To the end, colonel a man of the troops: Top brass not expected at funeral

[NVMojo]

of course not!



WASHINGTON -- His courage under fire was the stuff of Hollywood, such as once ordering his helicopter pilot to land in the middle of a firefight so he could rescue his wounded men.

As an orphan shining shoes at a military base in Santa Monica, Calif., he lied about his age to join up in the waning days of World War II. That started a career that led him to Korea, where he survived a gunshot to the head, and a whopping four tours of duty in Vietnam, where his daring and swagger became the inspiration for Robert Duvall's Colonel Kilgore character in the movie ''Apocalypse Now."

Tomorrow, the US military will lay to rest Colonel David H. Hackworth -- among its most decorated heroes of all time -- at Arlington National Cemetery.

The top brass is not expected to attend.

Hackworth's most enduring foe was not the communists he fought. He earned a a chestful of medals, including two Distinguished Service Medals, 10 Silver Stars, eight Bronze Stars, and eight Purple Hearts. His adversary became the US military bureaucracy, which he railed against for 30 years on grounds that it failed to put the troops first. He also opposed military action in Bosnia, Kosovo, and especially Iraq.

more...

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/05/30/to_the_end_colonel_a_man_of_the_troops?mode=PF

[neuvocat]

1. The lack of presence speaks many sad volumes.

Hackworth should be honored like any other hero.

[UpInArms]

15. I hope he gets a live bugler to play taps

:(

[acmejack]

18. There is a team of buglers that try to make sure

That no one has to use that tape. They are all non military or retired. Support our troops my butt! He probably won't miss the flags, but I hope some troops/vets/people can show up for him.

[Pooka Fey]

2. Memorial Day nomination for Greatest page - n/t

[opihimoimoi]

3. A True Warrior with Class and Courage....something the Chicken Hawks

can only wish for.

RIP

[BikePunk]

4. there are still heroes

... one must only look far and wide to fnd them.

[Fridays Child]

5. May the "top brass" rot for failing to honor this great soldier.

David Hackworth showed a level of bravery and patriotism that they will never comprehend.

[MADem]

6. You should have seen the crowd of them

...at Eric Shinseki's retirement (NOT!!!!). It was like a flag/general ghost town...

Fear rules the day.

[Stinky The Clown]

7. I'm honestly not sure if this is the mindset of today's 'brass' or the ...

result of pressure from above.

They were sure as shit all over the Mall this weekend. Dicky Myers even rode his motor-sickle (reportedly a Vespa .... just kidding) with Rolling Thunder for a block or two and then addressed the crowd. Rummy accompanied him on the podium.

We were at The Wall today and that new fuckwad Reichsemarshall from FaterLand Security was speaking.

Idiot son was at Arlington 'leading the nation' in honoring the war dead (my fucking gnarly old ass was he honoring anyone).

Cheney's pasty ass was nowhere, of course.

Fuck 'em all ......

[MADem]

8. I do know the answer to that

It is pressure, pressure and more pressure from above. And ONLY pressure from above. Some even joke that the Turks have the right idea (anytime the civilian leaders stray too far off Attaturk's vision, the Turkish military temporarily takes over until everyone gets a grip--it happens every few decades!).

If you think that any senior-plus officer who is a registered Republican "means it" anymore, I'll have some of what you are having. The disgust and dismay, in private communications, are palpable.

The morale sucks, not just over there, but here as well. SUCKS!!! I've been visiting some of my old buddies who are still active, and "disgust" does not convey how pissed off, disheartened, overwhelmed, increduluous, and dumbstruck they all are. There is not a happy camper in the bunch that I've seen. And they are well up the ladder in the food chain, but they feel like they are peeling potatoes and painting rocks, frankly.

[Stinky The Clown]

16. I do a small bit of work every now and again at 5-sided building

just south of DC. I don't see any strong evidence of support from the military there, either. What I *do* hear are jokes about short timers being lucky ...... far, far more than when I was in.

The civilians, too, don't seem all that gung ho ..... except for the younger ones, surprizingly.

[skygazer]

9. Rest in peace, soldier

That is an incredible array of medals and I'm sure it's not a full list. That's a brave and honest hero there.

[Spazito]

10. This is beyond disgusting...

had he been kissing the bush cabal's ass over Iraq, there is NO doubt they ALL would have been in attendance, stumbling over themselves to get to the mic.


Absolutely disgusting!

[unhappycamper]

11. Meyers and the crop of sycophants running the military would dishonor

Hackworth's memory if they were to show up. It's much better this way.

[kineneb]

12. Always for the grunts at the bottom

Colonel Hackworth had my admiration. I did not always agree with his essays, but they were always reasonable. For shame that the brass don't have enough "brass" to show up.

[tabasco]

29. He spent a couple weeks with my infantry batallion ...

in Somalia, writing for Newsweek, I think.

A real hero with enormous courage. Not just physical courage, but moral courage to speak truth to power.

RIP, Sir !

[mitchum]

13. A man of honor and courage

Rest In Peace, Colonel Hackworth

[warrens]

14. Those goddam Bushies

I really hate those bastards.

[roguevalley]

17. we couldn't afford to have lost him. RIP, Colonel. You are worth

by yourself dozens of those desk jockeys

[MadisonProgressive]

19. And I will bet you a million dollars

that if he had run for President as a Democrat, the Swift Boat Liars would have been all over him!

10 silver stars and 8 purple hearts? The guy was super human!

Fuck the senior brass that will not be honoring this man!!!!!

[NVMojo]

20. now there goes a true statement and damn these neocons to HELL!!!

[Adelante]

21. Sign Hack's Guest Book - 5988 Entries - 240 Pages

http://www.hackworth.com/cgi-bin/csGuest/csGuest.cgi?command=view&gid=1

[Media_Lies_Daily]

22. Thanks. Done.

[karlrschneider]

23. Done, & thanks for the reminder.

.

[The Traveler]

24. Done (n/t)

[Az_lefty]

28. Done...

[BrklynLiberal]

25. kick

http://www.hackworth.com/

[Inland]

26. Our military brass: bravely protecting their careers from Bushite purges.

nt

[AlCzervik]

27. their actions are disgusting and even more so by the ones that would like

to go but don't because they fear repercussions.