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83rd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2025 Regular Session
Senate Concurrent Resolution 28
Sponsored by Senators MCLANE, MANNING JR, Representative LEVY B, Senator NASH, Representatives BOICE,
LEWIS, MCINTIRE, OWENS, SKARLATOS, SMITH G; Senators ANDERSON, GIROD, HAYDEN,
LINTHICUM, MEEK, ROBINSON, SMITH DB, WOODS, Representatives BREESE-IVERSON, EVANS,
HARBICK, LIVELY, PHAM H, RESCHKE, WRIGHT, YUNKER
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject
to consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor’s brief statement of the essential features of the
measure as introduced.The statement includes a measure digest written in compliance with applicable readability
standards.
Digest: Honors the life and service of Chuck Mawhinney.(Flesch Readability Score: 71.8).
In memoriam: Charles Benjamin “Chuck” Mawhinney, 1949-2024.
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Whereas Charles Benjamin “Chuck” Mawhinney was born on February 23, 1949, in Lakeview,
Oregon;and
Whereas Chuck Mawhinney was the son of a United States Marine Corps (USMC) veteran who
served in the Pacific Theater during World War II; and
Whereas Chuck Mawhinney grew up in rural eastern Oregon and became an avid outdoorsman
and deer hunter, having learned to shoot and hunt from his father and grandfather; and
Whereas Chuck Mawhinney graduated from high school in June 1967, and he joined the USMC
later that year—after deer season ended; and
Whereas the USMC had not had dedicated snipers since World War II, but by 1967 the Corps
had changed its mind; and
Whereas Chuck Mawhinney was among the first to complete the new USMC Scout Sniper
School at Camp Pendleton, and he graduated at the top of his class in April 1968; and
Whereas Chuck Mawhinney received orders to South Vietnam, where upon arrival he was as-
signed as a rifleman to Lima Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division, and then
was reassigned to the 5th Marine Regiment HQ Scout Sniper Platoon; and
Whereas Chuck Mawhinney spent 16 months in Vietnam, and during his combat tour he was
credited with 103 confirmed North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong kills and 216 probable kills; and
Whereas Chuck Mawhinney had confirmed kills over 1,000 yards when the typical kill shot for
snipers during the Vietnam War was taken at a distance of 300 to 800 yards; and
Whereas Chuck Mawhinney is the deadliest sniper in the history of the USMC, and he is widely
considered to be the fourth deadliest sniper in American military history; and
Whereas Chuck Mawhinney was neither boastful nor bashful about his task, and he said that
he did not relish killing but accepted it as an important part of keeping his fellow Marines safe; and
Whereas Chuck Mawhinney believed that snipers saved lives by sapping the enemy’s will to
fight;and
Whereas Chuck Mawhinney earned numerous medals and commendations for his Vietnam War
service, including a Bronze Star with “V” device for combat valor, the Navy and Marine Corps
Achievement Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with “V” device and two
NOTE:Matter in boldfaced type in an amended section is new; matter [italic and bracketed] is existing law to be omitted.
New sections are in boldfaced type.
LC 4612 SCR28
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Purple Hearts; and
Whereas Chuck Mawhinney returned to the United States in the spring of 1970, and he was
honorably discharged from the USMC with the rank of sergeant; and
Whereas Chuck Mawhinney had a long career with the United States Forest Service until his
retirement in 1997; and
Whereas Chuck Mawhinney married Robin Hood in 1977, and they settled in Baker City,
Oregon, in 1981; and
Whereas Chuck Mawhinney never sought attention and he was quiet about his years as a sniper,
so that his extraordinary accomplishments remained largely unknown to the general public and even
to many close friends and family members; and
Whereas in 1991, a friend and fellow former sniper, Joseph T.Ward, published Dear Mom: A
Sniper’s Vietnam, in which he made public the details of Chuck Mawhinney’s war service, including
his kill count; and
Whereas after the revelation of his feats as a sniper, Chuck Mawhinney slowly increased his
public profile, and he began speaking at conventions and public events and attending national sniper
shooting competitions; and
Whereas in 2023, The Sniper: The Untold Story of the Marine Corps’ Greatest Marksman of All
Time, a biography of Chuck Mawhinney by Jim Lindsay, was published; and
Whereas an M40 sniper rifle Chuck Mawhinney used in combat is displayed in the National
Museum of the Marine Corps; and
Whereas Chuck Mawhinney died on February 12, 2024; and
Whereas Chuck Mawhinney was survived by his wife, Robin; his three sons, Cody, Dennis and
Don; and his daughter, Lisa; and
Whereas Chuck Mawhinney was a proud Marine who served his country with honor and great
distinction; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Oregon:
That we, the members of the Eighty-third Legislative Assembly, celebrate the life and accom-
plishments of Charles Benjamin “Chuck” Mawhinney, and we recognize and honor him for his ser-
vice to his country; and be it further
Resolved, That a copy of this resolution shall be presented to the family of Chuck Mawhinney
as an expression of our sympathy and condolences.
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