Greenwich Post May 11, 2006 A Wife's Tribute
FOR DAVID HACKWORTH ON THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF HIS DEATH A Tribute by Eilhys England Hackworth On the First Anniversary of Hack's death, it seems as though my darling, most amazing husband died in my arms only yesterday. And for so many reasons. First of course, there is our love, always our love. Our close partnership in all aspects of our lives. But although I'll spend the rest of my life raw with the missing of him, our fierce passion for one another that healed us both so long ago still sustains me -- as I'm sure it always will. As for SFTT and our work on behalf of the troops, particularly those kids out at the tip of the spear -- whose safety preoccupied Hack during most of his waking moments even when he was mortally ill, fighting for his life -- little has changed except that more of our grunts on the ground have been KIA or blasted into pieces. We're still involved in a misdirected war that's continuing to unwind exactly as Hack predicted with all the bloody consequences he foresaw and warned about in our column, on talk shows and from every other forum we could find -- until he got the boot for giving THE SOUND AND AWE SPECTACLE such pessimistic reviews. Some safely-retired generals recently stood tall and braved the bullets from their still-serving peers to call for "The Matinee Idol" Rumsfeld's retirement. Marine General Gregory Newbold went so far as to make a Hack-type observation, noting that "the commitment of our forces to this fight was done with a casualness and swagger that are the special province of those who have never had to execute these missions -- or bury the results." Too bad all the general officers didn't take a page from Hack's life and his moral courage when, in 1971 as a recently anointed colonel and in fact the youngest in the Army at the time, a golden boy being fast-tracked for both his heroism and his military genius, Hack turned his back on his brilliant career to shine the light of truth on an earlier bad war all by himself without the support of even one other high-ranker. Too bad they forgot the promise "Never again!" they so fervently made to one another as young studs in Vietnam and didn't do their duty and stand united in the door three years ago before the slaughter of the innocents when Hack first sounded the alarm by calling for the SecDef's resignation over our going into Iraq with too few troops to secure that fractious country. And forgot the promise yet again instead of standing with General Eric Shinseki, former Chief of Staff of the Army, when he finally vindicated Hack by publicly stating that we were indeed going into Iraq too light. In a conversation with Hack a few nights ago, I was proud to tell him that SFTT's survived the year. Although apart from our searching for the ten staffers to replace him, we're still slugging away at getting the troops state-of-the-art body armor through continued breakthrough investigative reporting while the Pentagon continues to run the same-old, same-old porker interference. The latest cover-up involves the Army actually skewing tests, even though the armor involved, which is good enough to be worn by top dogs in this administration, would save a lot more American lives. I also mentioned that keeping on with SFTT's mission was much heavier lifting without him, not that it was a day at the beach in the good ole days. But I miss how we'd bitch to one another during a particularly rough skirmish. And how wed always pump each other up and give each other the heart to continue the fight. The road is rough and the going is lonely and SFTT would no longer exist without three good men, Phil Matthews, Chairman of our Advisory Board, Roger Charles, SFTT President and our editor, Nat Helms, who's stepping down to write several books, assignments that came from his SFTT reporting. But SFTT needs help: donations of both time and money. We're running on near-empty, without PR, a professional fundraiser and at least one young reporter-intern. And that shouldn't be, especially with what's going on in Iraq. Because SFTT is the only organization solely dedicated to protecting America's front-line troops -- making sure they have the right leadership, training and equipment to meet their assigned missions and make it home alive and in one piece. In other words, SFTT's holy work can literally affect whether a kid comes home in a plane seat or a body bag. Bob Kerrey -- former Senator from Nebraska and winner of the Medal of Honor as a Navy SEAL in Vietnam -- called and I asked him, "Why are just we few responsible for the safety of America's frontline warriors? Why?" He replied, "You shouldn't be and you're not, because I'm volunteering." I'll do whatever you want me to do." As Hack would put it, Bob is "rereporting for duty." And so should every American citizen capable of thought and action. We thank Bob. We need you. Town of Greenwich Declares June 10, 2006, Colonel David Hackworth Day PROCLAMATION Whereas, Col. David Hackworth was born on Armistice Day, now Veteran’s Day, in 1930 and was raised by his grandmother on tales of the American Revolution and the Old West; and Whereas, Col. Hackworth was the most valor-decorated soldier since the Civil War, having been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross twice, earned ten Silver Stars and eight Purple Hearts, and was awarded a Battlefield Commission in Korea and was the youngest colonel to serve in Vietnam; and Whereas, Col. Hackworth spent more than half a century on the country’s hottest battlefields, first as a soldier, then as a writer and war correspondent; and Whereas, Upon leaving the Army Col. Hackworth retired to a farm on The Australian Gold Coast and became a business entrepreneur, and as a leading spokesman for Australia’s anti-nuclear movement was presented with the United Nations Medal for Peace; and Whereas, Col. Hackworth moved to Greenwich and tirelessly and selflessly dedicated his later years to protecting America’s front-line troops through acclaimed investigative reporting as well his foundation Soldiers For The Truth. NOW, THEREFORE, I, JAMES A. LASH, FIRST SELECTMAN OF THE TOWN OF GREENWICH, do hereby proclaim June 10, 2006 to be COLONEL DAVID HACKWORTH DAY In the Town of Greenwich in honor of his like and his mission – he was brave and wise, loyal and dedicated – and will be missed by all that knew him. Greenwich Citizen May 26, 2006 Month Long Tribute First Selectman Jim Lash is proclaiming June 10 Col. David Hackworth Day in Greenwich. On that Saturday, from 5:30-7:30 p.m., a celebration of the life and legacy of the Greenwich resident who died just over a year ago, will be held at Greenwich Library. The event is the culmination of a month of salutes, which began in Washington, D.C., on May 3, celebrating the life of Hackworth, U.S. Army (Ret.), one year after his Government Oversight (POGO) inducted Hackworth into the first class of its Good Government Hall of Fame, which honors people who exemplify the spirit of promoting good government. Hackworth was twice awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and earned 10 Silver Stars. But he especially treasured his eight Purple Hearts. The youngest colonel in Vietnam, he also was the first and only high-ranking serving officer to speak out publicly against that war in 1971. Since then, he led the charge for reform and accountability for those whose strategies and decisions needlessly put the troops at the tip of the spear in jeopardy. Although he lost his personal battle with cancer on May 4, 2005, his mission to ensure that American troops have the right leadership, training and equipment, to meet their assigned missions and make it home alive is being carried on by his legacy foundation Soldiers for the Truth. The foundation is now being led by his wife, Eilhys England Hackworth, SFTT President Roger Charles, Chairman of the Advisory Board Phil Matthews, and other members of the advisory board, including Sen. Bob Kerrey, Kerrey and Catharine Crier. SFTT's electronic newsletter, Defense Watch, was credited by The New York Times in a front page Jan. 6, 2006, article headlined. "Extra Armor Could Have Saved Many Lives, Study Shows," for first posting three pages from the cited Pentagon report on the SFTT Web site and its seminal reporting on the issue. SFTT is currently working: with another national newspaper on another major story on the body armor problem. This article will also assign prominent credit to SFTT for its investigative work. One year to the day after Hackworth's passing, Eilhys England Hackworth met with Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb. on the Hill, to discuss the body armor emergency. "It's unconscionable that anyone's son or husband or mother should come home in a body bag because of inferior body armor," said Eilhys Hackworth. SFTT is focused on seeing that the Pentagon and our elected leaders in Washington get the right equipment to our troops." The event will include a short film premiere that pays tribute to Hackworth and features the band Putnam, the presentation of Soldiers for the Truth's first "Support the Troops with More Than Lip Service" Award and a Celebrity Pastry Chefs Bake Sale to benefit Soldiers for the Truth. Charles, Kerrey, Crier, G. Gordon Liddy and Geraldo Rivera. Hackworth's friends and neighbors, veterans and first responders are among the guests expected Admission is free and the public is invited to attend. For information on Soldiers for the Truth, visit the SFTT Web site at www.sftt.org. |
A Tribute to Hack As read into the Congressional Record: Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I was very sad to learn that Colonel Hackworth had died on May 4, 2005, in Tijuana, Mexico. Tijuana is the place where Colonel Hackworth chose to make his last stand. He went there to fight one last battle. He had a particularly deadly form of cancer that spread. He went to Mexico, hoping for a miracle with an experimental drug treatment program. Just before leaving his home in Connecticut for the last time in January 2005, he sent me one final message: Give Senator Grassley my best. Have run out of conventional options re: my cancer. Got until March to find a solution. Off to Mexico to see if we can’t out Gee this monster. I am not sweating my final orders from Headquarters. It has been a fun ride. Plan on being planted in Arlington. Out-Geeing the G’’ was one of Colonel Hackworth’s favorite expressions. He invented the term while leading troops in combat during the Vietnam War. He told his troops that they could beat the Viet Cong by using the guerrillas’ own mobile, hit-and-run tactics. ‘We are going to do what they do but just do it better,’’ he said. ‘‘We out-gee the G.’’ ‘Out-geeing the G’’ was the heart and soul of Colonel Hackworth’s brand of soldiering. Sadly, Colonel Hackworth was not able to ‘‘out-Gee’’ the enemy this time. Colonel Hackworth began his military career just up the coast from Tijuana—in Santa Monica, CA. At the age of 10, after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, he worked as a shoe-shine boy at a military post there where a group of soldiers adopted him as a mascot. They had a special uniform made for him to wear. Both his parents died before his first birthday. At this point in his life, Colonel Hackworth said: ‘‘I knew my destiny. Nothing would be better than to be a soldier.’’ You can’t utter the name David Hackworth without also saying the word soldier in the same breath. He was a ‘‘soldier’s’’ soldier. He was a soldier from the day he put on that special uniform in Santa Monica to the moment he died. He may have taken off his uniform after publicly denouncing the Vietnam war on national TV in 1971, but he continued to soldier until the very end of his life. I know that Colonel Hackworth was a highly respected combat veteran. I know he distinguished himself as a leader of troops in the field in Korea and Vietnam. I know he was awarded a large number of combat decorations for valor. Colonel Hackworth was a true American hero. But I do not want to leave my colleagues with a false impression. I did not know Colonel Hackworth when he was fighting wars and winning medals for valor. I have only read about that part of his life. I did not meet him until much later—after he had started a new career. I came to know Colonel Hackworth after he became a reporter and began covering the Pentagon. He was still a soldier all right—but a different kind of soldier. Colonel Hackworth had become what I would call a brave-hearted soldier for the truth. When I met him, he had taken off his uniform. He was fighting a different kind of war. He was a soldier in civilian clothes. But he still had a mission. He wanted to bring truth, justice, and accountability to military head-quarters—the Pentagon. He wanted to shed some light on what he perceived as gross incompetence and corruption on the part of some senior officers. He was a contributing editor and re-porter for Newsweek Magazine and syndicated columnist. Colonel Hackworth and I shared a small piece of common ground— watchdogging the Pentagon. From the moment when I was first elected to the Senate, I have worked very hard to ferret out fraud, waste, and abuse at the Pentagon and stop it. I do it because I don’t want to see a single tax dollar wasted. Colonel Hackworth attacked the very same problem but from a different angle. As in everything he did, he always looked at a problem from a common soldier’s perspective. As I said, his main concern was in-competence and corruption among some senior officers in the Pentagon. He called them ‘‘perfumed princes.’’ These were some of the same officers he saw come and go in Vietnam. They came to Vietnam to get their ‘‘tickets punched.’’ They got their ‘‘tickets punched’’ by commanding a battalion or brigade for a shortened tour of duty before rotating home to the Pentagon for promotion. To the hardcore soldier like Colonel Hackworth, ‘‘ticket punching’’ in Vietnam translated into un- necessary casualties on the battlefield. The wasting of one soldier’s life produced real fury inside this man. He could not—and would not—tolerate it. One illustrative incident, which occurred in Vietnam, is described in his book ‘‘About Face.’’ During a very intense combat operation, a ‘‘perfumed prince’’ riding in a helicopter overhead issued an order to a unit under Colonel Hackworth’s command— without Colonel Hackworth’s knowledge or approval. That order resulted in a significant loss of life in one of Colonel Hackworth’s units. Colonel Hackworth believed that those casualties were avoidable and un-necessary. When he returned to home base, he sought out that officer, put a 45 caliber weapon to his head, and threatened to kill him if he ever did anything like that again. That is Colonel Hackworth’s own ac-count of what happened on that day so long ago. Colonel Hackworth loved his troops above all else and would go to any length to protect them from harm and abuse. His lifelong commitment to the common soldier was the driving force behind the stories he produced as a reporter with Newsweek and other publications. In Colonel Hackworth’s mind, the terrible loss of life in Vietnam had its origins in a disease that he set out to cure—the gross incompetence and corruption—that he perceive at the highest echelons in the Pentagon. Colonel Hackworth was determined to wipe it out and right a wrong. Over the years, we collaborated on a number of investigations. The one I re-member best is the one involving Air Force General Joseph Ashy in 1994–95. Colonel Hackworth conducted his own investigation. He gathered the facts and the documents. I, in turn, referred Colonel Hackworth’s allegations to the inspector general, IG, for review. This is what Colonel Hackworth reported in the press: General Ashy flew himself, his aide and family cat from Italy to Colorado aboard a 200-seat Air Force plane; he flew his wife round-trip on an Air Force VIP aircraft from Colorado to Washington; and he made palatial renovations at his headquarters. The IG concluded that General Ashy’s ‘‘wasteful escapades’’ cost the taxpayers $424,602.00. Colonel Hackworth found out about General Ashy’s ‘‘escapades’’ from one of his beloved soldiers who was denied a seat—and free ride home—on Ashy’s airplane. Colonel Hackworth’s comments were as follows: The taxpayers got ripped-off for almost a half a million bucks by a member of our military elite and virtually nothing is being done about it...The Air Force spinmeisters lied through their teeth about what General Ashy did...Besides being a blatant waste of money, this incident is about deception and the art of diffusing responsibility... Ashy was fined a mere $5,020.00 and continues to have four stars and his finger on the nuclear button. General Ashy wrote out a check for the fine and sent it to Air Force Head-quarters on June 26, 1995. However, instead of depositing his check at the bank, the check was stashed in a safe in Air Force Secretary Sheila Widnall’s office—for what I suspect was permanent safekeeping. At my request, the IG began making new inquiries and the check finally went to the bank on September 5, 1995 This great American soldier told us—in ‘‘plain old English’’—what he expected from the top brass at the Pentagon. He expected them to lead by ex-ample. If they failed his leadership and integrity test at headquarters, he believed they would fail on the battle-field. His pronouncements were blunt, for sure. They were almost always harsh and sometimes coarse. But they always conveyed an important lesson tempered by battlefield experiences. So I listened and learned. His opinions on the Pentagon brass had credibility in my book. He had put them to the ultimate test on so many distant battle-fields. That was good enough for me. The lessons taught by this great American soldier are lessons that will stand the test of time. Setting the ex-ample has been the most powerful element of leadership since the beginning of time. Colonel Hackworth kept going back to those enduring principles. As a Nation, we must do the same. We must rely on those ideas. They are too important to be forgotten. They must be followed. Colonel Hackworth was a constant and forceful reminder of just how important those principles really are. The memory of Colonel Hackworth and all that he stood for lives on in our hearts and minds. Colonel Hackworth has left us. His remains will be laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery on May 31. But he will not be forgotten. He will never fade away. |
State of Connecticut One of the Great Men Hopefully, this event signifies the beginning of a broader appreciation of Hack’s place in history as one of the great men of our time. It was always my concern that people see him not as just another TV pundit but in context as a gifted warrior-historian, a uniquely prescient man who’d learned from the past and knew how to apply its lessons, who’d seen the elephant and who could extrapolate militarily like no other. A wise man who knew we must always have a strong military deterrent – deterrent being the operative word because the bloody consequences of war were burned into his brain. A passionate advocate for the troops, particularly the kids out at the tip of the spear. A man with physical and moral courage like no other – who died in my arms one year ago in the wee small hours of tomorrow morning as bravely and as nobly as he lived. David Hackworth, my husband, my partner, my best friend, I salute you. It is with great pride that I accept this honor on your behalf. Excerpted from 3 May 2006 remarks by Eilhys England Hackworth upon accepting Hack’s nomination to the new POGO (Project On Government Oversight) Hall of Fame. Congressional Tribute Presented by Sen. Grassley
The Sunday Greenwich Time Town Honors Legendary By Michael Dinan It happened more than 35 years ago, yet John D. Falcon remembers every harrowing detail of his first encounter with Col. David Hackworth. A U.S. Army major and helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War, Falcon recalls when Hackworth requested to be dropped virtually on top of enemy bunkers in the Mekong River delta on March 25, 1969, to save two men who had been wounded. Miraculously, the man known as "Hack" rescued the two men and safely delivered them to Falcon's helicopter. "He stands out in my mind as a truly outstanding leader," Falcon, of Corpus Christi, Texas, said yesterday evening before a two-hour event memorializing Hackworth, who succumbed to bladder cancer at age 74 in May 2005. "Reporting for Duty" was organized by Hackworth's widow, Eilhys England Hackworth, and included a short film about the soldier's distinguished military career, live music, a Connecticut Veterans Honor Guard salute, official proclamations, and a bake sale benefiting Soldiers for the Truth, a group the Hackworths founded to advocate for military reforms. "My husband was indeed a gifted warrior-historian, a uniquely prescient man who'd learned from the past and knew how to apply its lessons," England Hackworth told more than 200 veterans, officials, relatives, friends and admirers gathered in Greenwich Library's Cole Auditorium for the event. "A passionate advocate for the troops, particularly the kids at the tip of the spear," she continued tearfully. "A man with physical and moral courage like no other, who died in my arms a little over a year ago in the wee small hours of the morning, as bravely and nobly as he lived."
Born on Veterans Day 1931 in Santa Monica, Calif., Hackworth's parents died when he was a year old and he was raised by his grandmother. A shoeshine boy at a military base in Santa Monica after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Hackworth gravitated toward the military early on and carved out air extraordinary career. At age 14, be used phony papers to join the Merchant Marine, then enlisted a year later in the Army and fought in Europe at the close of World War II. He won a battlefield commission in Korea and, at 20, had ascended to the rank of captain and earned a Silver Star and Purple Heart. Hackworth served four tours in Vietnam and became the youngest' full colonel there at age 40. Through the course of his career, Hackworth won 70 valor medals - including nine Silver Stars, eight Bronze Stars and eight Purple Hearts. As reknowned as Hackworth was for his legendary accomplishments in battle, he became equally famous for denouncing the Vietnam War in 1971 on national television. His comments on ABC's "Issues and Answers" led to his forced resignation from the Army. He gave up his medals in protest and moved to Australia, where he ran a successful restaurant business and duck farm. Hackworth's medals were reissued by Brig. Gen. John Howard in the 1980s and he returned to the United States around the time he published his best-selling autobiography, "About Face." He went on to write "The Vietnam Primer," "Hazardous Duty," "Steel My Soldiers' Hearts," and to become a popular syndicated colmnuist. He continued to speak his mind, and through Soldiers for the Truth, a nonprofit foundation, he and volunteers within the group argued that soliders in Iraq are ill-equipped, particularly as regards body armor and lightly armored Humvees. "This effort to simply tell the truth is an extension of David's life" said former U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey of Nebraska, who spoke to the group.
Though Hackworth had lived much of his life on a battlefield and was in many ways a grizzled, tough-talking veteran, he also was a "man of peace," Kerrey said, who lived his life in order to prevent wars and to ensure that those on the front lines were well-protected. "He was a rare person, a person of great conflicts," Kerrey said. The event's proceedings included proclamations read by First Selectman Jim Lash and on behalf of Gov. M. Jodi Rell. The Greenwich proclamation declared June 10, 2006 "Col. David Hackworth Day" - a des ignation England Hackworth said would have pleased her husband. "He also was a humble man who would have been mortified. and embarrassed at me doing all this behind his back, which I would have done," she said. |
Eilhys England Hackworth, widow of Col. David Hackworth, fights emotion during a memorial event at Greenwich Library yesterday. Keelin Daly/Slaff photo
Former Sen. Bob Kerrey of Nebraska speaks during a "Col. David Hackworth Day" event at Greenwich Library yesterday. Keelln Daly/Staff photo