just crawling like a snake. And then I dumped the bad guy.
with his Winchester bolt action rifle. The hard part of course to get away. And what a thing.
so many of our soldiers do for us. doing things like this, crawling in a swamp. And of course, the record is surreal, 93 confirmed kills. and estimated three hundred or more by his account. and then establishing the Marine Corps Sniper School.
And ultimately His final statement I did not like the killing. It was his job. The story of Carlos Hathcock The legendary white feather. An American sniper here. On our American stories.
Spending time outdoors, then let's talk about skin cancer. Non-melanoma skin cancers, or NMSCs, including basal cell carcinoma and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, are the most common cancers in the U.S. and can become harder to treat if left undetected. That's why sun protection and timely detection matter. Our sponsor, Regeneron, is raising awareness about advanced NMSCs.
Learn more and take the pledge to see a dermatologist annually at let's get real about skincancer.com. IceCube's big three season is heating up. The most competitive basketball league on earth is on CBS this Sunday. The two best teams go head-to-head as Coach Nancy Lieberman and Greg Monroe's Dallas Power take on the one-seed Chicago Tripletts, led by Coach Dr. J and Captain Montrez Harold.
Then Coach Gary Payton and the Boston Ballhawks battle Nasir Corps and the Detroit Amps in a must-win game for Boston. The game played the way you love. Watch live Sunday, August 9th on CBS at 1 p.m. Eastern, 10 a.m. Pacific, and catch replays Monday on BET.
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