Marine Scout Snipers Look to Immortalize Their Legacy and History Through a New Memorial

The Marine Scout Sniper War Memorial will look something like this: a bronze World War I observer, with an iconic brimmed helmet and a specialized Winchester rifle slung over his shoulder, points ahead. His hand rests on the shoulder of a Marine sniper with a high fade haircut, Oakley-style glasses and an M40A6 rifle, emblematic of those who served during the Global War on Terror.

They are both hunting a target, looking toward a future that has yet to be written. Yet they bookend the 105-year history of one of the military's most storied and elite occupations, the Marine scout sniper.

In the summer of 2021, two years before the Corps axed the current iteration of the job, members of the Marine scout sniper community saw a growing need to preserve and catalog their heritage, one that is legendary but largely untold.