General William Westmoreland

William Childs Westmoreland (March 26, 1914 – July 18, 2005) was a U.S. Army General who commanded American military operations in the Vietnam War from 1964 to 1968 and who served as US Army Chief of Staff from 1968 to 1972. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... March 26 is the 85th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (86th in leap years). ... 1914 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... July 18 is the 199th day (200th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 166 days remaining. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ... The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces which has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... The Vietnam War was fought from 1957 to 1975 between Soviet and Chinese-supported Vietnamese nationalist and Communist forces and an array of Western and pro-Western forces, most notably the United States. ... 1964 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1968 was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... Categories: United States-related stubs | United States Army | Joint Chiefs of Staff ... 1968 was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... 1972 was a leap year that started on a Saturday. ...

Early career

He was born in Spartanburg County, South Carolina in 1914. His upper class family was involved in the banking and textile industries. Westmoreland, an Eagle Scout, entered West Point in 1932 after one year at The Citadel. Westmoreland was a member of a very distinguished class at West Point. His classmates included Creighton Abrams and Benjamin O. Davis Jr. who also became very distinguished generals. His initial motive for entering was to "see the world." Following graduation in 1936 he became an artillery officer and served in several different commands, taking part in combat operations in Tunisia, Sicily, France and Germany, and reaching the ranks of lieutenant colonel and subsequently colonel during combat operations in Europe during World War II. Westmoreland always balanced a reputation as a stern taskmaster with that of an officer who cared about his men and took a great interest in their welfare. One called him "the most caring officer, for soldiers, that I have ever known". Spartanburg County is a county located in the state of South Carolina. ... State nickname: Palmetto State Other U.S. States Capital Columbia Largest city Columbia Governor Mark Sanford (R) Official languages English Area 82,965 km² (40th)  - Land 78,051 km²  - Water 4,915 km² (6%) Population (2000)  - Population {{{2000Pop}}} (26th)  - Density 51. ... Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable by a Scout in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). ... Alternate meanings: West Point (disambiguation). ... 1932 is a leap year starting on a Friday. ... The Citadel has several meanings: A military college in South Carolina The Citadel of Quebec, a fortress in Quebec City. ... Creighton W. Abrams watches Bob Hope at Long Binh in Vietnam Creighton Williams Abrams Jr. ... Benjamin Oliver Davis Jr. ... 1936 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Historically, artillery refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during war. ... Sicily (Sicilia in Italian) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,700 sq. ... World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons like the atom bomb. ...

During World War II, in 1943 while in Sicily, his battalion was selected to be the artillery support for the 82nd Airborne Division. By war’s end, he was serving as the chief of staff of the 9th Infantry Division. His connection with the 82nd continued after the war when Westmoreland commanded the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment in the 82nd and then served as the division chief of staff. 1943 is a common year starting on Friday. ... Sicily (Sicilia in Italian) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,700 sq. ... In military terminology, a battalion consists of two to six companies typically commanded by a lieutenant colonel. ... The 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army was formed originally as the 82nd Infantry Division on August 25, 1917, at Camp Gordon, Georgia. ...

Regimental and divisional commands

Westmoreland's World War II experience with the 82nd Airborne led to his being asked by General James M. Gavin to join the 82nd as a regimental commander after the war, which was the beginning of his professional association with airborne and airmobile troops. He served with the 82nd Airborne for four years. James M. Gavin James Maurice Gavin (March 22, 1907, New York, N.Y., U.S.-d. ...

During the Korean War he commanded the 187th Regimental Combat Team. The Korean War (Korean: 한국전쟁/韓國戰爭), from June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953, was a conflict between North Korea and South Korea. ...

In late 1953 Westmoreland was promoted brigadier general and spent the next 5 years at The Pentagon. At age 42, in 1956, he became the youngest major general in the Army. In 1958 he assumed command of the 101st Airborne Division. In 1960 he became Superintendent of West Point, and in 1963 became commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps. 1953 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... A pre-9/11 view of The Pentagon, looking east with the Potomac River and Washington Monument in the distance. ... 1958 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Shoulder sleeve patch of the United States Army 101st Airborne Division, the Screaming Eagles. ... 1960 was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1963 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Patch of the XVIII Airborne Corps. ...

Vietnam Era

Herbert Elmer Abrams' portrait of General Westmoreland

In 1964 he became deputy commander of Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), assuming command from General Paul Harkins. As the head of the MACV he was known for highly publicized, positive assessments of US military prospects in Vietnam. However, as time went on, the strengthening of North Vietnamese combat forces in the South led to regular requests for increases in US troop strength, from less than 100,000 when he arrived to over 500,000 in 1968. Portrait of General William Westmoreland, Source: [1] Permission to use: [2] File links The following pages link to this file: William Westmoreland Categories: Non-commercial use only images ... Portrait of General William Westmoreland, Source: [1] Permission to use: [2] File links The following pages link to this file: William Westmoreland Categories: Non-commercial use only images ... The Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV, pronounced as mac vee) was the United States command structure during the Vietnam War from 1962 until the wars end. ... 1968 was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ...

The most notable campaign was the 1968 Tet Offensive, in which Communist forces attacked cities and towns throughout South Vietnam. US and South Vietnamese troops successfully fought off the attacks, and the Communist forces took heavy losses, but the ferocity of the assault shook public confidence in Westmoreland's previous assurances about the state of the war. Political debate and public opinion led the Johnson administration to limit further increases in US troops in Vietnam. 1968 was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... The Tet Offensive (January 30, 1968 - 1969) was a series of operational offensives during the Vietnam War, coordinated between guerrilla elements of the National Liberation Fronts Peoples Liberation Armed Forces (PLAF) or Viet Cong and North Vietnams Peoples Army of Vietnam (PAVN), against South Vietnams... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a popular movement. ... Official language Vietnamese Capital Saigon Last President Duong Van Minh Last Prime Minister Vu Van Mau Area  - Total  - % water 173,809km² N/A Population  - Total  - Density 19,370,000 (1973 est. ...

General Westmoreland would work seven day weeks at seventeen hours a day without any rest. He was very angry when the press reported he would play tennis during lunch. He would often fly into combat areas to talk to soldiers and their officers. He loved ice cream and would drink two gin and tonics every night. Several times a week, the General would fly out into the field to talk to the ordinary soldiers in the trenches. Westmoreland always said his saddest duty was signing the many condolence letters to the families of those killed.

Westmoreland has said about the US involvement in Vietnam: "It's not that we lost the war militarily. The fact is we as a nation did not make good our commitment to the South Vietnamese."

Post-Vietnam

Westmoreland served as US Army Chief of Staff from 1968 to 1972, then retired from the Army. Many military historians have pointed out that Westmoreland became Chief of Staff at the worst time in history with regards to the Army. Guiding the Army as it transitioned to an all-volunteer force, he issued many policies to try to make Army life better and more palatable for America's youth. However, many hard-liners scorned these as too liberal. For example, Westmoreland allowed soldiers to wear sideburns and drink beer in the mess hall. Westmoreland ran unsuccessfully for Governor of South Carolina in 1974. He published his autobiography A Soldier Reports the following year. Westmoreland later served on a task force to improve educational standards in the state of South Carolina. Categories: United States-related stubs | United States Army | Joint Chiefs of Staff ... 1968 was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... 1972 was a leap year that started on a Saturday. ... State nickname: Palmetto State Other U.S. States Capital Columbia Largest city Columbia Governor Mark Sanford (R) Official languages English Area 82,965 km² (40th)  - Land 78,051 km²  - Water 4,915 km² (6%) Population (2000)  - Population {{{2000Pop}}} (26th)  - Density 51. ... 1974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ...

In 1982, Mike Wallace interviewed Westmoreland for the CBS special The Uncounted Enemy: A Vietnam Deception. The documentary alleged that Westmoreland and others had deliberately underestimated Vietcong troop strength in order to maintain morale and popular support for the war. Mike Wallace (born May 9, 1918 as Myron Leon Wallace) is an American journalist with a long-running career. ... CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System) is a major radio and television network in the United States. ... The Uncounted Enemy: A Vietnam Deception was a television programme aired by CBS in 1985, which asserted that General William Westmoreland deliberately gave false information regarding battle outcomes for sake of improving troop morale. ... A Viet Cong soldier, heavily guarded, awaits interrogation following capture in the attacks on Saigon during the festive Tet holiday period of 1968. ...

In Westmoreland v. CBS, Westmoreland sued Wallace and CBS for libel, and a long and arduous trial process began. Westmoreland surprisingly settled with CBS for an apology, about as much as they had originally offered. Research after the trial uncovered the reason: while CBS' internal investigation revealed that they had used shoddy journalistic practices, Judge Leval's instructions to the jury over what constituted "actual malice" to prove libel were so weighted in favour of the defense that Westmoreland's lawyers were certain he would lose. In English and American law, and systems based on them, libel and slander are two forms of defamation (or defamation of character), which is the tort or delict of making a false statement of fact that injures someones reputation. ...

In a 1998 interview for George magazine, Westmoreland dismissed the battlefield prowess of his opponent North Vietnamese General Vo Nguyen Giap. "Of course, he [Giap] was a formidable adversary," Westmoreland told correspondent W. Thomas Smith, Jr. "Let me also say that Giap was trained in small-unit, guerilla tactics, but he persisted in waging a big-unit war with terrible losses to his own men. By his own admission, by early 1969, I think, he had lost, what, a half million soldiers? He reported this. Now such a disregard for human life may make a formidable adversary, but it does not make a military genius. An American commander losing men like that would hardly have lasted more than a few weeks." George was a glossy politics-as-lifestyle monthly magazine founded by John F. Kennedy, Jr. ... General Vo Nguyen Giap (Vietnamese: Võ Nguyên Giáp - Võ is his family name) (born 1912) is a Vietnamese four-star general, who was the military leader of the Viet Minh guerrilla group under Hồ Chí Minhs political leadership, and of the Peoples Army of Vietnam (PAVN) in... W. Thomas Smith, Jr. ...

Through the end of his life, he maintained that the United States did not lose the war in Vietnam; he stated instead that "our country did not fulfill its commitment to South Vietnam. By virtue of Vietnam, the U.S. held the line for 10 years and stopped the dominoes from falling." The domino theory was the idea that if one key nation in a region came under the control of communists, others would follow like toppling dominoes. ...

Among the many honors he received during his service, Westmoreland was awarded four Distinguished Service Medals, the Bronze Star, the Presidential Unit Citation, the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, the Master Parachutist Badge and numerous foreign decorations. The Distinguished Service Medal (D.S.M.) is a military decoration for courage. ... The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration and is the fourth highest award for bravery, heroism or meritorious service. ... The Presidential Unit Citation is a senior unit award granted to military units which have performed an extremely meritorious or heroic act, usually in the face of an armed enemy. ...

He ran unsuccessfully on the Republican ticket for governor of South Carolina in 1974.

Despite the controversy of Vietnam and the CBS suit, Westmoreland was always popular and beloved by the men he led. One of the highlights of his life was leading a large parade in Chicago in 1986 that honored the Vietnam veterans. Many of the men proudly wore badges inscribed "WESTY'S WARRIORS".

Personal data

In 1947, he married Katherine (Kitsy) S. Van Deusen. They had three children: Katherine, Margaret, Julie and James Ripley. He died on July 18, 2005 at the age of 91 at the Bishop Gadsden retirement home in Charleston, South Carolina. July 18 is the 199th day (200th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 166 days remaining. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ... Motto: Fedes Mores Juraque Curat Nickname: The Holy City, The Palmetto City Location in South Carolina Founded  -Incorporated 1670   County Berkeley County & Charleston County Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr. ...

On July 23, 2005, he was buried at United States Military Academy at West Point. 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ... Alternate meanings: West Point (disambiguation). ...

Dates of rank

• Second Lieutenant, Regular Army: June 1936
• First Lieutenant, Regular Army: June 1939
• Captain: Not held on active duty (held as a permanent rank in Regular Army: June 1946)
• Major, Army of the United States: February 1942 (made permanent in Regular Army: July 1948)
• Lieutenant Colonel, Army of the United States: September 1942 (made permanent in Regular Army: July 1953)
• Colonel, Army of the United States: July 1944 (made permanent in Regular Army: June 1961)
• Brigadier General (temporary), Regular Army: November 1952 (made permanent in February 1963)
• Major General (temporary), Regular Army: December 1956 (made permanent in August 1965)
• Lieutenant General: July 1963
• General: August 1964

Second Lieutenant is the lowest commissioned rank in many armed forces. ... The Regular Army is the name given by many countries to the permanent force of the a countries army that is maintained during peacetime. ... First Lieutenant is a military rank. ... Captain is both a nautical term and a military rank. ... Insignia of an 0-4 in the U.S. Armed Forces In the US Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and the British Army, a major is a commissioned officer superior to a captain and inferior to a lieutenant colonel. ... The Army of the United States is the official name for the draft force of the United States Army that may be raised at the discretion of the United States Congress in the event of the United States entering into a major armed conflict. ... In the U.S. Army, Air Force and Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a commissioned officer superior to a major and inferior to a colonel. ... Insignia of a United States Air Force Colonel Colonel is a military rank, usually the highest below general grades, and just above Lieutenant Colonel. ... A Brigadier General, or one-star general, is the lowest rank of general officer in the United States and some other countries, ranking just above Colonel and just below Major General. ... Insignia of a United States Air Force Major General German Generalmajor Insignia Major General is a military rank used in many countries. ... Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. ... General is a military rank used by nearly every country in the world. ...

References

• Tom Mascaro, The Uncounted Enemy: A Vietnam Deception (Chicago, IL, The Museum of Broadcast Communications)
• W. Thomas Smith Jr., An old soldier sounds off: General Westmoreland, commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam until 1968, talks of war and General Giap (New York, N.Y., George, Nov. 1998)
• General William C. Westmoreland, A Soldier Reports (Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday, 1976)

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations by or about:

William Westmoreland

General: Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikiquote is a sister project of Wikipedia, using the same MediaWiki software. ...

• Westmoreland's political donations

News of his death:

• Initial report on the death of Westmoreland from the Associated Press
• Obituary: General Commanded Troops in Vietnam from the Washington Post
• Gen. Westmoreland, Who Led U.S. in Vietnam, Dies from the New York Times
• Commander of US forces in Vietnam dies aged 91 from The Times
• Obituary: Commander of U.S. troops in Vietnam Gen. William Westmoreland from the Chicago Tribune
• A general who fought to win from The State
• ‘Westy’ recalled as noble, tragic from The State
• General Westmoreland's Death Wish and the War in Iraq from CommonDreams.org

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Joseph Richards Essigs portrait of General Johnson Harold Keith Johnson was a U.S. general. ... The Flag of the Chief of Staff of the United States Army The Chief of Staff of the United States Army (CSA) is the professional head of the United States Army who is responsible for insuring readiness of the Army. ... Bruce Palmer, Jr. ...