Welcome to our collection of quotes by David Hackworth. We hope you enjoy pondering them and please share widely.
Wikipedia Summary for David Hackworth
David Haskell Hackworth (November 11, 1930 – May 4, 2005) also known as Hack, was a prominent military journalist and a former United States Army colonel who was decorated in both the Korean War and Vietnam War. Hackworth is known for his role in the creation and command of Tiger Force, a military unit which was formed in South Vietnam to apply guerrilla warfare tactics against Viet Cong guerrilla fighters.
Hackworth is also known for his accusation in 1996 that Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Mike Boorda was wearing two unauthorized service ribbon devices on two of his uniform's awards denoting valor in combat. Although Admiral Boorda had served off the coast of Vietnam in the 1960s and believed he was authorized to wear the two wartime decorations for meritorious service, he did not meet the Navy's requirements. Boorda committed suicide during Hackworth's investigation. It came out in 1997 that Hackworth claimed he had earned two Distinguished Flying Cross medals when in fact he had only earned one and that he was entitled to a Ranger tab, an insignia worn on the shoulder of the uniform, when in fact he was not.
If a policy is wrongheaded feckless and corrupt I take it personally and consider it a moral obligation to sound off and not shut up until it's fixed.
What we need to do is follow the axiom of World War II which was 'Loose Lips Sink Ships' and the media has really got to follow that.
If you find yourself in a fair fight, you didn't plan your mission properly.
Only a foolish woman would allow her man to earn his living as a moving target.
We citizens don't need to know every detail of every military operation in this new kind of war. Nor should the media tell us and hence our enemy.
In order to drill into young men the need to stay alert and stay alive, I used to punish offenders with my fists, boots and rifle butt, and with stockade time.
Grunts on the line, where the enemy wants them dead, still goof off -- even knowing that by letting their guard down they might die.
Because our homeland and very survival are once more at stake, the American people can't afford to treat this new war against terrorism like they did Vietnam.
It's human nature to start taking things for granted again when danger isn't banging loudly on the door.
War is the ultimate reality-based horror show.
Modern American war is as easy to script as a B movie.
Of course, it's imperative that we stabilize Iraq and quickly reduce our armed role there.
Fortunately, it's still not too late to develop a comprehensive global strategy to eliminate our real enemy.
Our fumbling government's response since Beirut -- during both Republican and Democratic administrations -- has been to cut and run, or to flat ignore this growing threat, apparently hoping it would go away.
Their plan is to return the entire world -- not just the Middle East -- to the days of the caliphate and either convert all of us so-called infidels into born-again Islamic believers or kill us.
That's because international Islamic religious fanatics have the same goal as the Axis fascists -- the destruction of our way of life.
That's what supporting the troops is really all about -- making sure American grunts get the right stuff!
Our generals talk a good game about taking care of their grunts, and the majority of our Beltway politicians bay with moralistic fervor about how they, too, support the troops.
Writing with you is the only thing that keeps me alive.
The old saying that war is a racket has taken on an even more shameful meaning.
If a policy is wrongheaded, feckless and corrupt, I take it personally and consider it a moral obligation to sound off and not shut up until it's fixed.
Terrorism, too, must be excised wherever it exists, which will take years, and which can't happen without the total commitment and the everyday involvement of the American people.
Fighting terrorism is not unlike fighting a deadly cancer. It can't be treated just where it's visible -- every diseased cell in the body must be destroyed.