About Face, by COL David Hackworth, USA Ret.

 I learned of this book years ago, maybe decades. It's a huge tome, so I decided to "read" it via Audible. I finished it relatively quick with the help of a 10-hour trip to Chattanooga this weekend.

David Hackworth was quite the U.S. soldier. Lied about his age during the end of WWII so he could join the Merchant Marines at 14. Found out and kicked out, then lied again and joined the Army at age 16. (Hired a homeless drunk for a dollar to pretend to be his father as he was enlisting at fake-age 17.) Served in Italy at the end of WWII, then served with distinction in Korea. Shot several times, the guy will end up with eight, EIGHT, Purple Hearts. Jiminy freaking Christmas.

His attempt to take out a North Korean sniper earned him a bullet wound in his head, as well as a battlefield commission. A great deal of this memoir involved Hackworth working on his bachelors so that he could remain in the Army. Even back then, in the late 1950s and early 1960s, bachelors were a thing. Hackworth has a great final section of the book where he talks about changes to his Army that he'd like to see, one of them being that a bachelors doesn't prove you can lead. Oh, so many examples in my own service. 

Hackworth was a leader. He led troops. He watched over his boys. He took care of them. But at some point during his 4 years in Vietnam, he realized we weren't waging the war to win it. Politics was involved, and the Army was no better than the politicians. He had had enough. Through Korea, he knew several reporters who he considered "studs" along with other warriors, so he took advantage of his contacts, and appeared on TV critiquing how we were prosecuting the Vietnam War and how bad the South Vietnamese fighters were. 

The Army wasn't having it, and tried to prevent Hackworth from retiring. He actually had to hide out and hire a civilian lawyer. The Army finally realized they should just let this old soldier (at 40, FFS) fade away. He spent his last years in Australia and the U.S. as a reporter. 

The man was probably the most highly decorated U.S. servicemember when he retired. His list of medals are beyond impressive, and he even mentions in this memoir that he ensured he got one removed after he was put in just for being the HQ gonk for a unit of his that did brave things.