US Army COL David Hackworth: A Story of Combat and Courage

Welcome back everyone.  In today’s episode, you’ll hear the remarkable story of US Army Colonel David Hackworth, a man whose name is synonymous with leadership and valor. From his enlistment at the age of 15 to becoming one of the most decorated soldiers in U.S. history, Col. Hackworth's journey is nothing short of legendary. His fearless service in the Korean and Vietnam Wars earned him numerous accolades, but it was his relentless pursuit of military reform and advocacy for soldiers' welfare that truly set him apart.  This is his story.

David was born in Ocean Park, CA to parents Lorette and Leroy Hackworth on November 11, 1930.  Tragically, before he was a year old, both of his parents died, leaving behind three young children.  David and his two siblings were raised by their grandmother and their family was poor but did whatever they could to survive the great depression.  In addition to relying on government assistance, David helped support the family by taking odd jobs including shining the shoes of soldiers stationed in the area.

In 1944, with WWII raging, David sought adventure.  He reportedly paid a transient to pose as his father who claimed David was of age, allowing him to join the US Merchant Marine.  He served in the South Pacific in the waning months of the war before returning to the US.  In 1946, he decided to join the Army.  He was still too young to enlist, but this time he didn’t need to hire a transient to fool recruiters, rather he was able to use his Merchant Marine paperwork to prove his age.  

After training he was sent to northeast Italy as part of the occupation following the war.  There he was a rifleman with the 351st Infantry Regiment, 88th Infantry Division, but they were under the command of the British.  Which was something that David despised.  He would later say that American units should never be under operational control of foreign forces.    

In 1950, when the Korean War started, David was now a Sergeant.  He deployed to the Korean peninsula with the 25th Recon Company, 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. 

On Feb. 6, 1951 Sgt Hackworth was leading a task force when they encountered heavy small arms and mortar fire.  After positioning his men, he mounted a tank and directed fire at enemy emplacements.  After he ran out of ammunition, he ran to and climbed on another tank and directed its guns to fire at the enemy.  His actions weren’t going unnoticed and the enemy was directing their fire directly at Sgt. Hackworth.  Though severely wounded, he continued leading his men.  For this unbelievable act of valor, he was awarded his first Silver Star. 

Not long after, Sgt. Hackworth was credited in large part to the success of a raid on Hill 1062 and received a battlefield promotion to 1st Lieutenant.  The 27th Infantry Regiment commander tasked Lt. Hackworth to form a volunteer Raider Unit, the 27th WolfHound Raiders.    

On August 8, Lt. Hackworth was leading a patrol against well-defended enemy positions when they faced a heavy barrage of small arms and automatic weapon fire.  He knew that they were not in position to eliminate the hostile threat.   He moved from cover and directed tanks and half-tracks to better positions and directed their fire.  He then moved to the front and then led an infantry grenade and bayonet assault on the enemy.  Though this assault initially displaced the enemy and forced them into a hasty retreat, they were soon able to mount a counterattack spurred by their sheer force in numbers.  The patrol was forced to withdraw from their positions and Lt. Hackworth manned a machine gun to provide supporting fire until the last man reached safety.  For this, he was awarded his second Silver Star.  

On November 4, he again distinguished himself in combat.  Lt. Hackworth was leading an assault squad up a steep hill in an attempt to dislodge a well entrenched enemy.  Moving up the hill, they faced grenades, small arms, and automatic weapons fire.  During the assault, Lt.Hackworth was hit and broke his arm, but refused to be evacuated.  He continued to direct his men until his wounds forced him to receive medical care.  He wasn’t gone long before he returned and led a charge that routed the enemy and gained the American forces the hill.  As he couldn’t hold his carbine, due to his broken arm, a soldier held it level for Lt. Hackworth, and he laid down heavy fire on the retreating enemy.  Even though he was badly injured, he continued to expose himself to enemy fire to ensure wounded soldiers were evacuated safely.  He received a direct order to move to the rear to receive proper medical care, but he again refused.  He remained in the heaviest fighting, directing the evacuation of the wounded.   For his leadership in combat that day, he was awarded a third Silver Star.

Prior to the end of armed conflict in Korea, Hackworth was promoted to Captain, the youngest of the war.

After the war, Captain Hackworth left the Army to pursue a college degree, but after two years he had enough of civilian life and returned to the Army in 1956.   When it was announced that the US was sending a large advisory team to South Vietnam, Capt. Hackworth volunteered to go.  He was denied and was told that he had too much combat experience and the Army wanted those with little or no combat experience should be sent instead.

 By 1965, Hackworth was a Major and finally got the chance to serve in Vietnam.  He was part of the 101st Airborne and founded a platoon designated Tiger Force.  Their goal was to “out guerrilla the guerillas”,  a strategy that Hackworth later wrote about.  The unit was tasked with long range recon missions and were recognized with the Presidential Unit Citation.  After his tour was over and he had left Vietnam, Tiger Force was accused of killing hundreds of non-combatants, as well as other war crimes.

On February 7, 1966, Major Hackworth and his unit were tasked with relieving soldiers who had been pinned down by enemy fire for four hours.  As they neared the friendly forces, their progress was halted by enemy fire.  Major Hackworth set off alone on a recon mission of the area.  He crossed an open field and then over a bridge while being targeted by enemy fire.  On the other side of the bridge was another field.  He ran across it while being shot at to connect with the embattled men.  He then crawled to within twenty meters of the enemy to pinpoint all enemy positions and gauge their strength.  He then returned and led an attack on the first position, which they cleared.  They then faced even more intense fire as they assaulted another position, just 40 meters from the enemy’s main line.  Over the next six hours, the men were subjected to continuous fire.  But that didn’t stop Major Hackworth from effectively leading his men on assaults on the entrenched enemy.  He repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire to inspire his men forward.  When one unit’s attack failed, he personally led the attack forward.  Later in the battle, he once again exposed himself to heavy enemy fire and called in an airstrike on enemy positions, which ended this engagement.  

The next month on March 4, 1966, Major Hackworth was directing his men in battle from a command and control helicopter before telling the pilot to bring him down into the combat zone.  He faced heavy machine gun fire as he directed his men in an assault on the machine gun emplacements.  He then raced to a platoon that had suffered heavy casualties among its officers.  He moved from squad to squad and rallied the disorganized platoon.  He also redistributed ammunition, rendered first aid, and coordinated the evacuation of the injured. After an aborted rescue attempt, Major Hackworth stood in an exposed rice paddy in complete darkness, using his flashlight to guide the landing of ten helicopters.  For this he was again awarded a Silver Star.

Hackworth was assigned to the Pentagon and was promoted to Lt. Colonel.  His time serving at the Pentagon, gave Col. Hackworth a differing view of the Vietnam War.  He felt it was a war that the US couldn’t win, which was an unpopular thought among his peers.  He refused calls to resign, as he saw himself as an officer with the duty to fight a campaign to the best of his ability, whether he agreed with it or not.   

In 1971 Hackworth was promoted to Colonel.  His prowess in commanding men in combat was now well known.  In an interview with Newsweek, General Abrams said that Col. Hackworth was “the best battalion commander I ever saw in the Army.”

This was around the same time that Col. Hackworth sat for an interview with ABC where he strongly criticized Army leadership and the war itself.  He said that the US should fully withdraw.    This obviously angered Army leadership and he was forced to retire.  The anger directed at Col. Hackworth led to an investigation of his time in Vietnam, where he faced multiple accusations of wrongdoing.  Col. Hackworth avoided the officers investigating him and after some time, the investigation ended with no charges being filed.  

After retiring, he left for Australia where he found success with a popular restaurant and duck farm, as well as investing in real estate.  

In the mid 80’s he returned to the US and began his writing career.  Later on, Hackworth wrote a controversial Newsweek article series about Navy Admiral Jeremy Boorda and his supposed unearned valor pins.  The shame brought upon him by this article was largely credited with Admiral Boorda committing suicide. 

In retaliation, Col. Hackworth was subjected to a review of his medals, including the 9 Silver Stars he claimed to have been awarded.  The finding of that review showed that he wasn’t awarded 9 Silver Stars.  Rather, he was unaware that he was actually awarded a total of 10 Silver Stars.  Three during the Korean War and seven during the Vietnam War.  

During his time in the Army Col. Hackworth was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross twice, the Silver Star ten times, the Legion of Merit four times, a Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star eight times, and the purple heart eight times among many awards, making him one of the most highly decorated soldiers in US history.   

On May 4, 2005 Col. David Hackworth died in Tijuana, Mexico and he is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Colonel David Hackworth embodied the essence of courage and tenacity. His fierce advocacy for military reform, even in the face of intense criticism, showcased his relentless pursuit of excellence and integrity. He never shied away from challenging the status quo, always striving to improve the lives and effectiveness of his fellow soldiers. 

I couldn’t cover every action that led to Col. Hackworth being awarded his medals, but I’m hoping that you can take the time to learn more about him.  His story is an amazing one. 

Thank you for listening to this episode of Duty & Valor.  To read more about this week’s hero, check out the sources used in today's episode in our show notes and at dutyandvalor.com.  

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