Thoughts on a True American Hero

[KG Erwin]

Now that he's gone, I'd love to see a film biography of the late Col David Hackworth, based on his books "About Face" & "Steel My Soldiers' Hearts". This guy was an authentic American hero, but like so many before him, was a maverick and generated much controversy. Needless to say, I admired him very much, especially in his willingness to buck the system to get his soldiers what they really needed to get the job done.

As he grew older, he acquired the reputation of being a curmudgeon who endlessly railed about the "perfumed princes" who sat in air-conditioned offices, compiled statistics and "ticket-punched" their way up the food-chain while the foot soldiers were dying in the field with inadequate equipment. This is only a small part of the whole story.

IMHO, a film about this man would do much to undo the negative stereotypes associated with American troops during the Vietnam era, and also shed more light on the desperate fighting of the "unknown war" in Korea.

"Hack" needs to get his due on the big screen, not so much as a tribute to him personally, but for the men who fought with him. I'm sure that would've been what he'd desire in a film about his life.