Eric England (Sniper)
Eric R England was an American marine who served in the US Marine Corps 3rd Marine Division during the Vietnam War. With 98 confirmed kills, England was the third most effective sniper of that war, trailing behind Aldelbert Waldron (109 kills) and Chuck Mawhinney (103).
Eric England was born in 1933, in Union County, Georgia. At 17 he joined the US Marine Corps. In 1952, after two years in the force, England became a National rifle shooting champion. He received his first competitive training in USMC bootcamp from his cousin, Dr. James Harry Turner, at that time a Marine weapons instructor. This led to a 24 year career on the USMC rifle team, winning national and international competitions as participant and coach.
Eric England currently holds a record as one of the five American soldiers with the highest number of confirmed kills. He is listed as having had 98 confirmed kills, with dozens more listed as "probables". When the US Army snipers are included, England shows to be ranked at third overall, with US Army sniper Adelbert Waldron moving to first with 109 confirmed kills. However, Eric England had 98 confirmed within only 7 months in war, before being medically evacuated from Vietnam. England had many solo sniping missions, and witnesses were not always available to confirm his kills which may have been 200 or 300. England has never mentioned his number of kills; this estimate had to be obtained from former USMC officers who knew him. The same situation was true for Carlos Hathcock and other scout-snipers.
England became a highly respected marine, and was the subject of the book Phantom of Phu Bai, written by Dr. J. B. Turner. A sculpture in England’s honor was erected in front of the county courthouse in Union County, Georgia, in 2006. One of the guest speakers was former Georgia governor and US Senator Zell Miller, who also is a former Marine, and a personal friend to England.
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I had the honor of talking to Mr. England at a gun show dec 2010 and i was in awe by being next to and talking to such a great Marine and American..