SOLDIER'S WARS DISTURBING TALE
ROBERT I. ALOTTA, Special to the Sun-SentinelSUN-SENTINEL
ABOUT FACE. By Col. David H. Hackworth and Julie Sherman. Simon & Schuster. $24.95.
About Face is a most disturbing book. The author, one of the most decorated men in the history of the U.S. military, fought in three wars: Korea, Vietnam and his own personal war with the U.S. Army. He uses this book to show how the American military was lied to and misused in Vietnam.
Hackworth has a wildly checkered career in the Army. He first joined it -- illegally, of course -- as a 15-year-old infantryman in Europe. Hackworth found a home in the Army. He sacrificed wife and family for the Army, and expected the Army to stand up for him when he most needed it. In 1971, he did the unforgivable: He broke the code and spoke "outside the fold." Hackworth appeared on the network TV show Issues and Answers and announced that the Vietnam War was lost and that the American efforts were, at best, misguided. As a result, Hackworth was interrogated, considered for court-martial, and discredited. He was forced into retirement and a self-imposed exile in Australia.
Much of what Hackworth presents is not new. Students of the American military -- those in and out of uniform -- agree that there has been a strong emphasis on the officer corps becoming managers rather than leaders. Careerism is the name of the game, not professionalism. What sets About Face apart from other books on this subject is that Hackworth is not a historian; he is a soldier first, last and always.
Although a career soldier, Hackworth was never really a member of the club. He even refers to himself as "an NCO in officer's gear." A maverick, he won a battlefield commission at age 20 in Korea. His combat experience made him a strong believer in rigorous training. But even in this attitude, Hackworth was at odds with the military establishment. Training was kept to a minimum and America was not ready for the guerrilla war it faced in Vietnam. Men were being trained to fight a conventional, short-term war against an unconventional enemy. Hackworth felt this criminal. He was one of the few who put their lives and careers on the line to say it.
About Face explodes with Hackworth's love of combat and his love of his fellow soldiers, but it also makes the reader wonder. Early into the book, he speaks of "war stories" and how legends are made. In several instances, he debunks his own legends. One wonders, however, did he leave some unchanged? About Face is co-authored by Julie Sherman, a screen writer, and one can feel that this book is destined for the big screen. It reads like Rambo, with the bite of a Catch-22. It is filled with beautiful phrasing and pithy quotes, but, like Rambo, one must wonder how much is true and how much is "legend."