Many False Statements regarding the military career of SFC David D. Hack has been circulated by certain individuals and groups. Jim Carney of the Akron Beacon Journal wrote this story to confirm Sgt. Hack's military Record:
"A federal agency in charge of military personnel records admitted it made errors in releasing records last year concerning Hudson mayoral candidate David Hack.
It also apologized for the gaffes.
The military record of Hack, a former Army recruiter who gained national notoriety in the late 1960s and 1970s, became an issue during the campaign.
One issue raised was whether Hack retired as a specialist (SPC) or as a sergeant first class (SFC).
Official military records of Hack released by a group called the POW Network showed that Hack’s final rank was specialist. Hack maintained that he retired as a sergeant first class.
The National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis has sent a letter to Hack’s attorney, Gregory Bean, acknowledging that the records it sent to the POW Network had an incorrect final rank.
Hack, 72, who owns USA Wings, a military clothing and paraphernalia company in Hudson, lost the election to incumbent William Currin.
The agency’s letter, which was included in a full-page advertisement in Wednesday’s Beacon Journal, admits that it made errors in the release in Hack’s service number, rank and place of entry.
“Though no words of mine can change the fact that an error was made or lessen the impact it has had on your client, it is my hope that you would agree that the actions we have taken since becoming aware of the error have been responsive and appropriate,” wrote Scott A. Levins, director of the agency. “I sincerely apologize for our error and for any adverse impact experienced by Mr. Hack.”
During the campaign, questions were also raised as to whether Hack, who had served in the Coast Guard before joining the Army, was an Army Ranger. Hack has said that while he trained Rangers, he did not enter Ranger School.
Hack filed defamation lawsuits last year against former WKYC television reporter Eric Mansfield, himself a retired Ohio Army National Guard major, as well as the TV station, Mayor Currin and 25 John Does.
Hack’s attorney dismissed the claim against Mansfield, now a spokesman for Kent State University, and the others in April.
Hack noted that he paid for Wednesday’s advertisement “to set the record straight.”
Last July in a Hudson ceremony, U.S. Rep. Steve LaTourette, R-Bainbridge Township, presented Hack with a Purple Heart, a medal he said he had never received.
Hack said he has applied for a second Purple Heart, which he is entitled to after receiving wounds in Vietnam.
He said Wednesday that his business has been hurt substantially over the last year because of the controversy over his military record.
Hack also said the records and acknowledgement from the federal government of errors and the agency’s apology prove that his military record is legitimate and that he is not a military fake.
“I served my country, I served my country well and I am proud of it,” he said.
WKYC aired a story this month confirming that Hack had indeed retired as a sergeant first class."
Jim Carney Akron Beacon Journal
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