Carlos Hathcock facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Carlos Hathcock
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Hathcock in November 1996
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Nickname(s) | "White Feather" |
Born | Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S. |
May 20, 1942
Died | February 23, 1999 Virginia Beach, Virginia, U.S. |
(aged 56)
Buried |
Woodlawn Memorial Gardens
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Allegiance | United States of America |
Service/ |
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Years of service | 1959–1979 |
Rank | ![]() |
Unit | ![]() |
Battles/wars | Vietnam War |
Awards | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Spouse(s) |
Josephine (née Broughton) Winstead (m. 1962)
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Children | Carlos Norman Hathcock III |
Carlos Norman Hathcock II (May 20, 1942 – February 22, 1999) was a United States Marine Corps (USMC) sniper with a service record of 93 confirmed kills. Hathcock's record and the extraordinary details of the missions he undertook made him a legend in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was honored by having a rifle named after him: a variant of the M21 dubbed the Springfield Armory M25 White Feather, for the nickname "White Feather" given to Hathcock by the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN).
Early life and education
Hathcock was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, on May 20, 1942. He grew up in Wynne, Arkansas, living with his grandmother after his parents separated for the first 12 years of his life. While visiting relatives in Mississippi, he took to shooting and hunting at an early age, partly out of necessity to help feed his poor family. He would go into the woods with his dog and pretend to be a soldier and hunt imaginary Japanese with the old Mauser his father brought back from World War II. He hunted at that early age with a .22-caliber J. C. Higgins single-shot rifle. Hathcock dreamed of being a Marine throughout his childhood, and so on May 20, 1959, at the age of 17, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. Hathcock married Jo (nee Broughton) Winstead on the date of the Marine Corps birthday, November 10, 1962. Jo gave birth to a son, whom they named Carlos Norman Hathcock III.