Marine Sniper: 93 Confirmed Kills Page 1 - 50

Summary- The biography starts off by describing Hathcock in the Vietnamese War as a sniper. He is responsible of sniping off any enemies off from Duc Pho, a hill that watches over miles of land. He mentions how he misses his son and wife as homesickness sweeps over him. His reputation as a elite marksman has been spread by each kill, and soon the Viet Cong coined him the name of The White Feather. This name was based on the distinct feather that he wore on his hat strapped by his hatband. The story jumps back seven years earlier as the Sergeant remembers the day he joined the Marine Corps. It had been his birthday as he was signed off to participate in the Recruit Depot ton see if he was army material. He recounts this memory as his most memorable birthday ever as he describes his day as the "first day of thirteen weeks of hell."(Henderson 15) The next thing that the author explains is how Sergeant Hathcock met his wife, Josephine. It was a blind date set up by his colleagues who often commented on Hathcock's loneliness. They decided to act on it on Christmas time and set up the date. The two progressively grew to like each other, and after a while they got married because Josephine said that they would never go far if they didn't get married. The story returns to the "present" as Hathcock gets ready to set off on his journey to another part of Vietnam to do his job, Elephant Valley. The next chapter starts by giving readers a glimpse into Hathcock's childhood. He had always been interested in Marines and had dreamed to become one ever since he saw one at the age of eight. He hunted for fun and was a pretty good marksman at a very young age. It returns to the "present" soon after as Hathcock and his partner, Burke, set off for Elephant Valley. After a while the team manages to get onto of Monkey Mountain, a highly elevated mountain that watches over the roads to and from Laos in Elephant Valley. There was only one road so it was a crucial position to take in order to cut off supplies coming in from Laos. The team quickly sees a massive group of soldiers and instinctively takes the commander out from an insane distance. They worry about a massive charge as they pick people off. The army ends up being scared motionless and goes into hiding until nightfall. They start to charge at where Hathcock and Burke are, but with the help of illumination from illumes, rockets that are shot to illuminate an area, they mange to kill most of them. The rest are scared off. The chapter ends off with Hathcock talking about his sniping competitions and his rise in rank to distinguished sniper, the highest honor of sniper, as they wait for backup.

Quote-" Marines die as fast from bullets fired by twelve-year old boys as they do from bullets fired by men." (Henderson 2)

Reaction- Charles Henderson's writing style is very unique. He uses many flashbacks to shed light on the character's past and personality. His writing is very descriptive, and the vast majority of the events he talks about has precise dates. The quote above stands for a very important lesson for marines in any army. There can be no sympathy in war unless you want to die. Sergeant Hathcock shows this during his killing of a child who was taking ammunition to the Vietnamese troops. Sympathy leads to death in war, and this is a major motto that Sergeant Hathcock follows after the death of marines who were killed and deceived by children working on the opponent's side.