Replies

You're right. If i'm not mistaken MacAuthur was our most decorated hero.

McArthur doesn't count. He put himself in for most of them,including the MOH.

The claim made on Hackworth is that he is our most decorated LIVING hero.

Even that's not true. The most decorated (counting ONLY valor awards and Purple Hearts) is LTC Robert Howard,retired. He is the only man I have ever heard of who was put in for a Medal of Honor on THREE separate occasions before he finally got one. ALL his valor awards were earned as a enlisted man,too. Not only did he never put himself in for anything,but I know for a fact he turned some down because he didn't think he had done anything special to deserve them. Bob is supposed to have more valor awards that Audie Murphy AND Sgt Alvin York,combined. Yet nobody has ever heard of him. In case you are wondering,he is the LTC who testified before Congress on tv that he had seen ironclad evidence that the North Koreans were holding US POW's from VN in North Korea while working as a intelligence officer in Korea in the late 70's.

BTW,Hackworth knows who Howard is.

Col Howard was an SFC with SOG in Vietnam, and acc to John Plaster, it is as you have said. i wasn't aware that Howard is still alive. Incorrect about MacAuthur however. Most of his awards are from WWI. Although he was chief of staff of 42nd Inf (Rainbow), and later a brigade Co, all medals had to go through Pershing, who was rather tight with them. MacAuthur's MOH was bogus, but compensation for the one denied by Pershing for his actions at Chate de Cotillian during the Romainge Heights campaign. Oddly enough, the 69th NY infantry regiment was the most highly decorated unit in WWI. it was part of MacAuthur's 84th brigade. Hard to understand in light of the fact that Pershing utterly Hated the 42nd division (they weren't regular army you see). The claim concerning Hackworth is not ONLY Valor and Purple hearts. My hat is off to Col Howard none the less, as well as any of the guys in SOG.