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GOD'S SPEED
Goodbye Hackworth; We'll Miss You
Major Jim Miles (Ret.), SAL Commentary
On May 4, 2005 Col. David Hackworth US Army Ret. lost his final battle to cancer in Mexico. He was 74-years-old.
Hack, as he liked to be called, was a victim of Agents Orange and Blue, defoilants used during the Vietnam War.
Hackworth spent 5 years in Vietnam and most of it in the field, "Bush" we called it a nickname for the jungle. As a result his exposure to these
killer agents was high.
Any veteran of the Vietnam War who spent a great deal of time in the field, including myself, is at risk of having some form of cancer lurking in their body as a result of Agents Orange and Blue. Best advice is to get regular checkups.
Old Hack was a tough one. At 14, as World War II was coming to a close, he lied about his age and joined the Merchant Marine. A year later he enlisted in the US Army.
In Korea he won his first Slver Star and Purple Heart and a battlefield
commssion before he was elgible to vote.
I wrote an article on Hack a couple of months ago that criticized him for his relentless attacks on America's military brass and his claim as the most highly decorated soldier alive today. I also took him to task for being an anti-war activist in Australia where he lived for 20 years after retiring from the Army.
However, I was dead wrong on writing that he didn't have the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC), the Army's second highest honor for valor. He was twice awarded the DSC and was put in for the Medal of Honor three times; the last recommendation is still under review at the Pentagon. I'm sorry Hack for not being more diligent in my research.
I had written that I first Hack during my third tour in Vietnam. We had
separate commands in the Delta region IV Corps along the Cambodian border. We were both battling the local VC and the NVA who were coming across the border in ever increasing numbers. Unfortunately, due to America's no-win policy we weren't allowed to go across the border after them
I was attending a commanders conference in Can Tho listening to old MG McGowan huffing and puffing and rasing hell about how we had to "take the fight to the enemy" when Hack walked in late. As he tiptoed in the back trying not to be noticed, he accidently kicked one of those old hard plastic coffee cups sitting on the floor sending it clattering loudly across the floor. General Mac looked up and for a couple of seconds you could have heard a pin drop. Everyone turned and saw a very red faced Hack standing in the back of the room. The General said, "well Hackworth I'm glad you were able to make it."
I was sitting in the back row so I could get the hell out of there when the conference was over and Hack slid in beside of me and whispered,"I'm LTC Hackworth." And that's how I met old Hack.
He told me that my ranger outfit was going to be put under his command. I told him it was news to me and muttered under my breath " not if I can help it." It never happened and we went our separate ways killing as many of the enemy as we could before we were ordered to retreat from the battlefield.
Unlike Hack I never blamed the military for the no-win policy. It was the liberal, socialist bastards in the US Congress and the anti-war, anti-military creeps who didn't think there was anything worth fighting for. As a result the commies are still running the show in Vietnam and a pint-sized, mad dictator is raising hell in North Korea.
It wasn't and still isn't the "Perfumed Princes," as Hack called them. that are to be blamed for shortcomings in the military, it's mainly those in the US Congress and the "peacecreep" bureaucrats buried in the bowels of the government, especially the Pentagon.
Sure, there are a few generals and admirals that don't measure up, but the vast majority of military brass are outstanding leaders. If allowed to do their jobs they'll fight to win - not loose as was the policy in Korea and Vietnam. From Grenada to Panama to Desert Storm, Afghanistan and Iraq the generals are leading the troops to victory - not defeat. Gen. Richard Myers doesn' t strike me as being namby pamby, nor does his replacement, General Pace, a decorated Marine.
Reqardless, with three recommendations for the MOH, two DSCs, 10 Silver Stars and eight Purple Hearts and a dufflebag full of other medals Hack earned the right to voice his opinion about what he saw as problems with the top military brass and leaders in the Pentagon. He sure as hell stirred the pot and got the attention of the Pentagon.
I didn't agree with a lot of what he said, but he damn sure earned the right to sound off.
I offer, along with his comrades in arms and a grateful nation for his 26
years of dedicated service to his country, a final salute to one of America's greatest warriors. Rest in peace good and faithful servant you did your duty well.
(Editor's note: Major Jim Miles is retired US Army Special Forces.)
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