Chuck Mawhinney

Charles Benjamin Mawhinney (February 23, 1949 – February 12, 2024) was a United States Marine Corps (USMC) sniper who holds the Corps' record for the most confirmed kills with 103, and 216 probable kills in 16 months during the Vietnam War.

Service in the Vietnam War Mawhinney, born оn February 23, 1949, in Lakeview, Oregon,

Following enlistment, he attended Scout Sniper School at Camp Pendleton and graduated in April 1968. From there he received orders to South Vietnam where upon arrival he was assigned as a rifleman to Lima Company 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division. He remained in this unit for three months until he was re-assigned to 5th Marine Regiment HQ Scout Sniper Platoon. There he worked as a scout sniper for different companies with the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions. He also worked with the South Korean Marines, Force Recon, but the majority of his time was with Delta Company, 1/5 Marines. During this tour he is credited with 103 confirmed North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and Viet Cong (VC) kills and 216 probable kills. He spent 16 months in Vietnam, starting in early 1968.

"It was the ultimate hunting trip: a man hunting another man who was hunting me", Mawhinney told the Los Angeles Times. "Don't talk to me about hunting lions or elephants; they don't fight back with rifles and scopes. I just loved it."

Mawhinney told no one about his service as a sniper, not even his wife. For more than two decades, his accomplishments as a sniper were almost entirely unknown—even Mawhinney himself did not know how his record compared to his peers. Ward credited Mawhinney with 101 confirmed kills, which was controversial, as it was generally believed that the 93 confirmed kills by Carlos Hathcock was more than any other Marine sniper. Mawhinney was a spokesman for Strider Knives, which produces a knife bearing his signature on the blade. One of these knives is awarded to the top graduate of each class from the USMC Scout Sniper School in Camp Pendleton. Beginning in 2006, Mawhinney spoke to classes of professional snipers in training.

One of the rifles he used in Vietnam is displayed in the Vietnam Gallery of the National Museum of the Marine Corps, where it has been shown since its opening in 2006.

One of Mawhinney's shots was recreated for the History Channel special, "Sniper: The Anatomy of the Kill".

Mawhinney later lived in Baker City, Oregon. He died there on February 12, 2024, at the age of 74.