After 43 year wait Hudson Viet Nam Veteran gets Purple Heart
Thursday, June 30, 2011
U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette (R-Bainbridge Township) today
presented a Purple Heart and several other medals to Retired Army
Sgt. David Hack, 71, of Hudson in a special ceremony at Hudson City
Hall.
Sgt. Hack was critically wounded on September 13, 1968, in Viet
Nam and never received his military medals. LaTourette was
able to secure the medals from the National Personnel Records
Center in St. Louis, MO.
LaTourette said Hack, then 28 and in the First Infantry
Division, was wounded when a carrier he was traveling in was
ambushed by the North Vietnamese Army. He was shot several
times and also suffered shrapnel and bayonet wounds. Found
alive in the jungle of Viet Nam on September 13, 1968, he was
stabilized and then airlifted to Japan for medical treatment.
He then boarded a medical hospital plane with other wounded
warriors and headed to Ft. Bragg in North Carolina.
LaTourette said the medical plane carrying Sgt. Hack had to
refuel at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, DC, and a Colonel
boarded the plane to greet the wounded and ask if any of the
veterans had questions or concerns. Sgt. Hack raised his arm
and explained that his family was near Fort Knox in Kentucky, and
wondered if he could be treated at the Army hospital there, as his
family lived nearby.
The Colonel listened to the request, consoled him and
replied: "We're going to take care of you because you've
taken care of us."
Sgt. Hack spent about a year in the hospital at Fort Knox
and had five operations to repair damage done to back, face and
leg. After leaving the hospital, he became an Army recruiter
in Akron at the height of the Viet Nam war, and was honorably
discharged in 1973.
"Why am I here today to award medals to Sgt. Hack more than four
decades after being airlifted out of Viet Nam? Because
in all that time Sgt. Hack never slowed down and never gave a
thought to getting his own medals," LaTourette said.
"Today, we can properly honor this great American and true
patriot."
LaTourette presented the following medals to Sgt. Hack, telling
the retired Army hero once again: "We're going to take care
of you because you've taken care of us."
Sgt Hack was presented with a Purple Star, Good Conduct Medal
(third award), National Defense Service Medal, Viet Nam Service
Medal with three bronze service stars, Republic of Vietnam Campaign
Ribbon w/Device (1960), Expert Badge with Rifle Bar and an Army
Recruiter ID Badge.
Sgt. Hack served nine years in the Army and also did a four-year
stint in the Coast Guard starting at age 17. He later served
as a police officer in Hudson, and was Police Chief in Sebring,
near Youngstown. He currently is CEO of US Wings in Hudson,
which provides "Made in the USA" bomber jackets to all branches of
the military.