The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting a Silver Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Sixth Award of the Silver Star to Lieutenant Colonel (Infantry) David Haskell Hackworth (ASN: OF-103837), United States Army, for gallantry in action involving close combat against an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam while serving with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Battalion, 39th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division. Lieutenant Colonel Hackworth distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on 26 February 1969 while serving as Battalion Commander, 4th Battalion, 39th Infantry, on a reconnaissance mission near Fire Support Base Moore. Disregarding his own safety, Lieutenant Colonel Hackworth exposed himself to intense enemy fire as he had his helicopter land in an insecure area where 16 men of an eighteen man unit lay wounded. He maneuvered throughout the embattled area setting up a defensive perimeter with the men who were still able to fight. He then called in a support element and led them in a sweep of the area, routing the enemy. As a result of his courageous actions the lives of several men were saved. Lieutenant Colonel Hackworth’s extraordinary heroism in close combat against an armed hostile force is in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself, the 9th Infantry Division and the United States Army.

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting a Fourth Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in addition to a previously awarded Silver Oak Leaf Cluster lieu of a Tenth Award of the Silver Star to Lieutenant Colonel (Infantry) David Haskell Hackworth (ASN: OF-103837), United States Army, for gallantry in action involving close combat with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam, while serving with gallantry in action involving close combat with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam while serving with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Battalion, 39th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division. Lieutenant Colonel Hackworth distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on 22 May 1969 while serving as Commanding Officer, 4th Battalion, 39th Infantry, on a reconnaissance in force mission in Dinh Tuong Province. After elements of his battalion came in contact with a large enemy force, Lieutenant Colonel Hackworth braved intense hostile fire to fly over the hostile positions and direct artillery supporting fires onto them. Then, realizing that the enemy element was, in actuality, a main force battalion, he skillfully directed the insertion of reinforcements in blocking positions around the enemy. After surrounding the enemy, he repeatedly exposed himself to the murderous fusillade of hostile fire to direct his forces and mark targets for gunship strikes. His valiant actions resulted in the decimation of the large and important enemy unit. Lieutenant Colonel Hackworth’s extraordinary heroism in close combat with an armed hostile force is in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself, the 9th Infantry Division and the United States Army.

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting a Second Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in addition to a previously awarded Silver Oak Leaf Cluster lieu of an Eighth Award of the Silver Star to Lieutenant Colonel (Infantry) David Haskell Hackworth (ASN: OF-103837), United States Army, for gallantry in action involving close combat with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam while serving with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Battalion, 39th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division. Lieutenant Colonel Hackworth distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on 22 March 1969 while serving as Commanding Officer, 4th Battalion, 39th Infantry, on a reconnaissance mission near Fire Support Base Danger. After gunships had engaged an enemy element, Lieutenant Colonel Hackworth directed his pilot to land in the isolated area in order to recover the enemy weapons. Upon landing, he detected movement in a nearby bunker and braved intense hostile fire to maneuver to the emplacement and destroy it. He then provided covering fire as his operations officer engaged and silenced a second enemy bunker and, after recovering the weapons, provided suppressive fire as the helicopter lifted off. Lieutenant Colonel Hackworth’s extraordinary heroism in close combat with an armed hostile force is in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself, the 9th Infantry Division and the United States Army.

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting a Third Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in addition to a previously awarded Silver Oak Leaf Cluster lieu of an Ninth Award of the Silver Star to Lieutenant Colonel (Infantry) David Haskell Hackworth (ASN: OF-103837), United States Army, for gallantry in action involving close combat with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam, while serving with gallantry in action involving close combat with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam while serving with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Battalion, 39th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division. Lieutenant Colonel Hackworth distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on 22 May 1969 while serving as Commanding Officer, 4th Battalion, 39th Infantry, on a reconnaissance in force mission. During the late afternoon, elements of the 4th Battalion encountered stiff enemy fire. From his light observation helicopter, which was under continual ground fire, Lieutenant Colonel Hackworth directed effective artillery strikes. He then rapidly gathered all available intelligence and initiated a vigorous offensive against the large enemy forces. As the battle progressed, Lieutenant Colonel Hackworth ignoring the fire his helicopter was receiving, directed the gunships and ground elements towards enemy targets, at one time throwing smoke to mark an enemy position. The net effect of his tactical decisions and personal gallantry was a complete rout of the enemy force. Lieutenant Colonel Hackworth’s extraordinary heroism in close combat is in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself, the 9th Infantry Division and the United States Army.

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting a Third Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Fourth Award of the Silver Star to Major (Infantry) David Haskell Hackworth (ASN: OF-103837), United States Army, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. Major Hackworth distinguished himself on 4 March 1966 while serving as executive officer during a combat operation in the vicinity of My Phu, Republic of Vietnam. Upon entering the operational area, Major Hackworth’s unit made contact with a numerically superior Viet Cong force. During the early stages of the battle, Major Hackworth was airborne in a command and control helicopter. Later, he dauntlessly landed in the operation area amidst intense hostile fire to personally direct his men. Undaunted by intense machine gun fire, Major Hackworth remained with his men, exposed himself to hostile fire, and effected an assault on the hostile emplacements. After the platoon seized its objective, Major Hackworth joined another rifle platoon which had sustained heavy battle casualties among its officer personnel and was virtually ineffective. Major Hackworth went from squad to squad in the most forward positions and rallied the disorganized platoon. He rendered first aid, directed evacuation of the wounded, and insured that ammunition was redistributed while continuously subjecting himself to an intense volume of Viet Cong fire. Later, as the platoon was inadvertently strafed by friendly aircraft, Major Hackworth braved the heavy machine gun and rocket fire while moving to a radio to call the aviation units to cease their attack on the friendly force. He then arranged for medical evacuation of the seriously wounded. Again he exposed himself to intense hostile fire while running through a rice paddy to give visual landing guidance to the incoming aircraft. Due to the intensity of the hostile fire, the evacuation attempt was aborted. When darkness fell, reinforcements were brought in while Major Hackworth stood in the middle of an insecure landing zone with a flashlight guiding the landing of ten aircraft. He then supervised the evacuation of the wounded. His unimpeachable valor in the face of a numerically superior Viet Cong force was in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.