Eventually, Hathcock had gained such a level of notoriety that the NVA put a $30,000 bounty on his head. This was a surprisingly high number as usually, bounties on US snipers ranged from $10 – $2000. There were several Vietnamese marksmen who tried to take the bounty but alas, they failed to outsmart Hathcock on every turn. Hathcock did love to accentuate his character and so kept a white feather, tied to a band in his bush hat. For this, the Vietnamese called Hathcock, “Du kích Lông Trắng”, which in English means White Feather Sniper.
The NVA decided to eliminate the threat of the White Feather Sniper once and for all, and sent a platoon of Vietnamese snipers into the area. To their surprise, all Marines were now wearing white feather hats! The Marines put their life on the line so easily as they were aware of Hathcock’s significance.
Carlos Hathcock’s Killings
One of Hathcock’s most prized achievements was bringing down an enemy sniper with a shot right through his scope into his eye. Hathcock along with his spotter, John Roland Burke were sent on a mission in the nearby jungle to target the enemy sniper. The NVA sniper was called “the Cobra” and was feared for being very capable when it came to long-range shooting. He had killed many Marines and was on a mission to eliminate Hathcock. Hathcock waited patiently in the jungle and as soon as he spotted a reflection of light from the Cobra’s scope, he aimed at him, putting the bullet straight into his eye.
Later on, Hathcock analyzed the kill and concluded that shooting a sniper through his scope is only possible if both snipers are locked within each other’s sights. This meant Hathcock only had a few seconds to make his move, otherwise, he would’ve died. Hathcock had his eyes on the trophy, i.e. the rifle and brought it back but it mysteriously went missing from the armory.
There were several such encounters, another one of which, in Hathcock’s own words is as follows: “She was a bad woman,” Carlos Hathcock once said of the woman known as ‘Apache.’ “Normally kill squads would just kill a Marine and take his shoes or whatever, but the Apache was very sadistic. She would do anything to cause pain.” This was the trademark of the female Viet Cong platoon leader. She captured Americans in the area around Carlos Hathcock’s unit and then tortured them without mercy.
“I was in her backyard, she was in mine. I didn’t like that,” Hathcock said. “It was personal, very personal. She’d been torturing Marines before I got there.”
“In November of 1966, she captured a Marine Private and tortured him within earshot of his own unit.”
“She tortured him all afternoon, half the next day,” Hathcock recalls. “I was by the wire… He walked out, died right by the wire. “Apache skinned the private, cut off his eyelids, removed his fingernails, and then castrated him before letting him go. Hathcock attempted to save him, but he was too late.”
This was the melting point for Hathcock who made it his primary mission to kill her before any more damage could be inflicted by her. Then one day, his spotter detected an NVA sniper team moving in at 700 yards. One of them took a break and squatted. Instantly, they knew it was the Apache. Hathcock calls it “the best shot he ever made”. The NVA patrol was aware of the dangers of peeing in the jungle and tried to stop her but she didn’t. It was too late for her anyways and Hathcock put two bullets in her, an extra one just to be safe!
During his time in Vietnam, Hathcock only once removed the feather from his hat. He was on a volunteer mission, just before the end of his first tour. He crawled almost 1500 yards in search of a high-ranking NVA officer. The mission was classified and he wasn’t given the details until he swore to accept it. The hunt took 4 days and 3 nights, and had absolutely no margin for error. He crawled all the way while wearing camouflage.
Hathcock said that he was so immersed in the environment that once he was almost walked over. He was also at risk from nature and was almost bitten by a snake. However, he kept his calm and didn’t move much to avoid any attention. He waited at his position patiently until the officer came out of his encampment. Hathcock seized the moment with a single shot to the chest.