Military

Deadliest Marine Corps Sniper Charles Benjamin Mawhinney Dies At Age 75

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Brianna Lyman News and Commentary Writer
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Charles Benjamin “Chuck” Mawhinney, the deadliest sniper ever for the Marine Corps, died Monday at the age of 75, according to multiple reports.

Mawhinney had 103 confirmed kills during his deployment to Vietnam, making him both the deadliest sniper for the Marine Corps as well as the deadliest sniper of the Vietnam War, according to Military.com.

Mawhinney grew up in Oregon and began hunting rabbits and deer. But Mawhinney’s troubled youth led him to some issues, until the Marine Corps gave him a way out, according to Military.com. Mawhinney deployed to Vietnam for a 16-month tour between 1967-1969 but never spoke of his record-setting kills. It wasn’t until fellow veteran Joseph T. Ward, who was a spotter, wrote in his 1991 book, “Dear Mom: A Sniper’s Vietnam,” that Mawhinney’s 103 kills were brought to light.

A fellow author checked Marine Corps archives to confirm Mawhinney’s total number of kills, and 103 was correct, Military.com reported.

Mawhinney left the service in 1970 and began working for the U.S. Forest Service. (RELATED: Air Force Veteran Would Have Been Buried Alone – But St. Louis Had Other Ideas)

During a 1996 interview with Bay City Herald, Mawhinney talked about the heroic work of his fellow veterans.

“It’s an opportunity for me to get some recognition for a lot of the Vietnam vets that didn’t receive any recognition,” Mawhinney told the outlet. “We were all there together. If I have to take recognition for it, that’s OK, because every time I talk to someone, I can talk about the vets. It gives me an opportunity to talk about what a great job they did.”

Mawhinney later worked on a book with his friend Jim Lindsay, which was published in March of 2023, “The Sniper: The Untold Story of the Marine Corps’ Greatest Marksman of All Time.”

Mawhinney leaves behind a wife and three children, according to Military.com.