Steal my Soldiers Hearts

Steal my Soldiers’ Hearts Analysis

In 1969, a promising young lieutenant colonel of the United States army went to Vietnam for a second tour of duty. David H. Hackworth just finished writing a tactical handbook for the pentagon, and as a result, he got the order to put to action his counterguerrilla-fighting theories. Consequently, he was presented with 4/39th--a battalion that had no war spirit at all and had suffered the highest worst casualty.

Nonetheless, due to Hackworth’s hard-nosed, inspired, innovative leadership, he promptly turned the 4/39th--a battalion into Vietnam’s valiant and a force of reckoning (Hackworth and Eilhys England, 123). In the book “Steal my Soldiers Hearts Analysis,” Hackworth tells readers about their ambush actions, sniper missions, inside the quagmire of command politics, and helicopter strikes. Therefore, various themes can be identified from the story, as discussed below.

The Thematic Ideas

Courage and perseverance. Courage and perseverance are most evident in human life during adversity. The characters endure impossible odds and difficult circumstances in such situations, persevering through grit, gall, and sheer determination. In the book “Steal my Soldiers Hearts Analysis,” courage and perseverance are evident when Col Hackworth was given the worst military units in Vietnam but managed to be bold and patient while training and guiding them (Watson, 325). Thus, turning to an effective military unit with low casualties and of high spirit from apathetic terrible soldiers with a high rate of casualties. Hence, injecting a hurting onto the enemy.

As a result, the perspective of how courage and perseverance were exercised within the military combat units in Vietnam is evident. It was in its worst form, and after Hackworth reformed the unit to be in its best form (Hackworth and Eilhys England, 121).

Redemption. Redemption is exhibited when a story is full of tragedies or failures; however, the story ends positively. Characters in the Books that employ redemption as a theme see their errors and struggle to do right their wrongs, resulting in an uplifting tale (Watson, 345). Redemption themes are always used that put their life at risk at the expense of change.

Consequently, in the book “Steal my Soldiers Hearts Analysis,” Col Hackworth is seen as a redeemer since he puts his life at risk to make what was known as the worst soldiers into the best, posing a threat to their enemy (Hackworth and Eilhys England, 103). Hackworth redeemed his compatriots from the midst of adversaries and tragedies of the enemies by struggling to make things right, thus, putting a final smile onto his country.

Love. Love can be considered a force of good that compels and inspires characters to sacrifice themselves for others. Love can also be a toxic force that triggers people to violence or madness (Watson, 345). In the book “Steal my Soldiers Hearts Analysis,” The bold actions of Col Hackworth can be considered as an initiative driven by his love for his country and countrymen. He risks his life to make what was known as the worst soldiers into the best, posing a threat to their enemy.

The message the author is conveying

The author conveys the value of skillful leadership during a time of need. For instance, the book explicitly indicates that due to Hackworth’s hard-nosed, inspired, visionary leadership, he promptly turned the 4/39th--a battalion into Vietnam’s courageous and a force of reckoning. In the book “Steal my Soldiers Hearts Analysis,” Hackworth tells readers about their ambush actions, sniper missions, inside the quagmire of command politics, and helicopter strikes (Hackworth and Eilhys England, 129). As a result, his tactical and skillful leadership is the critical reason for victory in Vietnam’s war.

My opinion of the book

The book “Steal my Soldiers Hearts Analysis” has a great story with multiple lessons. Though I think it could be better written by someone else other than Hackworth himself. As a result, the fact that Hackworth’s outstanding leadership is written by himself waters down the credibility and impact of the story.

Also, according to personal analysis, Hackworth probably poses contradictions to serve his narrative well. For example, Hackworth strongly condemns the higher-echelon brass’s obsession with a body count in his entire story. From time to time, he uses the same kill ratio and body count to measure his team’s success under his command.

Additionally, I feel Hackworth could have written a better book if he could work with a co-author or a ghostwriter. The book is more valuable than it appears to be simply because of the fatigue of reading several trite similes and worn-out cliches on every page.