I was complaining about a certain pundit to a friend yesterday who I feel is an armchair commando, i.e. he is a jingoistic war hawk who has never served himself. I was then trying to think of pundits who are both hawkish and have real tough guy bona fides (highly decorated, showed real bravery, that kind of thing). The only one who popped into my mind was Richard Marcinko. There must be others. Who might they be. Since this is GQ, let’s not talk about John McCain.
Thanks for your help,
Rob
Oliver North comes to mind.
G. Gordon Liddy?
I thought jokes were forbidden in GQ threads until the question had been answered.
John McCain served and was a POW. He even refused an early repatriation offer, according to his article on Wikipedia.
My reply was not meant as a joke. Liddy doesn’t have nearly the same background as Marcinko, but he does have military service under his belt, as well as several years in the FBI.
There’s a very long list of hawks with military service. Two very high up on the list must be:
Audie Murphy, even though his film aura might not project “toughness.”
I think he was the most decorated soldier in WWII. In my book that makes him a super gutsy guy.
Yes, but was Audie Murphy particularly hawkish? Also, just having military service wasn’t what I had in mind, although this doesn’t necessarily apply to the people the other posters have mentioned. Decorated combat veterans who are very hawkish are what I was after.
Thanks,
Rob
Look at my cites for LeMay and MacArthur. Both were highly decorated. LeMay personally commanded the most dangerous bombing missions over Germany, even though he didn’t have to. MacArthur was recommended for the Medal of Honor in the Veracruz Expedition, which he did not receive, though he was awarded it later in WW2. MacArthur also refused to wear gas masks during his WW1 service, apparently leading to respiratory problems later in life.
They were also as hawkish as you can get. MacArthur what with the advocacy of escalating the Korean War against China, and LeMay arguing for bombing Cuba during the missile crisis.
I’d like to add “still alive” as a qualifier. It occurred to me that I was interested in people who adopted hawkish positions today.
Thanks,
Rob
Who do you consider Hawks?
Would Colin Powell count as a Hawk. He served in combat commands in Vietnam and obviously went on to be a very successful General.
I think you could find plenty of Hawks in the Pentagon that are decorated combat veterans. The problem is these guys rarely end up as pundits. Most pundits seem to either be full of shit, posing or simple being very brave with other people’s lives.
The current admin is of course made up of many hawks without actual combat service. But in prior hawkish administrations, they actually had combat vets.
For Reagan: George Bush as VP & Secretary of State, Alexander Haig a retired four-star general & recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross, the Army’s second highest medal for heroism, as well as the Silver Star with Oak Leaf Cluster and the Purple Heart.
If I understood the OP correctly, the question is actually “What hawkish pundits are real tough guys?” i.e. of Limbaugh, Hannity, Boortz, etc. Many support the military and military action, but which ones walked the walk when they were of service age?
Oliver North (mentioned above, Fox News Channel) is the only one I can think of off the top of my head… Silver Star, Bronze Star, 2 Purple Hearts, 'Nam.
Yeah, but any talking head, blogger, etc. will do.
Thanks,
Rob
I didn’t say it was. 
He’s also a really bad plumber, if I recall correctly.