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.
I posted all the relevant details.
I apologize for forgetting his groundbreaking articles in Modern Maturity magazine and his stunning Peace Award from the UN for being a no-nukes protest organizer in Sydney.
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.''
Wow. I'm underwhelmed. Here's a little refresher on VN war history:
Nov 1960--Kennedy elected
1961--400 US 'advisors' in VietNam
1962--1200 US 'advisors' in VietNam
1963 15,000 US personnel in VietNam; Kennedy assassinated; LBJohnson assumes presidency
1964--23,000 US troops in VietNam; Johnson elected
1965--200,000 US troops in VietNam
1966--400,000 US troops in VietNam
1967--almost 500,000 US troops in VietNam
1968--540,000 US troops in VietNam; Nixon elected
1969--480,000 US troops in VietNam
1970--280,000 US troops in VietNam
1971--Hackworth gazes into his crystal ball & declares that VN war 'can't be won' and that the US 'need[s] to get out'
1971--140,000 US troop in VietNam