He joined the Army after the war and served in Korea as a sergeant - which is where he received most of his decorations.
He later served as a field grade officer in Vietnam, where he was frustrated at being overruled by his superiors, so he went on TV in 1970 to badmouth his superiors and the media had a field day. He loved the attention and basked in every minute of it.
Apparently, although this is unconfirmed, he had affairs and wound up being sued for divorce. meanwhile, his military career had understandably come to a complete halt.
So he fled America for Australia and lived there for 15 years before returning to the US as a journalist.
Biography David "Hack" H. Hackworth's
Retired US Army Colonel David "Hack" H. Hackworth's military career as a sailor, soldier and a military correspondent has spanned nearly a dozen wars and conflicts, from the end of World War II to the recent meltdown in the ex-Yugoslavia.
He enlisted in the merchant marine at age 14 and the U.S. Army at 15. In almost 26 years in the Army he spent over seven years in combat theaters, winning a battlefield commission in Korea to become that war's youngest Army captain.
David Hackworth & his wife Eilhys England Hackworth
About Defending America Hack's Featured Article
After almost five years in Vietnam Hack's cup runneth over. In 1971, as the Army's youngest colonel he spoke out on national television saying, "This is a bad war ... it can't be won we need to get out." In that interview, he also said that the North Vietnamese flag would fly over Saigon in four years -- a prediction that turned out to be right on target. He was the only senior officer to sound off about the insanity of the war. Understandably, Nixon and the Army weren't real happy with his shooting off his mouth.
With all his many awards, Hack still considers the Combat Infantryman Badge and the United Nations Medal for Peace -- which he was presented for his anti-nuclear work in Australia -- his "highest awards.
Hack is a regular guest on national radio and TV shows, and from 1990 to the end of 1996, he was Newsweek's contributing editor for defense. Besides his Newsweek cover stories and other reporting, he has been featured in magazines including People, Parade, Men's Journal, and has also been published in Playboy, Soldier of Fortune, Self and Modern Maturity. His column, Defending America, appears weekly in newspapers across America and on this site.
During Desert Storm which Hack covered for Newsweek, he was the only correspondent to accurately predict the outcome of the Gulf War. He has won many national and international awards for his Newsweek reporting, including the George Washington Honor Medal for excellence in communications.
Hack's books include The Vietnam Primer and the international best seller About Face, Hazardous Duty and The Price of Honor. His newest book, Steel My Soldiers' Heart's, a best seller from coast to coast, is now in the bookstores.
Hack is an advocate of military reform and a believer that the big fire power -- "nuke-the-pukes" -- solution won't work anymore, but that doesn't mean war will go away. He sees big and little fights ahead and urges military reform. He believes passionately that "America needs a streamlined, hard hitting force for the 21st century" and beyond. Hack brings to his mission his unique experience acquired in almost 52 years of bouncing around hot and cold battlefields. He also brings an insider's view of the Pentagon and the military establishment made deadly current by input provided on a daily basis by serving warriors from around the globe. E-mail frequently brings him the word before the Pentagon gets it.
"He later served as a field grade officer in Vietnam, where he was frustrated at being overruled by his superiors, so he went on TV in 1970 to badmouth his superiors and the media had a field day. He loved the attention and basked in every minute of it."
...and that, ladies and gentleman, is why he never became GENERAL Hackworth.
Thanx for the info.
However, I just spoke with someone who remembers Hack saying he was at Anzio, and they were really surprised at the time, becaused he looked much younger than their father who served in WWII.
Well, isn't the first time people doubted his truthfulness.
"He served in the Merchant marine in 1944 at the age of 14 and saw no combat in WWII."
A minor point - but I thought I read in "About Face" that he came under some sort of indirect fire when he was on shore during a Merchant marine mission in the Pacific.