Tag: Vietnam

Stephen Hunter’s tribute to Carlos Hathcock, a true American hero

I wrote last week about “Two major pieces of wisdom from Bob Lee Swagger and Stephen Hunter,” and I wanted to do a quick follow up.

A long-time reader and friend of the blog (Old Gyrene) pointed out in the comments another piece of beautiful writing from Stephen Hunter that I was unaware of.

In the piece, Hunter writes just an amazing tribute to Gunnery Sgt. Carlos Hathcock, one of America’s most famous Vietnam veterans.

Here’s the piece: The sniper with a steadfast aim.

Keep the faith,

Stan R. Mitchell

Oak Ridge, Tenn.

About me: I’m a full-time, action-fiction author with books similar to Vince Flynn, Stephen Hunter, and Tom Clancy. I’m also a prior infantry Marine with Combat Action Ribbon, and a guy who spent 10+ years writing every day in the newspaper business. Please consider subscribing for email alerts — I mostly post about things that either motivate you, inspire you, or make you laugh.

Were Americans truly against the Vietnam War toward the end, or has history been rewritten by the victors?

Could it be that we teach our Vietnam history wrong?

That’s a question I’ve been mulling over after a recent email conversation with a Vietnam vet, who went back for a second tour late in the war.

He wrote me a couple of months back, introducing himself and making a comment about a past article I wrote. He mentioned in the introduction of his email that he had served in Vietnam as a Marine and returned for a second tour from November 1970 to June 1971. It was just a side comment of a broader email, but I was really curious why someone would return so late in the war.

Continue reading “Were Americans truly against the Vietnam War toward the end, or has history been rewritten by the victors?”