XPost: alt.war.vietnam, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, sac.politics
XPost: talk.politics.misc, alt.military
https://townhall.com/columnists/dwwilber/2025/04/15/why-we-need-colonel- david-hackworth-now-more-than-ever-n2655509
"If you find yourself in a fair fight, you didn't plan your mission
properly” is just one of the quotes attributed to one of America’s finest warriors, the late Colonel David H. Hackworth. Hackworth, who liked to be called ‘Hack’, was the kind of soldier that all serving in our military
should emulate. He set the standard that everyone from the lowliest
Private to a four star general should strive for.
For those who are unfamiliar with ‘Hack’, he was a United States Army
officer who was highly decorated in both the Korean War and Vietnam. He
was the youngest U.S. colonel commanding troops in Vietnam at the time of
his promotion, and was described by General Creighton Abrams who commanded
all US military operations from 1968 to 1972 in Vietnam, as "the best
battalion commander I ever saw in the United States Army". Abrams
commanded a tank battalion during World War II, and his unit was the first
to enter the besieged town of Bastogne to help relieve the “Battered
Bastards of Bastogne”, the members of the 101st Airborne Division who had
been surrounded by the troops of Nazi Germany. So Abrams knew a little
about soldiering himself.
At the age of fourteen Hack lied about his age and paid someone to pose as
his father so he could claim to be old enough to join the United States Merchant Marine. In 1945 during the final months of World War II he served aboard a Merchant Marine ship in the South Pacific. Afterwards he returned
home to California where he decided to join the United States Army.
He served in combat during the Korean War where he gained a battlefield commission, and was awarded three Silver Stars and three Purple Hearts, testifying to his leadership and courage under fire.
Hack went on to serve multiple tours of duty in Vietnam, adding many more
rows to the chest full of ribbons he earned for his heroism in combat.
Included among his military decorations earned in Vietnam was the
Distinguished Service Cross, the nation’s second highest award for courage under fire. He later added an Oak Leaf Cluster to his DSC indicating a
second award, as well as many other awards for valor and for combat wounds received. Hack was a genuine American military hero, though he never
cared about how many medals he wore on his chest.
In 1971 Hack was promoted to the rank of full colonel and received orders
to attend the Army War College, which was a prerequisite for anyone being groomed for a general’s star. He had previously turned down an opportunity
to go to the War College, and turned down this second offer as well. Hack wasn’t interested in pinning a star onto his shirt collar and joining the exclusive club of Flag Officers. Particularly since Hack was highly
critical of the military’s leadership in Vietnam. Criticism which nearly
got him court-martialed.
Hack went on to publish the book ‘About Face, an Odyssey of an America
Warrior’ in 1989, a reflection on his many years of dedicated military
service to this nation, as well as some criticism directed towards the
military leadership in Vietnam, which he referred to as the “Perfumed
Princes”. Certainly not intended as a compliment.
So what does Colonel David H. Hackworth have to do with our military
nowadays? Hack is the epitome of what wins wars. When the Democrats are
more concerned about ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ in the military,
Hack was worried about killing the enemy and protecting this country.
That is what we need now more than anything in today’s very dangerous
world. Warfighters who are ready, willing, and able to commit carnage
against the enemies of our country. Not just give PowerPoint
presentations and declare that “our diversity is our strength”. I’m
pretty certain that Hack would reply “Bull-hockey”! Or something to that effect anyway.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is of the same warrior mindset as
Colonel David Hackworth. I found it particularly interesting when not
long ago SECDEF Hegseth remarked, “We won World War II with seven four
star generals. Today we have forty-four, four star generals. We don't
need more bureaucracy at the top, we need more war fighters empowered at
the bottom”. Hack, who passed away back in 2005 after a battle with
cancer and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery, would have been
proud.
It is long past time to end the Democrat’s propensity for using our
military as a social experimentation laboratory. We don’t need lowered standards to accommodate individuals of either gender. If anything, we
need to heighten the standards to make it even more rigorous and difficult
to make it into our Combat Arms and Special Operations units.
Social experimentation does not win wars, killing the enemy wins wars.
America needs more people with the mindset of Hack and Pete Hegseth in our Armed Forces, and less tinkering by the social justice warriors in the
Democrat Party.
--
November 5, 2024 - Congratulations President Donald Trump. We look
forward to America being great again.
The disease known as Kamala Harris has been effectively treated and
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We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that
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Durham Report: The FBI has an integrity problem. It has none.
Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden
fiasco, President Trump.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.
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