Around September 1971, the 5th Recon Company belonging to the 5th Infantry Division captured a Viet Cong in the Phuoc Long areas, along with a unique sniper rifle that could hit with accuracy a target at 2 kilometers and a half made in the U.S.A. This rifle was submitted to local CIA authorities for examination.
How did it happen that this particular and classified rifle ended up in the hands of a VC guerrilla instead of an ARVN sniper? Corruption in the ARVN was indeed severe in that period.
The CIA officers, knowing General Hieu was brilliant in marksmanship, asked him to test fire this sniper rifle at the Chu Lai fire range. At that time, General Hieu had left the 5th Infantry Division and assumed the position of I Corps Deputy Commander in Da Nang.
The following photos show CIA officers examining a couple of weapons captured from Viet Cong guerrillas.
Nguyen Van Tin
05 December 2019.