Chuck Mawhinney was just a small town kid in Lakeview, Oregon, making the same mistakes that a lot of the young men in the United States make. He was adventurous, wild, and dedicated to learning all that he could. Little did he know that his past would shape him into the United States Marine Corps most deadly sniper.
Growing up in a small community in Oregon afforded Chuck plenty of freedoms, many that involved the outdoors and love of family. It all began in the slow-paced town where young Chuck grew up on barstools, the boardwalk buying candy, and hanging out with his grandfather on the farm protecting the cherry trees from the blackbirds. He didn’t have a problem with a hard day’s work and putting traditional blue color work ethic to the test. What he didn’t have was a path forward to growing into a man. Enter the U.S.M.C. They are a fierce bunch of tough men and Mawhinney was given the chance to clear his juvenile record when he signed on to become a Marine.
Chuck Mawhinney was a licensed pilot, a crack shot with a rifle, and also a very mature man once he entered the service. What he wanted was to succeed at whatever he chose to do and you can tell he was very determined. Lindsay proudly shows how Mawhinney dedicated his life to becoming the best version of himself, not intent on becoming the Marine Corps most deadly sniper, but becoming the epitome of the U.S.M.C. motte, Semper Fidelis (“Always Faithful”).
Through numerous nighttime sniper interdictions, daytime patrols, and some questionable women and drug scenarios, Mawhinney’s time in Vietnam is portrayed admirably. In keeping with tradition of the men and women that were forced to endure the dark and gloomy days abroad, only to come home and be chastised by the American brethren, many of the people close to Chuck didn’t even know what he had to do to stay alive. As time heals most things, those people began to see what the Vietnam war had done to America's sons and daughters and move forward. Mawhinney is just one man in the many that had to bear the brunt of war in that God forsaken land, but with Lindsay at the helm you will greatly enjoy this one.
Jim Lindsay delicately navigates Chuck Mawhinney’s journey from small town troublemaker to the United States Marine Corps deadliest sniper. An adventure Mawhinney wasn’t planning for, but one that he didn’t back down from through three tours in Vietnam. Lindsay, with Mawhinney’s permission and exorbitant knowledge, shows the violent side of Vietnam, and the war that many soldiers and marines couldn’t escape. Accepting that the battlefield was his place to shine, Mawhinney performed his job to the fullest extent possible to keep the American warfighter alive.
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