David Hackworth

David H. Hackworth
November 11, 1930 – 4 May 2005 (aged 74)
Hackworth in Zagreb, Croatia, December 1995. Photo by Dale Cruse.
Nickname	Hack
Place of birth	California, USA
Place of death	Tijuana, Mexico
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1945-1971
Rank	Colonel
Battles/wars	World War II Korean War Vietnam War
Awards	Distinguished Service Cross (2) Silver Star (10) Legion of Merit (4) Distinguished Flying Cross Bronze Star with "V" Device (8) Purple Heart (8) Air Medal (33) Combat Infantryman Badge
Other work	Restauranteur author journalist

David Haskell Hackworth (November 11, 1930 – May 4, 2005) known affectionately as "Hack", was a retired United States Army colonel and prominent military journalist.

Early life and entrance into the military

Hackworth suffered a rough childhood, and ran off to join the U.S. Merchant Marine at age 14, towards the end of World War II. After the war, he lied about his age (15) to enlist in the U.S. Army, and was assigned occupation duty in Trieste, and also gave him the majority of the lessons that he would later draw on as a non-commissioned officer and officer. It was under the tutelage of Sergeant Steve Prazenka that Hackworth would learn the value of hard training and the quest for perfection, cutting troopers no slack and questing to be STRAC. The start of the Korean War found him a sergeant and he volunteered for duty there. ^[1]

In Korea, Hackworth fought with the 25th Recon Company, the 8th Rangers, and then 27th Infantry (Wolfhound) Regiment of the 25th Infantry Division (Light), winning a battlefield commission as a lieutenant and several medals for valor along with multiple Purple Hearts for being wounded several times. After a successful raid (Hill 1062) and battlefield decoration and promotion to 1st Lieutenant, Col. Sloan (CO 25th Division) offered Hackworth a new volunteer Division-level raider unit. Hackworth formed the new 27th Wolfhound Raiders, leading them from August to November 1951, He subsequently volunteered for a second tour in Korea, this time with the 40th Infantry Division. For his bravery in combat, Lieutenant Hackworth was further rewarded with a promotion to the rank of Captain. ^[2]

Demobilized after the cease-fire in Korea, Hackworth quickly became bored with civilian life once he finished his education and reentered the Army in 1956 as a Captain.

Interwar service

Captain David Hackworth returned to the Army- the expanding "Cold War" model U.S. Army, which had changed substantially from the army he had known. Initially posted to an anti-aircraft defense unit in California, Hackworth was eventually assigned to Germany in the 1960s as an Infantry company commander under Colonel Glover S. Johns, and learned a great deal of the skills that were needed to be an effective officer from this old warhorse. He was involved in a number of fire drills around the Berlin Blockade, and his exploits at the time were rivaled only by the loyalty of his troops and the growth in his leadership skills and style that he enjoyed. His reflections on military history are there for all to read in his autobiography "About Face." He recalls his experience with Russian guards at the "wall".

Vietnam service

When President Kennedy announced that a large advisory team was being sent to South Vietnam, Hackworth immediately volunteered for service. His request was denied, on the grounds that he had "too much" combat experience for the mission. ^[1]

In 1965, he deployed to Vietnam as a major. He served as an operations officer and battalion commander in the 101st Airborne Division and original leader of the Tiger Force. He quickly developed a reputation as an eccentric but effective soldier, becoming a public figure in several books authored by General S.L.A. "Slam" Marshall. Following a stateside tour at the Pentagon and promotion to Lieutenant Colonel, Hackworth co-wrote "The Vietnam Primer" with Marshall after returning to Vietnam in the winter of 1966-67 on an Army-sponsored tour with the famous historian and commentator. The book adopted some of the same tactics as Mao Zedong and Che Guevara and the Viet Cong in fighting guerrillas. Hackworth described the strategy as "out-geeing the G."

But Hackworth was not just a theoretician. He put his theories to work most famously with the 4/39 Infantry in the Mekong Delta, the Hardcore Battalion (Recondo) from January to late May 1969.

However, both his assignment with "Slam" Marshall and his time on staff duty at the Pentagon soured Hackworth on the Vietnam War. One aspect of the latter required him to defend the U.S. position on the war. Even with his reservations concerning the conflict, he refused to resign, feeling it was his duty as a field grade officer to wage the campaign as best he could.

Hackworth was assigned to a training battalion at Fort Lewis, Washington, and then returned to Vietnam to lead elements of the 9th Infantry Division. He next served as a senior military adviser to the South Vietnamese. His view that the U.S. Army was not learning from its mistakes, and that South Vietnamese ARVN officers were essentially corrupt, created friction with Army leadership.

In early 1971, Lieutenant Colonel David Hackworth was promoted to the rank of (full) Colonel, and received orders to attend the Army War College. Hackworth received another opportunity to attend the war college as he had turned down a previous opportunity to go there. Colonel Hackworth was being groomed for bigger and better things, but he had no desire to become a General Officer and declined once again to go to the war college and would soon become totally fed up with the system, not to mention the war in Vietnam.

Hackworth's disgruntlement ultimately culminated in a television interview with ABC. On June 27, 1971 he appeared on the program Issues and Answers and strongly criticized U.S. commanders in Vietnam, said the war could not be won and called for U.S. withdrawal.

The interview enraged senior U.S. Army officers at The Pentagon. Hackworth was nearly court-martialed for giving the interview, and found himself ostracized in the defense establishment. At the same time, he was experiencing personal problems that resulted in divorce. He soon retired at the rank of colonel, and in an effort to rebuild his life, Hackworth moved to Australia.

Hackworth, the businessman

Settling on the Australian Gold Coast near Brisbane, Hackworth soon made a fortune through profitable real estate investing, a lucrative duck farm, and a popular restaurant called Scaramouche. He was also active in the Australian anti-nuclear movement.

Hackworth, the journalist

Hackworth returned to the U.S. in the mid-1980s and began working as a contributing editor on defense issues for Newsweek. He also made regular television appearances to discuss various military-related topics, and the shortcomings of the military. His commentary on the psychological effects of post-traumatic stress disorder, based on his own experiences in overcoming the disorder, resonated with disabled veterans.

In the mid-1990s, Hackworth investigated Admiral Jeremy Michael Boorda, then Chief of Naval Operations. Hackworth, through his Newsweek articles, questioned Boorda's wearing of potentially unauthorized V ( for valor) devices on his Navy Achievement Medal and Navy Commendation Medal, generating much controversy. Boorda committed suicide before he could be interviewed by Hackworth. Hackworth appeared on countless televisions and radio talk shows and formed his own website, "Soldiers for the Truth," continuing to be the self-proclaimed voice of the "grunts" until his death.

There is some question as to Hackworth's veracity and use of source material in his journalistic writings (see for instance Black Hawk Down author Mark Bowden's discussion of the inconsistencies between his own interviews with Somalia veterans and the sentiments and quotes Hackworth puts in the mouths of the same men in his account of the battle). Hackworth's website was notorious for the use of anonymous sources, allegedly to protect the identities of serving soldiers and marines.

King Features Syndicate distributed Hackworth's weekly column "Defending America" until his death from bladder cancer in May, 2005. Associates believe that his cancer was caused by exposure to Agent Blue; a defoliant used in Vietnam, and are lobbying the United States government to have the substance acknowledged as a known carcinogen like the more famous Agent Orange.

Hackworth died on May 4, 2005 at the age of 74 in Tijuana, Mexico. He is survived by his wife, Eilhys England, a stepdaughter, and four children from his two previous marriages. His remains were interred at Arlington National Cemetery.

Quotes

"Bravery is being the only one who knows you’re afraid."
"It's human nature to start taking things for granted again when danger is not banging loudly on the door."
"Sweat in training saves blood on the battlefield."
"One of the bulldozers uncovered the decomposing body of an enemy soldier, complete with AK-47. I happened to be standing right there, looking down into the hole and pulled the AK out of the bog. 'Watch this, guys,' I said, 'and I will show you how a real infantry weapon works.' I pulled the bolt back and fired 30 rounds — the AK could have been cleaned that day rather than buried in glug for a year or so. That was the kind of weapon our soldiers needed, not the confidence-sapping M-16."
"The only things I think running faster than the Eighth Army were the rumors: the Marines were cut off at a place called Chosin Reservoir in the north and were being zeroed out;"
"MacArthur had said we had be home before Christmas; I guess his supply people believed him, because the Chinese had caught us with our pants down and they were summer trousers."
"From Leonidas to Alexander the Great to Wellington to Stonewall Jackson to Rommel, the very core of leadership has always been to set the example and let soldiers see that their leaders care about them, share the same risks and conditions.... The best way to get this message across is by living as the troops do, leading from up front, and always, always setting the example: first up, last to eat and last to lie down."
"War is hell, but real combat is a motherfucker."

Military decorations

Hackworth earned over ninety decorations, including numerous individual citations for valor as well as unit citations earned by units he served in or commanded. He was proudest of his Combat Infantryman Badge, which he frequently wore on the lapel of his civilian sportsjackets in retirement.

Works

Books

About Face: The Odyssey of an American Warrior
Steel My Soldiers' Hearts
Hazardous Duty
Price of Honor
Brave Men
The Vietnam Primer (with General S.L.A. "Slam" Marshall)

Journalism

Hackworth wrote articles for:

Hackworth was also a founder of Soldiers for the Truth, an advocacy group focused on military reform, both in terms of capability and treatment of personnel.

Sources

David Hackworth - Obituary by Michael Carson, The Guardian, May 9, 2005
David Hackworth Dies; Esteemed Army Colonel Defied Military Brass - Obituary by Joe Holley, The Washington Post, Friday, May 6, 2005; Page B07
David Hackworth: Unforgettable Soldier - Commentary by W. Thomas Smith Jr., Seattle Post-Intelligencer, May 12, 2005

References

^ ^a ^b See David Hackworth, About Face.
^
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af ^ag ^ah ^ai "Military Awards," Hackworth.com, Accessed May 30, 2007.

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David Hackworth

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David Hackworth

Early life and entrance into the military

Interwar service

Vietnam service

Hackworth, the businessman

Hackworth, the journalist

Quotes

Military decorations

Individual decorations and service medals

Unit awards

Badges and tabs

Foreign awards

World War II Merchant Marine awards

Works

Sources

See also

References

External links

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