Summary- The chapter starts off with a dead marine. A Viet Sniper has been picking off Marines for three weeks now. Carlos wants to go and kill the enemy sniper, but Land will not let him because he is restricted from leaving the base.. This job would be for Land and Master Sergeant Reinke. Land is revealed to be the highest rank of pistol user as well as for the sniper. Land takes off to kill the enemy sniper by securing position of the shrine on the hill. He first infiltrates the shrine and kills two Viet Cong soldiers but later he finds out that there was a black-clad scout watching their every move. Meanwhile, Hathcock was sitting on a hill where the base was located watching a small farming family out of boredom. He stared at the chickens near the family's hut. All of a sudden, Hathcock sees two men going into the hut with long rifles and they exit without them. Hathcock had to do something about it. He recognized them as NVA soldiers and they were most likely snipers due to their long guns. Hathcock shoots with his rifle and manages to hurt the woman but the two men escape. He warns ITT, and reports the event. They find the woman and plan to interrogate her for working with the Viet soldiers. The soldiers back at camp are amazed at his quarter mile shot and ask him how he does it. He replies with the quote stated. Land reports back to a bunker and is surprised to see his leader there. The colonel is angry at him for risking his life and plans to send him home alive in three weeks. Hathcock is back at base with a report from the interrogators. They say that the woman said that the NVA had a sniper school just like theirs and that those were the dozen of snipers who have been killing stray marines. They all have one purpose... to kill The White Feather. They had allegedly mad blood oaths swearing that they would not come home without killing Hathcock. Carlos Hathcock and Burke were back in action. They go off in search for the snipers who are in search for them. Land hears this report and wishes his team well, especially Carlos, because Carlos was not only his best marksman, but he became a close friend. Team Hathcock enter into Vietnamese killing zone. Burke was hit near his thigh and was bleeding badly by a sniper. Hathcock can't see the well camouflaged man. Then he sees a flash as light reflects off a mirror the guy had. Hathcock takes the shot and it goes through a tree. There was no more flashes afterward. Hathcock and Burke come back to base to bid Land farewell. Before Land leaves, he warns the Majors that Hathcock was the best sniper ever but he would put himself in the most dangerous situations. Burke was the same because he has been Hathcock's apprentice and acts just like him. Land warns the higher ups to keep an eye on them and don't let them get killed.
Quote- "Hathcock narrowed his eyes, cocked his head to the side, and in a serious tone said, "We use it a whole lot in long-range shooting." "Oh yeah" "Uh huh. Swag...Scientific Wild-Ass Guess""(Henderson 166).
Reaction- This quote caught my attention because it showed Hathcock's humorous side, and at the same time it allowed the reader to understand how he makes those crazy shots. People back at his base ask him how he makes mile long shots, and he replies with guessing. It also shows his modesty. Hathcock doesn't say anything about skill. He just plainly states that he uses guessing to determine where to shoot.
No comments:
Post a Comment