Colonel David Haskell Hackworth (November 11, 1930 – May 4, 2005) was a United States Army officer and journalist who was decorated in both the Korean War and Vietnam War. Hackworth is known for his role in the creation and command of Tiger Force, a military unit that was formed in South Vietnam to apply guerrilla warfare tactics against Viet Cong guerrilla fighters. Hackworth is also known for his accusation in 1996 that Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Michael Boorda was wearing two unauthorized service ribbons on his uniform denoting valor in combat. Although Boorda had served off the Vietnamese coast in the 1960s and believed he was authorized to wear the two wartime decorations for meritorious service, this did not meet the United States Navy's requirements. Boorda committed suicide during Hackworth's investigation. It came out in 1997 that Hackworth claimed he had earned two Distinguished Flying Cross medals (when in fact he had only earned one) and that he was entitled to a Ranger Tab, an insignia worn on the shoulder of the uniform when in fact he was not. The youngest colonel in Vietnam at the time of his promotion, he was also praised by General Creighton Abrams as "the best battalion commander I ever saw in the United States Army." Early life Hackworth was born in Ocean Park, California (now part of Santa Monica), on November 11, 1930, the son of Leroy E. Hackworth and Lorette (Kensly) Hackworth. His parents both died before he was a year old, and his brother, sister, and he was raised by Ida Stedman, their paternal grandmother. The family had to rely on government aid during the Great Depression, and his grandmother, who had been married to a Colorado gold miner, brought them up on tales of her Old West experiences and her Revolutionary War ancestors. While attending school in Santa Monica, Hackworth and a friend earned money by shining the shoes of soldiers stationed at bases in the area. Imbued with a sense of adventure, at age 14, Hackworth lied about his age and paid a transient to pose as his father so he could claim to be old enough to join the United States Merchant Marine with parental consent. Military career Hackworth served aboard a ship in the South Pacific Ocean as a member of the Merchant Marine in 1945, at the end of World War II. He returned home