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David Hackworth
Summary
Colonel David Haskell Hackworth (November 11, 1930 – May 4, 2005) was a United States Army officer and journalist, who was decorated in both the Korean War and Vietnam War. Hackworth is known for his role in the formation and command of Tiger Force, a military unit from the 101st Airborne Division that used guerrilla warfare tactics against Viet Cong in South Vietnam.
He was youngest US colonel in Vietnam at the time of his promotion. He 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."
In 1996, Hackworth accused Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Michael Boorda of wearing two unauthorized service ribbons on his uniform denoting valor in combat. Boorda committed suicide during Hackworth's investigation. In 1997 Hackworth was accused himself of wearing unathorised decorations: an extra Distinguished Flying Cross and a Ranger Tab. An audit later proved it was an US Army administrative error and not the fault of Hackworth.
Hackworth was born in Ocean Park, California (now part of Santa Monica), on November 11, 1930, the son of Leroy E. Hackworth and Lorette (Kensly) Hackworth. His parents both died before he was a year old, so he and his brother and sister were raised by Ida Stedman, their paternal grandmother.
The family had to rely on government aid during the Great Depression, and his grandmother, who had been married to a Colorado gold miner, brought them up on tales of her Old West experiences and her Revolutionary War ancestors. While attending school in Santa Monica, Hackworth and a friend earned money by shining the shoes of soldiers stationed at bases in the area.
Imbued with a sense of adventure, at age 14, Hackworth lied about his age and paid a transient to pose as his father so he could claim to be old enough to join the United States Merchant Marine with parental consent.
In 1945 he served aboard a Merchant Marine ship in the South Pacific Ocean during the final months of World War II.
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