*/, Stand for the Troops He grew up tough and streetwise and in 1946, at age 15, he used fake ID papers to join the Army. War is an atrocity and people do crazy things in war. Patty was the mother of Hackworth's daughters, Laura and Leslie, as well as their son, Ben. David H. Hackworth, a much-decorated and highly unconventional former career U.S. Army officer who became a combat legend in Vietnam, then enraged his superiors by lambasting the war on. At that time, I was a boy and the war was happening, and everything was rationed . Hackworth roars with laughter and rolls up his shirt-sleeve to reveal a grisly shrapnel wound from the Korean War. Hackworth was also a journalist who regularly penned columns, made television appearances and published several books. Now, 18 years later, Hackworth has emerged from exile, and although he still growls about the good old days, his transformation could not be more complete. At an advisors meeting in Can Tho Hackworth, in an obvious effort to impress me with his importance, told me my ranger outfit would soon come under his command. The report concluded: "Col Hackworth lacked the character, integrity and moral attributes required of an officer and gentleman, acted without honor in dealing with his subordinates and superiors alike, and was derelict in the performance of his duties as Senior Advisor of Advisory Team 50. I met Hackworth ("Hack") by chance in New Zealand. I dont regret a thing, he says. He retired after26 years of service, seven ofwhich he spent in combat zones, owning an exemplary record for heroism and the love and respect ofall those who served under him. Retired Army Col. David H. Hackworth, the highly decorated infantry officer who denounced U.S. policy in Vietnam during the war and later became an outspoken journalist who offered trenchant analyses of the military, has died. David Wayne Hackworth 58 of Waco passed away Sunday, April 30, 2017 at the Baptist Health Hospital in Richmond. But the war left him with growing doubts about the wisdom of U.S. policies. Tommy Franks? Moore was commissioned as an infantry officer in the closing months of the Second World War, served in Korea and later in 1965 ed the 1st Battalion 7th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division into combat at the Battle of Ia Drang in Vietnam. Until his death in 2005, Eilhys England Hackworth was wife, partner, co-author and muse to the late Colonel David H. Hackworth our country's most valor-decorated soldier since the Civil War. I can remember the threat of the Japanese coming, hitting us in the beaches of Santa Monica, the blackouts, even us being shelled by Japanese submarines at Santa Barbara. Col. David H. Hackworth, the United States Army's legendary, highly decorated guerrilla fighter and lifelong champion of the doughboy and dogface, groundpounder and grunt . He was a beloved son, husband, father and grandfather. CEO & Chair, Board of Trustees. He is the author of About Face, Hazardous Duty, The Price of Honor, and Steel. Long before America escalated the war in Indochina, Hackworth had seen brief duty there with U.S. Special Forces. In 1971 though, after being promoted to Colonel and turningdown a second opportunity to attend the Army War College, he gave an interview in which he spokedisparagingly about the war in Vietnam. PO Box 4092 No one is questioning Hackworths hero status. Bob served with the 229th Aviation Battalion (First Cavalry Division) in the Republic of Vietnam as a helicopter pilot. As World War II was coming to a close, a 14-year-old David Hackworth lied about his age to join the Merchant Marine and a year later joined the U.S. Army-- spending the next 26 years fighting our nation's battles. Hes also a sign of Mexicos healthcare crisis. To meet his mens needs, be it T-bone steaks, warm clothes or better weapons, he begged, borrowed and stole supplies. By age 15, Hackworth had become a tough, street-smart kid more interested in surfing on the beach at Santa Monica than excelling in school. Hackworth was also a journalist who regularly penned columns, made television appearances and published several books. Schwartzkopf was furious that his plans would have been revealed publicly, and therefore to the enemy. The old saying that war is a racket has taken on an even more shameful meaning. Hackworth lived in the compound with a woman who was not his wife. In less than three years of combat, he collected three purple hearts. I am so thankful that the Cold War is over and that in my life a guy like Gorbachev has come along, he says. Ultimately, Hackworth says, it was impossible to remain silent. He received three Purple Hearts in Korea. The following Army memo states, "It has been a long-standing and unwritten policy of the Army that no single soldier or veteran is ever named officially as the most decorated person in a conflict or in a particular period of time.". info@SFTT.org, Inspired by Vets in Her Life, Greenwich Woman Crusades to Help Soldiers Who Suffer From Silent Trauma, Restored Corvettes Will Help Restore Combat Vets. Here are 10 you cant miss, Review: A reimagined Secret Garden fails to flower anew at the Ahmanson Theatre. Just ask him. He graduated from Llano High School in 1957 and then began his career in mechanics. It would be in action in Korea that then-Sergeant Hackworth would start to make a name forhimself and to start his collection of Silver Stars and Purple Hearts. For me, war had a very real effect. War is an atrocity and people do crazy things in war. During his career, Hackworth collected 78 combat awards and earned a reputation as one of the Armys most brilliant commanding officers. If you get killed, I want your knife and watch.. That got me in trouble, but it also kept me honest. Sure, Ive done some strange things, but I dont make apologies, he says. In his second book "Hazardous Duty" that he co-wrote with Tom Matthews, and subtitled "Americas Most Decorated Living Soldier Reports from the Front and Tells It the Way It Is," Hackworth roams the battlefields from Bosnia to Iraq. David Hackworth: In June 1971 Col David Hackworth, probably America's most decorated soldier in Vietnam, appeared on ABC television and told his countrymen that the war could not be won, that US . Skip to Turning my back on the service in 1971 was tough, and getting over it was like a five-year hangover. Thats not the case in Washington, where the White House and the Pentagon are run by civilians who have never sweated it out on a battlefield.. It was believed that his cancer was caused by Agent Blue, a herbicide used during the Vietnam War. There was nobody quite like us, he says. They come crawling out of the woodwork whenever there is a military action. Hackworth hungered for combat and had no stomach for the bureaucrats who were proliferating at the Pentagon. Their country called, they responded, and they died. In September 1971 the Secretary of the Army stopped the investigation and allowed Hackworth to retire. Shedding his peace creep image Hackworth was once again the most decorated soldier. We went into this war as if it was World War II, so we could just blow the enemy back, Hackworth says. Though initially there was talk of fragging their new lifer commander, the mensoon found their improved tactics and training improved their lives and many credit Hackworthwith saving their lives. Soul's wife was in the 7th month of her pregnancy when he smacked her on the face and sat on her belly while he spewed venomous words at her. However, hisviews on the war had taken a turn for the worse. Greenwich, CT 06831 The men approached each raid with superhuman confidence, knowing just as well that it could be their final journey. David worked as a diesel mechanic for White Swan prior to retiring. ", The US Army doesnt agree with Hackworth. Lt.Gen. So committed was England Hackworth to her late husband and his vision, she walked away from a high profile career as a Mad woman on Madison Avenue to more fully support Hackworth on the issues of accountability and reform in the United States military, working with him for almost 20 years to ensure that Americas warriors always receive the right stuff. His wife is Eilhys England (1997 - 4 May 2005) ( his death), Patricia Leonard (? Thursday May 5, 1:57 pm ET. A brief previous stint in South Vietnam with U.S. Special Forces had convinced him that U.S. troops were ill-equipped to fight a guerrilla war. From 1990 to 1996, he was a contributing editor of Newsweek. He became a champion scrounger, learning to beg, borrow or steal supplies wherever he could get them--even if it meant breaking every rule in the book. During the ensuing weeks, they uncovered stories about his X-rated activities, such as the bordello. The Armys solution is, if you had stuck a needle in your arm, youd be given a bad conduct discharge and youd be sent home. He admitted them in a book he wrote with Tom Matthews, "Hazardous Duty: America's Most Decorated Living Soldier Reports from the Front and Tells It the Way It Is" (Morrow, 1996). His parents died when he was 5 months old, and he was raised by a grandmother who related tales of fighting ancestors. I first met Hackworth during my third and final tour in Vietnam in 1970-71. gave 25 years of his life to the military, and when visitors ask why, he lets them have it right between the eyes. 2. Because of SFTTs projected budget increases, England Hackworth has also stepped away from two of her greatest loves, screenplay writing and movie-making. But while he made numerous efforts to get his ideas across, the U.S. Army did not get the message. But as military suicides began growing at an alarming rate, SFTT became dedicated to safeguarding the physical and emotional well-being of Americas frontline and returning troops by identifying and supporting effective therapies for Post Traumatic Stress and Traumatic Brain Injury. Find David Hackworth's phone number, address, and email on Spokeo, the leading people search directory for contact information and public records. This effectively ended Hackworths career. He was born June 13, 1958 in Richmond he was a retired Emergency Maintenance Tech. Greenwich, CT 06831 This just destroys any kind of credibility this reporting has for any military audience., In 1998, Soldiers For The Truth Foundation, a non-profit, non-partisan, apolitical, educational foundation whose purpose is meaningful reform of the U.S. defense establishment, was formed, with Charles serving as the editor-in-chief of its newsletter, Voice of the Grunt. They werent interested in serving their nation. 1966With a full year of Vietnam combat and five months of in-country intense after-action analysis under his pistol belt, Hackworth pens the classic tactical handbook the "Vietnam Primer with military . Ward Just, in his introduction to Colonel Hackworth's "About Face: The Odyssey of an American Warrior" (Simon & Schuster, 1989), said, "This was the simple truth, but in the pusillanimous atmosphere of 1971, Hackworth was seen as insubordinate and treacherous. It wasnt my problem.. Our mission is to get Southern California reading and talking. And the sad thing is I really dont think too many people care.. This was not the same kind of war as World War II, he wrote in his autobiography. Ms. England Hackworth maintains her deathbed promise to chair Stand For The Troops (SFTT), the 501(c)(3) educational foundation the couple founded and dedicated to safeguarding the physical, mental and emotional well-being of Americas frontline serving and returning troops, by overseeing SFTTs activities and keeping a current focus. Deciding that the time had come for him to leave the service, he resigned without facing any charges and moved to Australia. Among his other journalistic achievements: Charles was awarded a Medal for Excellence in Investigative Reporting by journalisms Investigative Reporters and Editors (I.R.E.) With About Face, he has written what many Vietnam veterans have called the most important book of their generation. 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