Chuck Mawhinney was a US Marine Corps sniper who served sixteen months in the Vietnam War. Although he was less well known than his more famous counterpart sniper legend Carlos Hathcock, Mawhinney actually had 103 confirmed kills to Hathcock’s 93. Mawhinney had another 216 that are listed as "probables" by the U.S. Marine Corps.
Charles Benjamin "Chuck" Mawhinney was born in Oregon in 1949. He was the son of a World War II Marine Corps veteran. When he was young, he would spend a lot of time in the woods hunting alone. At the age of 18, Mawhinney joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1967. When he left the Marine Corps in 1970, he slipped into obscurity, and went without notice for his number of confirmed kills for more than two decades. He returned home to Oregon, married, and began to work for the U.S. Forest Service, where he worked until his retired in the late 1990s.
Collected and laid back, Chuck Mawhinney had never spoken of his exploits back in Vietnam ever since he had left the Marine Corps in 1970. Nevertheless, a book titled Dear Mom: A Sniper’s Vietnam, which was written by fellow Marine sniper and author Joseph T. Ward, exposed him as a self-possessed, extremely skillful sniper. But the book recognized him as having 101 confirmed kills and many disputed the claim, believing that Carlos Hathcock had more confirmed kills than any other American sniper. However, after carefully research had been done, it was revealed that US Army sniper Adelbert Waldron actually had 109 confirmed kills, and Mawhinney actually had 103 confirmed kills and 216 probable kills, while a third Marine Corps sniper, Eric R. England, had 98 confirmed kills. This led to Mawhinney replacing Carlos Hathcock as the USMC sniper with the greatest amount of confirmed kills on record, and ranking number two overall behind Waldron.
M40-A1 Remington Rifle used by Chuck Mawhinney in Vietnam
Met the man at the American Hereos Challenge in Las Vegas 2010, he is an awesome individual.
Could you please tell me if this rifle has a leather, nylon, or web sling on it.
Thank you,
Debbie
the rifle had a leather sling, which was mildewed by humid jungle conditions