In 1971 this writer saw David Hackworth on television while he was in the field in Vietnam. He was saying what no one else was saying about American leadership deficiencies, such as officers in the field consistently inflating enemy body count to enhance their careers. I thought at the time he was an enemy plant, a turncoat. What American officer could be saying such things? With his words, however, he became a living legend.
Because of that news film I later sought to learn more about him. Orphaned when he was one year old, he was raised by a paternal grandmother in Ocean Park, California (now part of Santa Monica). Having a lust for adventure, at the age of 14 he paid someone to act as his father so he could claim to be old enough to join the Merchant Marine with parental consent. He served in the South Pacific and when the war ended he used this documented service to enlist in the Army. He was fortunate when, while stationed in post-WW2 Trieste, some career NCOs took him under their wing and turned his attitude around, hence ‘About Face.’
When the Korean War broke out he earned a battlefield commission as a First Lieutenant and, before it was over, he reportedly was one of the mostly highly-decorated soldiers from the war. Among his decorations were multiple Purple Hearts and Silver Stars. Afterwards he left the Army but reenlisted in 1956 as a Captain.
As a Colonel in Vietnam, Hackworth created and commanded Tiger Force, a unit in Vietnam that was formed specifically to apply their own guerrilla warfare tactics against Viet Cong guerrilla fighters.
Hackworth’s co-writer Julie Sherman wrote “It is also a stunning indictment of the Pentagon’s fundamental misunderstanding of the Vietnam conflict and of the bureaucracy of self-interest that fueled the war.”
Despite leadership shortcomings, American soldiers beat the enemy there. North Vietnamese military leaders later admitted they were on the verge of giving up. We just couldn’t beat the enemy here at home though.
Sullivan, an internationally-published writer, resides in Northfield Village, Ohio. With the 2nd Armored Division (Hell on Wheels) he served in the U.S. and with NATO forces in Europe. He also writes for DD214chronicle, a newspaper for veterans.
