Loyalty

Loyalty to country and service is the most dominant theme of the book. Hackworth wanted to be a soldier in a combat situation. He preferred combat situations to all other situations, even the good career path opportunities available in the Pentagon. When he entered the Army at the age of fifteen, World War II had just ended and Hackworth thought that it was a good way to meet girls. The structure and camaraderie of the military provided him with the family like environment that had been lacking in his life and he grew into a dedicated soldier, loyal to his country and to the Army. When he was serving in Italy and the Korean conflict began, he requested assignment to Korea. He always tried to do what was best for his troops and believed in hard training. All of his troops became star performers. Even though he studied...