Charles W. Sasser - One Shot One Kill

$7.99 U.S.

$10.99 CAN

Take aim at the new book of true combat
sniper tales from Charles W. Sasser
and Craig Roberts

CROSSHAIRS ON THE KILL ZONE
Coming soon from Pocket Star Books

AND THESE GRIPPING TRUE STORIES
OF OUR NATIONS MILITARY

BAND OF BROTHERS
Stephen E. Ambrose

Mr. Ambrose has captured the true essence of a combat rifle company.

The New York Times Book Review

THE VILLAGE
Bing West

A minor classic about war.

The Washington Post

THE PROUD BASTARDS
E. MICHAEL HELMS

The best grunt-level, tell-it-like-it-was work Ive read. A classic.

Keith William Nolan, author of Battle for Hue

Available from Pocket Books

U.S Marine Lance Corporal Craig Roberts, Vietnam, 1965: We slept during the days and with the fall of night we packed up our rifles and our scopes, like shift workers packing a lunch, and went to work. Instead of the hunted, we became the hunters hidden in the jungle like ghosts, who killed unseen and then vanished into the bamboo

U.S. Army Sergeant William E. Jones, Normandy, 1944: With the .30-caliber 1903 Springfield rifles telescopic sight, I could often find the German snipers hiding in the hedgerows. You couldnt see them with the naked eye, but the 10X scope brought them right out of hiding

U.S. Army Corporal Chet Hamilton, Korea, 1952: In order for the Chicoms to see our troops and fire at them down through their wire as the GIs charged up the hill, they had to lean up and out over their trenches, into view. That was all I needed

U.S. Marine Corporal Tom Rutter, Beirut, 1983: It was like anarchy in which everyone went armed. I crosshaired one of the Shiites who was dragging a dead man. He had been among those who earlier charged from the caf with rifles blazing. It was an easy shot of about 425 meters. I centered on his chest. The bullet slammed him against the side of the car

U.S. Marine Sergeant Carlos Hathcock, Vietnam, 1967: Both lenses of the enemys sniper scope, front and back, were shattered. It was obvious what happened. My bullet smashed through his scope and into his right eye. At the moment I shot him, he had his scope on me. I just happened to get on the trigger first

Books by Charles W. Sasser

Doc: Platoon Medic
(with Daniel E. Evans Jr.)

Smokejumpers

Last American Heroes
(with Michael W. Sasser)

Shoot to Kill

Always a Warrior

Homicide!

The 100th Kill

One ShotOne Kill
(with Craig Roberts)

The Walking Dead
(with Craig Roberts)

Published by POCKET BOOKS

CHARLES W. SASSER AND CRAIG ROBERTS

POCKET STAR BOOKS
New York London Toronto Sydney

The sale of this book without its cover is unauthorized. If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that it was reported to the publisher as unsold and destroyed. Neither the author nor the publisher has received payment for the sale of this stripped book.

An Original Publication of POCKET BOOKS

A Pocket Star Book published by
POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com

Copyright 1990 by Charles W. Sasser and Craig Roberts

Cover art copyright 1990 Peter Caras

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce
this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

For information address Pocket Books, 1230 Avenue
of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

ISBN 13: 978-0-671-68219-4
ISBN 10: 0-671-68219-9
eISBN: 978-1-439-13712-3

First Pocket Books printing April 1990

25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18

POCKET STAR BOOKS and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Manufactured in the United States of America

For information regarding special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-800-456-6798 or business@simonandschuster.com.

This book is dedicated to our parents:
Bill and Betty Roberts; George and Mary Wells.
And to Angela Roberts
and Juanita Marie Jackson.

The authors wish to thank the people who made this book possible. Their help in the monumental task of researching and writing this book made a difficult project an enjoyable experience.

Our thanks to:

Colonel Brooke Nihart, USMC, Deputy Director for Marine Corps Museums, and his staff for the invaluable research and documentation provided;

To Lieutenant Colonel J. C. Cuddy, USMC, U.S. Marine Corps Scout/Sniper School, without whose help the contacts and chain of events leading to many interviews would not have been possible;

To Major James Land, USMC (Ret.), for sharing his experiences both in Vietnam and Quantico, Virginia, and for his patience and dedicated assistance throughout the writing;

To Major Dick Culver, USMC (Ret.), for his help in providing information regarding development of the Marine Corps Scout/Sniper School and for lending us his expertise in the area of telescopic sights;

To Staff Sergeant Ronnie Kuykendall, Senior Instructor of the U.S. Army Sniper School, Fort Benning, Georgia, and to his staff for their help in providing the latest information on the U.S. Army Sniper Training Program;

To Gunnery Sergeant Carlos N. Hathcock, USMC (Ret.), for all his help, advice, information, and above all for sharing his experiences with the authors after traveling 1,200 miles and taking four days out of his life;

To all the other fine men and their wives who participated in reliving experiences, filling in the gaps in history, and sharing with us the stories that appear on these pagesSergeant John Fulcher, Sergeant William E. Jones, Private Daniel Webster Cass, Jr., Sergeant Chester Hamilton, Corporal Ernest R. Fish, Corporal Gary Edwards, Corporal Jim Miller, Corporal Ron Szpond, and Corporal Thomas Gregory Rutter;

And, finally, we would like to thank the dozens of other peoplesniper instructors, commanding officers, former snipers, librarians, career NCOs, professional marksmen, and others too numerous to list but whose assistance is gratefully acknowledged.

Charles W. Sasser

Craig Roberts

There survives one lone wolf of the battlefield. He hunts not with the pack. Single-handed, or accompanied by one companion, he seeks cover near the fighting. Sometimes he holes-in behind the tottering walls of a shell-ridden hut, far from the shelter of his lines. Again, at dead of night, he rolls out across the shell-torn fields, burrowing deep into the sodden ground. His game is not to send a hail of rapid fire into a squad or company; it is to pick off with one well-directed, rapidly delivered shot a single enemy.

U.S. Marine Corps General George O. Van Orden

The information in this book came from sources ranging from official U.S. Government documents and publications to actual taped interviews with the men whose stories appear on these pages. Brief quotes from knowledgeable individuals came from other sources where their statements were relevant to a given topic. These are: Lones Wigger, quoted from an article in