David Hackworth

Newsday reported David Hackworth, Vietnam vet and military analyst, dies at 74

Retired Army Col. David Hackworth, a highly decorated Vietnam veteran who spoke out against the war and later became a journalist and advocate for military reform, has died, his wife said Thursday. He was 74. Hackworth died Wednesday in Tijuana, Mexico, where he was receiving treatment for bladder cancer. He lived with his wife in Greenwich.

A Newsweek correspondent during the Gulf War, Hackworth worked in recent years as a syndicated columnist for King Features, often criticizing the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq war. "Most combat vets pick their fights carefully. They look at their scars, remember the madness and are always mindful of the fallout," Hackworth wrote in February. "That's not the case in Washington, where the White House and the Pentagon are run by civilians who have never sweated it out on a battlefield." Hackworth ignited a national debate last year when he reported that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld used a machine to sign condolence letters sent to the families of fallen soldiers. Rumsfeld later promised to sign each letter by hand. "Hack never lost his focus," said Roger Charles, president of Soldiers for the Truth, a California-based veterans group that Hackworth chaired. "That focus was on the young kids that our country sends to bleed and die on our behalf. Everything he did in his retirement was to try to give them a better chance to win and to come home. That's one hell of a legacy."

Steve M. blogged There's more in the obituary that appears at Yahoo News and on Hackworth's Web site.

bothenook blogged Here is an archive of his latest columns for the world net daily

Jeff Quinton has a number of good links.

Michelle Malkin blogged The outspoken retired Army colonel died of cancer yesterday, WND reports. Didn't agree with much of his work, especially over the last few years, but he lived a fascinating life of service to this country.
David Hackworth - May God give you peace and rest, and thank you for what you did for your country