Path to Power
Hagel was born in North Platte, Neb., in 1946, to Charles and Betty Hagel and was the eldest of four sons. Hagel and his brothers — Tom, Mike and Jimmy — lived nomadic childhoods, as the family drifted from one Nebraska town to another while Charlie searched for work at lumberyards.
Charlie had served as a tail gunner on bombing raids in the South Pacific during World War II, and the experience affected him deeply. Alcohol became a constant battle in his life. As the eldest son, Chuck would often step in and protect his mother when Charlie was violently drunk.
On Christmas morning in 1962, Betty found Charlie dead in their bedroom, the victim of a brain aneurysm he had suffered overnight. Chuck was 16 at the time of his father’s death and the sudden loss gave him a newfound sense of determination. “It influences you when you see your father cut down at age 39,” he once recalled. “Whatever God-given talent I have, I don’t want to squander.”
Tragedy struck the Hagels again in 1969 when Chuck's youngest brother, Jimmy, died in an auto accident at age 16.
After graduating from Catholic High School, Hagel had trouble finding his way. He was awarded a football scholarship to Wayne State University, but lost it after he suffered a pinched neck injury that ended his playing days. He briefly attended the University of Kearney in Nebraska, and then tried broadcasting at a school in Minneapolis.
In 1967, the Army drafted Chuck and Tom. They shared a sense of patriotic duty instilled in them by their parents, and both volunteered to fight in Vietnam. Eventually, thanks to a turn of events that the brothers have never fully understood, Chuck and Tom ended up serving in the same combat unit in the Mekong Delta.
Tom ended up saving Chuck's life in March of 1968 after shrapnel from an explosive pierced his chest during a patrol. A few months later, Chuck would pull Tom, bleeding and unconscious, from the wreckage of an armored carrier during a firefight with the Viet Cong. Chuck's body was aflame during the rescue, and he suffered burns to his face that took a decade to heal. Tom survived and was awarded three Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star; Chuck was given two Purple Hearts.
After the war Chuck enrolled at the University of Nebraska, where he graduated in 1971 with a B.A. in history. He was hired as an administrative assistant in the Washington office of Rep. John McCollister (R-Neb.), where served until the congressman lost his seat in 1977. Hagel then took a job lobbying for the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, working in Washington as their manager of government affairs until 1980.
After serving on President Reagan's inaugural committee, Hagel was nominated and confirmed as deputy administrator of the Veterans Administration. He resigned after one year in the job and used his life savings to get on the ground floor of the cell phone business. The company he founded, Vanguard Cellular Systems, was incredibly successful and made him a millionaire.
In 1992, Hagel moved with his family back to Nebraska and became president of McCarthy & Co., an Omaha-based investment bank, where he would work until his first Senate run in 1996.
U.S. Senate
Upon arriving in the Senate, Hagel requested a seat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which at the time was not considered a desirable position.His gregarious manner and interest in foreign policy quickly attracted the attention of the press, and he became a regular on the Sunday talk-show circuit. As a freshman senator in 1998 Hagel challenged Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for chairmanship of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, but he was defeated by a vote of 39-13.
Hagel supported his friend and fellow Vietnam veteran Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) when he ran for president in 2000, acting as close adviser and co-chair of his campaign. After George W. Bush won the South Carolina Republican primary and effectively ended McCain’s campaign, Hagel harshly criticized Bush, saying he had “sold his soul to the right wing” and run the “filthiest” campaign he’d ever seen. Despite those comments, Hagel was considered a top contender to be Bush’s running mate, and he was vetted and interviewed for the position.
Hagel’s differences with McCain came into sharp focus after the Sept. 11 attacks, and their friendship frayed over their disagreements on foreign policy. In 2008 Hagel was approached about an endorsement of McCain’s second presidential bid, but he refused. “In good conscience, I could not enthusiastically — honestly — go out and endorse him and support him when we so fundamentally disagree on the future course of our foreign policy and our role in the world,” Hagel told the New Yorker.
Hagel’s wife, Lilibet, endorsed the presidential candidacy of Barack Obama and was a guest of Michelle Obama during a debate at Hofstra University. Hagel never publicly endorsed the Democrat, but there was talk after the election that Obama was considering Hagel for a cabinet position.
In July 2009, Hagel was named head of the Defense Policy Board by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. In that position, he and 11 other members will provide independent advice on defense policy. He replaces John Hamre.
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