David Hackworth, Vietnam vet and military analyst, dies at 74

Newsday.com ^ | May 5, 2005 | MATT APUZZO

[AgentEcho]

Retired Army Col. David Hackworth, a decorated Vietnam veteran who spoke out against the war and later became a journalist and an advocate for military reform, died Wednesday in Mexico, where he was receiving treatment for bladder cancer, his wife said. He was 74.

"He died in my arms yesterday morning," his wife, Eilhys England, said Thursday.

Hackworth, a syndicated columnist for King Features, advocated a streamlined military and improved conditions for troops.

[US_MilitaryRules]

Where will he be buried? And good luck getting his body out of Mexico! There will have to be a LOT of palm greasing.

[pgkdan]

R.I.P. Prayers for a brave and honorable American hero.

[Travis McGee]

The night's a trifle chilly

and the stars are very bright,

a heavy dew is falling

but the tent is rigged a'right.

You may rest your bones till morning,

but, should you chance to wake,

give me a call about the time

that daylight starts to break

-Breaker Morant

[kenth]

May he rest in peace.

[Treader]

May God rest his soul

[onedoug]

"Trying to find her fingerprints. Hack"

RIP

[Palladin]

Rest in Peace, Old Soldier!

Thanks for your service.

[Eva]

Another poster reminded me that it was Hackworth who reported that Adm Boorda was not entitled to wear some of the ribbons that he was wearing.

[Destro]

an honorable man - in spite of the fact that he opposed many of the causes that FreeRepublic stands for ........... military interventions.

He was against interventionist wars - he viewed Iraq as such a war - and you can't begrudge him for what he saw as bad policy.

[risk]

In #212, razorback-bert posts an ironic part of Henry V at the Battle of Agincourt, in King Henry V Act IV, scene III to which I add: And gentlemen in England now-a-bed Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here, ... (Images via google.)

[MindBender26]

Yes he served his country, but as one who has looked at Hack for years, and know a number of men who served with him, trust me, Hack was a strange dude, out for Hack first, last and always.

I met him once at a restaurant in Saigon and again at network Hq in NY. Thought he was, at best, self-agrandizing.

I will not speak ill of the dead here, but I suggest anyone who desires an understanding of Hack read his first book. Mark the chapters about his bragging about repeatedly hitting enlisted men, his association with ComBloc agents in Germany, the infamous Tiger Force "Hi, Diddle, Diddle; Right Up The Middle" charge in RVN, and his running the whore houses in IV Corps.

Then ask a 20 year military combat arms vet for their take on those passages.

It's easy to fool CBS (Do the words "Selectric" "Times Roman" and "Dan Rather" come to mind?)

It's a lot harder to fool those who were there.

[GGpaX4DumpedTea]

“I would rather see Advanced American medicine used experimentally......”

Most of the cancer treatment centers in Mexico have been set up by Americans. Many MDs from the US are directly involved with these treatment centers/clinics. Many of these are reputable facilities using treatment modalities that work, at least for some people. They operate in Mexico because the AMA/FDA in this country sees fit to blacklist treatments that work.

Cancer research is a $100 billion industry in this country. Follow the money. If cancer is cured, what happens to this industry? "My doctor gave me six months to live but when I couldn't pay the bill, he gave me six months more." Walter Matthau.

“The physician should not treat the disease but the patient who is suffering from it.” Moses Maimonides (1135 - 1204). If only conventional medicine in this country today would follow this advice.

See my earlier Post #216 on this thread for other related comments.

[Airborne1986]

"Incorrect. Despite the Zumwalt, Clinton, Dalton, Boorda family spin to the contrary, Boorda was not and is still not entitled to wear the Combat V on either the Navy Achievement Medal or Navy Commendation Medal. So says the Board for Correction of Naval Records."

You are correct. Thanks for setting me straight on that part of the story.

[ScreamingFist]

It's a lot harder to fool those who were there.

Granted, but today shouldn't be the day, M.B.26

[Little Bill]

I agree, the Hack had less faith in his soldiers than himself, a mistake most Union Generals Made. He was a brave man without a doubt, but he lived in another era.

[sox_the_cat]

He'll be buried in Arlington, full military honors.

[Little Bill]

Well deserved.

[Gucho]

RIP Colonel