How did it all end? What was his legacy?
On the 16th of September 1969, the same year he returned to service, Hathcock was medically evacuated. His career as a sniper in Vietnam came to a sudden end. Along with fellow marines, Hathcock was traveling along Route 1 on an AMTRAC (an amphibious vehicle introduced in WWII). The AMTRAC hit an anti-tank mine and exploded. In a heroic move, Hathcock saved the lives of seven fellow Marines. Though the mine knocked Hathcock unconscious, he awoke just in time to rescue his injured comrades through blazing flames. He suffered severe burns and a helicopter came to evacuate all eight injured Marines. They were first taken to the hospital ship USS Repose, then to a hospital in Tokyo, before heading to a hospital located in San Antonio.
Upon recovery, Hathcock helped establish the Marine Corps Sniper School in Quantico Virginia. Though in frequent pain from his injuries in Vietnam, he battled through it. In 1975 the doctors sadly diagnosed Hathcock with Multiple Sclerosis. Though he remained in the Marine Corps for a while, his health declined rapidly. In 1979 the Marine Corps discharged him on the grounds of medical disabilities and he received one hundred percent disability pay. Hathcock was greatly saddened by this move but continued to provide instruction to police departments and certain military units such as the SEAL Team Six. It was with great sorrow that he passed away, aged fifty-six in 1999.
How did we thank him for his service? Hathcock received numerous awards and decorations throughout his life: a Silver Star, a Purple Heart, a Navy Commendation Medal, a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, a Good Conduct medal, a National Defense Service Medal, a Vietnam Service Medal, the Gallantry Cross, and the Vietnam Campaign Medal.
Just looking at a few of these more closely: the Marine Corps awarded Hathcock a Silver Star in 1996 for his heroic efforts in 1969 saving his fellow colleagues. This is a personal valor decoration awarded for “gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States”. It is the third-highest personal decoration for valor in combat. Further, the United States Armed Forces also awarded Hathcock a Purple Heart military decoration. The Forces award this accolade to those “wounded or killed in any action against an enemy of the US or as a result of an act of any such enemy or opposing armed forces”.
Several people and company have also named things in his honor. Impressively, the Springfield Armory also designed a variant of the M1A Supermatch rifle and named it the “M-25 White Feather”. The company placed his white feather logo on the receiver and the rifle possessed a likeness of Hathcock’s signature. Furthermore, annually the National Defence Industrial Association honors a soldier with a Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock Award.
This aims to “recognize an individual who … has made significant contributions in operational employment and tactics of small arms weapons systems which have impacted the readiness and capabilities of the U.S. military or law enforcement.” Finally, the Marine Corps League includes a category named the ‘Gunnery Sergeant Carlos N. Hathcock II Award’. The Marines present this accolade to an “enlisted Marine who has made an outstanding contribution to the improvement of marksmanship training”.
