Carlos Hathcock Biography: Age, Career, Net Worth, Siblings, Wife, Parents, Children

Carlos Norman Hathcock II, known as the “White Feather” sniper, was a legendary United States Marine Corps (USMC) sniper during the Vietnam War, renowned for his 93 confirmed kills and an estimated 300–400 total kills.

His extraordinary marksmanship, including a record-setting 2,500-yard shot, and his bravery in combat made him a Marine Corps icon.

Profile

• Full Name: Carlos Norman Hathcock II
• Stage Name: White Feather
• Born: May 20, 1942
• Died: February 22, 1999, (Age: 56 years old)
• Birthplace: Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
• Nationality: American
• Occupation: Former USMC Sniper, Marksman, Instructor
• Height: Unknown
• Parents: Carlos Norman Hathcock I, Agnes Mae Thompson
• Siblings: Billy Jack Hathcock
• Spouse: Josephine “Jo” Bryan Winstead (m. 1962–1999)
• Children: Carlos Norman Hathcock III
• Relationship: Married
• Net Worth: $1 million to $5 million USD

Early Life and Education

Carlos Norman Hathcock II was born on May 20, 1942, in Little Rock, Arkansas, to Carlos Norman Hathcock I, a railroad worker and World War II veteran, and Agnes Mae Thompson.

Raised in poverty, his parents separated when he was 12, and he lived with his grandmother, Myrtle (1900–2000), in Wynne, Arkansas, and later Geyer Springs, Pulaski County.

Hathcock dropped out of high school at age 15 to work for a concrete constructor in Little Rock.

Driven by a lifelong dream to serve, he enlisted in the USMC on his 17th birthday, May 20, 1959, with his mother’s permission.

His ethnicity is Caucasian, his zodiac sign was Taurus, and he was raised in a Christian household.

Career

Carlos Hathcock enlisted in the USMC in 1959, beginning with boot camp in San Diego, where he set a shooting record (248/250) at Cherry Point, North Carolina.

After training at Army Airborne School (Fort Moore, Georgia) and Special Operations Combat Medic course (Fort Bragg, North Carolina), he deployed to Vietnam in 1966 as a military policeman with the 1st Marine Division.

His marksmanship led to his transfer to the Sniper Platoon at Hill 55, south of Da Nang.

Known for wearing a white feather in his bush hat, earning the nickname “White Feather” from the North Vietnamese, he became a feared sniper with 93 confirmed kills, though he estimated 300–400 total kills due to unverified counts.

Using a Winchester Model 70 (.30-06 Springfield) with an 8x Unertl scope, and occasionally an M2 .50-caliber Browning machine gun, he set a record for the longest confirmed sniper kill at 2,500 yards in 1967 (broken in 2002).

Notable missions include killing an NVA interrogator, “Apache,” at 700 yards, eliminating a Viet Cong sniper through the enemy’s scope, and crawling 1,500 yards over four days to kill an NVA general (though skeptics note no general’s death by gunshot was recorded).

In 1969, he commanded a sniper platoon during his second tour.

His career ended on September 16, 1969, when an LVTP-5 he was riding hit a 500-pound anti-tank mine near Que-Son, Vietnam, causing severe burns.

Personal Life

Carlos Hathcock married Josephine “Jo” Bryan Winstead on November 10, 1962, in North Carolina, and they remained married until his death in 1999.

They had one son, Carlos Norman Hathcock III, who became a USMC Gunnery Sergeant and competitive shooter.

He rejected a Medal of Honor recommendation for his 1969 actions, valuing duty over recognition.

A reserved man, he disliked killing but saw it as necessary to protect Marines, quoting Ernest Hemingway: “There is no hunting like the hunting of man.”

He died on February 22, 1999, from multiple sclerosis complications, survived by Jo, his son, and brother Billy Jack, and is buried at Woodlawn Memorial Gardens, Norfolk, Virginia.

Net Worth

Carlos Hathcock’s net worth at the time of his death in 1999 was estimated at $1 million to $5 million USD.

His income derived from his USMC service (including 100% disability payments post-1979), book royalties from Marine Sniper (1986, over 500,000 copies sold) and Silent Warrior (2003), and consulting for police and SEAL Team Six.