Col. David H. Hackworth, the United States Army’s legendary, highly decorated guerrilla fighter and lifelong champion of the doughboy and dogface, ground-pounder and grunt, died May 4, 2005, on a Wednesday, in Mexico. He was 74 years old. The cause of death was a form of cancer now appearing with increasing frequency among Vietnam veterans exposed to the defoliants called Agents Orange and Blue.
There are two groups of people who “support the troops” in Iraq and Afghanistan: There are the people who stick the ribbon magnets on their SUVs and talk about “supporting our troops” while staying a safe distance away from the fight (or maybe simultaneously declaring they don’t support the war), and then there are the people who work to make sure that our soldiers are well-trained, well-equipped and well-led-people, unafraid to tell the truth, no matter who gets upset about it.
We lost a great man in the latter group with the death of Col. David Hackworth, a champion of the common soldier who died of cancer at age 74 on May 4.
“He was perhaps the finest soldier of his generation,” observed the novelist and war correspondent Nicholas Proffit, who described Col. Hackworth’s combat autobiography, About Face, a national best-seller, as “a passionate cry from the heart of a man who never stopped loving the Army, even when it stopped loving him back.”
“Hack never lost his focus,” said Roger Charles, president of Soldiers for the Truth. “That focus was on the young kids that our country sends to bleed and die on our behalf. Everything he did in his retirement was to try to give them a better chance to win and to come home. That’s one hell of a legacy.”
Hack wrote several incredible books, you can see them all here.
Hackworth will be buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery on Tuesday, May 31. His legacy is the group “Soldiers For The Truth,” (www.sftt.org), a group devoted to military reform that has become the main conduit for the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to tell people back home the real story of what’s happening at the front. His 1989 autobiography, “About Face,” will be read for years to come by all who are seeking the nuts and bolts of leadership. And most of all, his example of speaking out in favor of common sense when it comes to defending the nation will be remembered by all who know the difference between saying you support the troops and actually doing so.
God bless him and his family.
Soldiers For The Truth is now working on legal action to compel the Pentagon to recognize Agent Blue alongside the better known Agent Orange as a killer and to help veterans exposed to it during the Vietnam War. Memorial contributions can be sent to Soldiers For The Truth either by internet or by mail to, P.O. Box 54365, Irvine, California, 92619-4365.
NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only.
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This goes to show you my preoccupation with the anti-ACLU cause. I was unaware that Col. Hackworth had died.
He will be missed by all of those who valued his service. A grunt’s commander Col. Hackworth always gave the soldier’s point of view during his analyst’s opinions.
Thanks Cao for this much needed info. And the history of Col Hackworth’s life.
Comment by Gribbit — 5/31/2005 @ 9:54 am
This goes to show you my preoccupation with the anti-ACLU cause. I was unaware that Col. Hackworth had died.
He will be missed by all of those who valued his service. A grunt’s commander Col. Hackworth always gave the soldier’s point of view during his analyst’s opinions.
Thanks Cao for this much needed info. And the history of Col Hackworth’s life.
Comment by Gribbit — 5/31/2005 @ 9:55 am
This goes to show you my preoccupation with the anti-ACLU cause. I was unaware that Col. Hackworth had died.
He will be missed by all of those who valued his service. A grunt’s commander Col. Hackworth always gave the soldier’s point of view during his analyst’s opinions.
Thanks Cao for this much needed info. And the history of Col Hackworth’s life.
Comment by Gribbit — 5/31/2005 @ 9:56 am
Saw him numerous times. Read his books or some of them. I am a Korean War era vet and appreciate his courage among political misfits. He will be missed.
Comment by Abraham Lincoln — 5/31/2005 @ 9:59 am