Posted on 05/12/2005 7:50:07 AM PDT by SuzyQ2
David Hackworth: Unforgettable soldier
By W. THOMAS SMITH JR.
GUEST COLUMNIST
Col. David H. Hackworth was not your typical television talking head. He was a military analyst to be sure. He understood tactics, strategies, defense technologies and the disposition of military forces. The man knew how to fight, and he knew how to report on and write about fighting. But soldiers and their well-being were always his priorities. After all, Hackworth had been a combat soldier for much of his adult life -- and for most of his teenage years -- before becoming a best-selling author and syndicated columnist.
Lying about his age to join the Army at 15, Hackworth spent a quarter-century in service. He became the Army's youngest captain after winning a battlefield commission during the Korean War. During the Vietnam War, he was known for leading troops from the front during some of the most intense fighting. He was a gritty, bayonet-loving combat commander -- radio call sign, "Steel Six" -- who chewed cigars and sipped beer while poring over maps detailing enemy strong-points and re-supply routes. Yet he ditched his medals in protest and was nearly court-martialed for publicly criticizing the U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia.
Retiring from the Army in 1971, Hackworth settled for a time in Australia, where he earned a small fortune as a duck farmer and restaurateur. He later wrote books -- including "About Face," "Hazardous Duty" and others -- became a syndicated columnist for King Features, was a regular guest on every U.S. television news channel from Fox to CNN, and he continued to openly defy the military's orthodox approach to anything, often championing new Army reforms with the individual soldier always in mind.
I first met Hackworth a few years ago while working on one of my own books. I had a question about the history of his much-loved unit -- the Wolfhound Raiders of the U.S. Army's 27th Infantry Regiment. I sent him an e-mail pulled from his Web site, and "Hack" -- as he signed his name -- responded within minutes. I was amazed at the response time from this much-in-demand author, not to mention the detailed, personal answer to my question.
I later learned that that his response and our soon-to-develop relationship was due to the fact that I was a former Marine rifle-squad leader and Hack was an old-school, combat Army officer who loved veterans of all stripes and from all branches of service.
Hack and I differed on quite a bit, politically. For instance, he often criticized the Bush administration for its handling of the war in Iraq, even referring to the "occupation" phase as "going down as one of the biggest snafus in U.S. military history." I, on the other hand, believe that we are winning, and that we will ultimately achieve peace and freedom in that country.
Where Hack and I did -- and I still do -- agree was in our disdain for ticket-punching senior military officers, who were more concerned about their own careers than they were about the individual soldiers under their commands. Hack referred to them as "perfumed princes," and he wanted them out of the defense establishment just as soon as they showed their cards and before they could make decisions affecting the lives of soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen.
Hack often exhorted all journalists who cared about U.S. servicemen and women to take up the cause. His last words to me, in fact, were, "It is only with numbers that we can make the bastards listen."
Goodbye, Hack, and thank you for making everyone listen.
--- Retired Col. David H. Hackworth, 74, died last week at a hospital in Tijuana, Mexico.
--- W. Thomas Smith Jr. is a former U.S. Marine infantry leader and paratrooper. This column first appeared in MilitaryWeek.com; wtsjr@militaryweek.com.
David Hackworth a legend in his own mind.
Got that right. I never saw such hypocratical dribble and fawning of what a great hero he was on the thread when he died, from the same people that critisized him as being an idiot. He served nobally at one time for this country, then spit on his heroics, threw away his metals (gee who does that sound like? Oh yeah that great war hero John Kerry) and took up the liberal cause by always trashing the military and Bush's successful war on terror. I never understood how past heriocs in noble service to this country becomes a lifetime passport for being a pathetic @sshole! Sorry Hack, but good riddence!
I wondered why he's not been on TV lately.
I don't know why, but I approve.
I know quite a few folks who thought he was largely a product of slick advertising and self promotion during his Vietnam years. I am not being critical of his service or his championing of troops! I appreciate that, but the evolution into this critic of the military industrial complex WAS stuck in the 1960's. I remember the first Gulf war in '91 where he predicted the biggest proportional bloodbath for America since the Alamo. I knew then that he was (as the Charlie Daniels song goes) Still in Saigon. He forgot that all the young officers from 'Nam who were disgusted by that conflict then, were suddenly in charge and determined to DO IT RIGHT. When the massacre he predicted did not in fact come to pass, he was left with egg on his face. Did he learn from this? Uh-uh. He continued to make the same dire predictions as if he were the only voice in the wilderness with the strategic and tactical savvy to conduct war.
Once again, please do not make the assumption that I am anti-Hackworth because he lived a good and righteous life and he fought and sacrificed under the most horrific conditions imaginable. I just disagree with some of his more obstinate positions.
Don't even mention Hackworth and Kerry in the same paragraph ... let alone make a comparison. Kerry is a self aggrandizing POS ... Hack, in contrast, is real bonafide American military hero. You might not always agree with his position on issues but to denigrate Hack serves no purpose ... he stands tall among men.
Well put.
Hackworth had a trouble with identifying the 'enemy'. He rightly tagged some senior military officials as 'perfumed princes', but then turns right around and supports....Gen. Wesley Clark for President. I mean, c'mon Hack, Clark's picture is in the dictionary right next to the definition of 'perfumed prince'! Hack talked a good game but in the end he didn't put his money where his mouth was.
OTOH, Hack did care for the welfare of the troops, and he rightly deserves credit for that.
That & Hackworth's reaction afterwards said alot about what Hack was about.
...and as we all know all tall men throw away their metals for heroics away and belittle the service that made them tall in the first place. Trying to remember when REAL heros like Audey Murphy and Alvin York did the exact same thing.
I've read most of Hack's books ... the reason he resigned from the Army, tossed his medals, and moved to Australia was over his frustration with the conduct of the war in Vietnam. The U.S. wasn't fighting the war to win, it had turned into a protracted quagmire and good men were dying needlessly.
Didn't he say Dubya should be charged with treason when memo gate was going on? I lost respect for him then.
You know I'm sorry, but this is the same lame ass excuses that John Kerry used. "I don't like the military, but I'm a hero, so I can critisize the military!" Bottom line: You don't degrade the military after your out when there are brave men dying fighting for the cause you spit on! There are not too many people in the military that are happy with the way its run. But they keep their mouth shut! Its only the Pre-Madonnas that think that because of their medals or heroics it gives them the right to bad mouth the mistakes. Screw Kerry! Screw Hack! And screw anyone else who thinks that his "bling" makes him superior to everyone else that serves!
Which was zero. The only one responsible for Boordas' suicide was Boorda.
Yeah, thats what "Hack" said, too.
But then he couldn't even bring himself to admit his smear of Boorda was based on a falsehood after it became widely known.
...and bad Johnny Cash impersonator!
You earn 9! Silver Stars and I'll put up with you're ego, too.
Rest in peace soldier. Thanks for everything.
I refer you to replies # 6
"I appreciate that, but the evolution into this critic of the military industrial complex WAS stuck in the 1960's. I remember the first Gulf war in '91 where he predicted the biggest proportional bloodbath for America since the Alamo. I knew then that he was (as the Charlie Daniels song goes) Still in Saigon. He forgot that all the young officers from 'Nam who were disgusted by that conflict then, were suddenly in charge and determined to DO IT RIGHT. When the massacre he predicted did not in fact come to pass, he was left with egg on his face. Did he learn from this? Uh-uh. He continued to make the same dire predictions as if he were the only voice in the wilderness with the strategic and tactical savvy to conduct war."
#9
" Hackworth had a trouble with identifying the 'enemy'. He rightly tagged some senior military officials as 'perfumed princes', but then turns right around and supports....Gen. Wesley Clark for President. I mean, c'mon Hack, Clark's picture is in the dictionary right next to the definition of 'perfumed prince'! Hack talked a good game but in the end he didn't put his money where his mouth was."
#10
"Its not possible to characterize Hackworth's career in the media without mentioning his role in the suicide of Admiral Jeremy Boorda."
You also might look at
Colonel David Hackworth; A Misguided Warrior
San Antonio Lightning Commentary ^ | Major Jim Miles (Ret)
Posted on 03/22/2005 6:43:57 PM CST by SwinneySwitch
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1368360/posts
I'm sorry he's dead, and I honor those medals he won, BUT he read and believed his press clipping.
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