My Turn: David Hackworth dead at 74
Retired Army Col. David Hackworth died May 4. He was 74.
Nicknamed “Hack”, he was a courageous,colorful, controversial character. His battlefield bravery puts him in the pantheon of American military heroes like our own Sgt Alvin York in WW I and Audie Murphy in WW II. He earned his first Silver Star, Purple Heart, and Combat Infantryman’s Badge as a teenage soldier in Korea. His valor and leadership skills earned him a battlefield commission in Korea, where he became the Army’s youngest captain.
Dave Hackworth was a “warrior” in the truest sense of the term. He was among the first to volunteer for combat duty in Vietnam, where he served multiple tours and earned multiple awards for valor, achievement, service and wounds received in action. His decorations from combat in Korea and Vietnam included 10 Silver Stars, 8 Bronze Stars, 8 Purple Hearts, and two Combat Infantryman’s Badges.
Hack became the Army’s youngest, and arguably most controversial full colonel. A brilliant tactician and avid student of warfare, he resented the way the Vietnam War was being fought, especially after Tet 1968. He had a way with words, oral and written, and he used these tools as valiantly and vigorously as he used the weapons of war.
Hack was a caustic critic of the “12 month tour,” individual replacement system, and “6 month battalion command tour” policies of the Army in Vietnam. He felt these policies were short-sighted morale busters that put careerism above combat effectiveness. He was right, of course. However, the tendency then was to “shoot the messenger” instead of heeding the message.
So, Hack was “encouraged” to retire following his appearance on ABC’s “Issues and Answers” in 1971. He used that forum to assert that Vietnam “is a bad war…it can’t be won. We need to get out.”
Following his forced retirement, David Hackworth went on to success as a farmer and business entrepreneur in Australia. He returned to the USA and became a best-selling author and popular military analyst for TV, radio, newspapers and magazines.
I didn’t always agree with Colonel Hackworth’s views on military matters, but I always valued his valor in expressing them, which he did so well.He was a maverick, a motivator, a mentor, and a soldier’s soldier. He continued to love the Army, even when it seemed the Army no longer loved him.
Despite his myriad successes in civilian life, Hack remained a soldier in heart and soul until his dying day. He succumbed to bladder cancer, but he went down fighting it to the end, with his wife, the love of his life, beside him.
With the passing of Hack, his wife, Eilhys shared a heartfelt tribute, written by one of his dear friends, Kevin Gor. He closed with the following “old warriors wish,” which is more apt than anything I could add: “When I am dead, cry for me a little.
“Think of me sometimes, but not too much. It is not good for you to dwell too long. Think of me now and again as I was in life, at some moment which is pleasant to recall, but not for long. Leave me in peace as I shall leave you, too, in peace.”
Thomas B. Vaughn is a professor at Motlow College and co-host of the radio show “Viewpoints” which airs on 91.3 FM.