Colonel David H. Hackworth
–Soldier-Author-Columnist
1930 - 2005
Colonel David H. Hackworth passed away on May 5, 2005. He was
seventy four years old. He was the purest of Warriors, whose deepest feelings
were for the enlisted dogface and grunts, akin to the Corps’ Gen. “Chesty”
Puller. The cause of death was cancer, in all probability from exposure to the
defoliants used to clear the jungles of Vietnam, such as Agent Orange.
The Colonel spent a lifetime, as a guerilla fighter. General Hal Moore, referred
to Hackworth as the “Patton” of Vietnam. General Creighton Abrams, the last
Commander in Vietnam described him as, “The best Battalion Commander I ever saw
in the United States Army. At age 14, near the end of World War II, he lied
about his age and joined the Merchant Marine and just a year later, enlisted in
The Army. Out of the twenty-six years he spent in the service of his country, a
total of them show that he spent seven years in combat. He was put in for the
Congressional Medal of Honor three times and at this moment his last application
is presently before Congress. His raw heroism puts him on the same plane as
Alvin York, Audie Murphy and Sgt. Dan Daly, USMC, who was awarded three Medals
of Honor, one of which was from the Army, which he had to reject. Additionally,
Colonel Hackworth was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the second
highest award given by The United States, as well as, ten Silver Stars and eight
Bronze Stars. With all of that combat experience you would expect that he had a
Purple Heart, initially instituted by Gen. George Washington, Colonel Hackworth
got eight Purple Hearts. He was proudest of the Purple Hearts and his Combat
Infantryman’s Badge.
Despite his record and awards, with five years in country, he gave interviews
stating that we can’t win the Vietnam War and that Saigon would fall within four
years. He might as well have called the date, since he was the only Officer to
express an opinion on the war openly, realizing that the war was being commanded
by bureaucrats rather than the Joint-Chiefs of Staff, or better yet, by the
Commanders in Vietnam. As a result, of Washington, D.C. running the war, with
one eye on Jane Fonda and the anti-war clique of hippies and communist
sympathizers in the United States. The Servicemen in ”harm’s way” never had a
chance. He was given a battlefield commission during the Korean War, becoming
the youngest Captain in the Army.
Although he became an author, columnist and talk show celebrity, especially
during the Iraq War, becoming known and idolized by a whole new generation of
Americans, he will be forever remembered by those who served in the Armed Forces
as a courageous, intrepid and heroic figure, in combat leading his beloved
enlisted men, under his command. May God be good to this Warrior. Few like him
come along in a century, nor last for so long under the stress of combat.
Colonel Hackworth was born to it.
He will, fittingly, be buried at Arlington Cemetery. He leaves his wife Eilhys,
one step-daughter two grandchildren.