Marine Corps Times
Ask any Marine about the service’s greatest snipers, and a flurry of references to the legendary Gunnery Sgt. Carlos Hathcock are sure to flood the conversation. Yet it was another sniper, Charles “Chuck” Mawhinney, who quietly surpassed Hathcock as the Marine Corps’ deadliest.
The Lakeview, Oregon, native recorded 103 confirmed kills in Vietnam over the span of 16 months in 1968 and 1969. By the time he returned home, he’d also been credited with another 216 “probable kills,” a classification for incidents in which the act of confirming a kill in an active war zone would jeopardize safety. More
Lo, there do I see my father.
Lo, there do I see my mother,
and my sisters, and my brothers.
Lo, there do I see the line of my people,
Back to the beginning!
Lo, they do call to me.
They bid me take my place among them,
In the halls of Valhalla!
Where the brave may live forever!
I just finished an old Tom Clancy novel, Without Remorse.
It takes place during the ‘Nam years and was fantastic.
No Jack Ryan in this, the hero is John Kelly.
Kind of a prequel to Clear & Present Danger…
Loco, have you read any of Vince Flynn “Mitch Rapp” books?
No Rich, I might start reading the Reacher series since I watch some of the recent TV series on YouTube.
The actor playing Reacher is pretty cool.
What is Mitch? A spy?
All of our Nam vets are dropping dead.
I lost my father-in-law late last year. A Marine artillery man. Lost another Nam Marine friend the year before.
Loved those guys.
Salute and Rest In Peace.
@loco
My wife is totally addicted to the Mitch Rapp series.
I’ve read Clancy and Thor, the Mitch Rapp series is the best. Author, Flynn died of cancer in 2013 at like 45, way too young. He wrote about a dozen books in the series.
Rapp is Jack Ryan on steroids, a star college athlete whose girlfriend died in a terrorist airline bombing. He wants revenge, becomes a lethal killer in martial arts and firearms training, is recruited by the CIA specifically for a clandestine black ops team, and then is turned loose of the world’s bad guys, saving America and the president several times over.
Flynn was the technical advisor for several seasons for “24”, so all scenarios are meticulously researched.
All can be found at your local library. I listen to the audio series about every 5 years.
Another good author of a sniper as a main character is Stephen Hunter, featuring Robert Lee “Bob the Nailer” Swagger.
Reach out and touch someone!
And we were defending what part of America while we were in Vietnam? I mean I know we were there securing the region so the CIA could run heroin out of the Golden Triangle (basically the same reason we were in Afghanistan – heroin), but what AMERICAN CITIZEN/FREEDOM interests were being served?
P Henry, there are maybe 100 K + World War 2 vets still alive and the last of them will have passed within the next 3-5 years since they’re all in their late 90’s. Korean War vets are next since they’re mostly over 80 at the youngest and Vietnam vets at their youngest are all in their early 70’s and older. I’ll be 71 3 weeks from Monday on March 4th, and I am one of the younger later Vietnam War era veterans (1972-1975). And all of the boomers will be gone within the next 20-30 years. Hopefully none of these generations from World War 2 forward will not be forgotten by those who come behind us. I pray that there will still be an America left for my 5 grandchildren all under the age of 8 to live in and grow up in with some of the knowledge of the freedom that the older generations gave them.
My dad’s next older brother Ross was born in 1926 and enlisted in the Army in 1944. He we a parachutist and a trained sniper since he had excellent marksman skills from hunting and living in the woods of N. Idaho. He never saw duty in Europe, but he did occupation duty in Japan just after WW 2. And he was allowed to do some hunting for wild animals in Japan to provide some meat to the Japanese people by permission of the Army. He passed away in 2016 at almost 90. I miss my dad an Air Force veteran between WW 2 and Korea who was in Berlin at the time of the Berlin Airlift in 1948 and 3 of my dad’s older brothers were all WW 2 vets of the Navy and the Army, my mom’s older brother who was in the Marines in WW 2 fought at Iwo Jima, my late father-in-law was in the Air Force during the Korean War was a crew chief on B-29’s. And I had a cousin who won a Silver Star in Vietnam who died from cancer probably from exposure to Agent Orange in the jungles of Vietnam in the late 60’s about 6 years ago. God bless them all.
RIP
@Geoff
At least I was able to get Walter a brick on the walk of honor at the National Museum of the Marine Corps while he was still alive.
He gave me his vase made from a 105 mm shell casing in Viet Nam. It states his name. Then ‘Participant SE Asia war games. Vietnam. Second place.’
He obviously was very burned up about that. I don’t blame him.
I treasure the vase that he bequeathed to me.
PH HENRY
I am not dead! Nor dropping!
Moa’s boys tried their best; have scars on: face, neck and chest. but no where near dead! I plan on voting Don for a 3rd time!
DOC
Were it not for you I would not be here!
THNKS DOC!
But I plan to be making trouble for years!
Chuck was a true gentleman and was able to live under the radar for many years until another Marine outed him in a book. I recall in his retirement after he was outed he began to market replicas of his M-40 sniper rifle. He has been known to use a magazine fed M-14 when he had to take out a flock of enemy.
@ex grunt.
I truly appreciate your service and sacrifice and wish you a long life filled with good health and great joy
RIP Chuck. I’m sure a lot of Marines are alive because of his skill with the rifle. If the Army and the Navy ever gaze on Heaven’s scenes, they will find the streets are guarded by United States Marines.
Jarhead Cracka, I can say I am here because we had a guardian watching out for us thru his scope. Our platoon HMFIC was an old SSGT (probably busted several times) but a damn good Marine with a lot of instincts. He too was named Chuck and he knew Mawhinney and they would run into each other back at the firebase once in a while.
Everybody knew about Carlos Hathcock because he was not just a good Marine and good sniper that did some incredible things to get a high profile target, he was also a good self promoter, unlike Chuck Mahwinney who was the quiet type that just wanted to do his job and go home. If it weren’t for him a lot of Marines including myself would have come home in a box!
Rest in Peace Marine, Semper Fi
Doc
About ten years ago when we were in the gun biz hot and heavy we met a couple MARSOC door kickers, a bunch of Rangers, one fake Seal. Long story short, over watch, snipers, kept a ton of those boys alive in the big sand box too. Impressive men.
The Finger Of God. I can spot them most of the time now by the 1000 yard stare.
Doc, I was too young for Vietnam. I did read about Hathcock but then when Chuck Mawhinney emerged as the top sniper I was totally impressed by the quiet humility you described. Plus, he was from Oregon! Thank God for snipers who strike fear in the enemy who keep Marines and our Corpsmen alive. Semper Fi.
R.I.P.
Steve Motley, Retired Marine
**Happened a few years back but the internet is forever.
Hope you’re watching, Steve
Slow hand salute. Thanks for your sacrifice, Chuck. Semper Fi and RIP Marine.
“Good Night Chesty Puller wherever you are”.
My father was in the Korean and Vietam war – Air Force. In Vietnam he navigated an AC119G ‘Stinger’ gunship. I believe it had 6 7.62mm and one 20mm gun on each side.
During the war, his money was no good at bars as he and his crew saved many a life on our side.
He passed about 15 years ago – the nicest guy you could ever meet.
Never really talked nuch about his service, and we knew not to pry.
God I miss him, but I will know we will see each other eventually.
https://www.ac119gunships.com/