A viral email from 2004, titled “Blood on Kerry’s Hands,” claims that Giap confirmed that theory. That’s why LBJ called General William Westmoreland home in November 1967. By his own admission, by early 1969, I think, he had lost, what, a half million soldiers? Abraham Lincoln Quotes Albert Einstein Quotes Bill Gates Quotes Bob Marley Quotes Bruce Lee Quotes Buddha Quotes Confucius Quotes John F. Kennedy Quotes John Lennon Quotes Mahatma Gandhi Quotes Marilyn Monroe Quotes Mark Twain Quotes. By the time he was re-assigned as Army Chief of Staff, United States military forces in Vietnam had reached a peak of 535,000 personnel. Westmoreland met her again in North Carolina when she was nineteen and a student at University of North Carolina at Greensboro. BrainyQuote has been providing inspirational quotes since 2001 to our worldwide community. On this day in 1965, Gen. William Westmoreland said that the Communist insurgency in South Vietnam could be defeated if an additional 44 battalions of U.S. combat troops were placed under his command. “War is Fear Cloaked in Courage” and 8 Other Quotes from General William Westmoreland Posted on November 6, 2015 by Lucy S. When Ben Carson was busted for lying about meeting General William Westmoreland, we stumbled upon a treasure trove of Westmoreland-isms that prove exactly why a presidential hopeful would want to meet him at all. We were succeeding. There was also entrenched guerrilla subversion throughout the heavily populated coastal regions by the Viet Cong. [46], Westmoreland's military awards include:[47], United States Military Academy class of 1936, Retired from active service in July 1972. Offensive Quotes. How in the heck could they? A book reviewer stated that the book offered "a fair hearing for a man who has been alternately overlooked and maligned by history." [21] Westmoreland had little appreciation of the patience of the American public for his time frame, and was struggling to persuade President Johnson to approve widening the war into Cambodia and Laos in order to interdict the Ho Chi Minh trail. Tet outmaneuvered all of Westmoreland's pronouncements on "positive indicators" in the minds of the American public. He was buried on July 23, 2005, at the West Point Cemetery, United States Military Academy. (1971). A more minor case, but one revealing of Westmoreland’s character, stemmed from his unwillingness to level with his senior Marine subordinate at the time of the 1968 Tet Offensive. In 1986, Westmoreland served as grand marshal of the Chicago Vietnam Veterans parade. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara told President Lyndon B. Johnson in April that Westmoreland was "the best we have, without question". Revisionists point to Abrams's first big operation being a tactical success that disrupted North Vietnamese build up, but resulted in the Battle of Hamburger Hill, a political disaster that effectively curtailed Abrams's freedom to continue with such operations.[16][17][18]. Without censorship, things can get terribly confused in the public mind. Tet Offensive, attacks staged by North Vietnamese forces beginning in the early hours of January 31, 1968, during the Vietnam War. [19] Westmoreland's critics say his successor, General Creighton Abrams, deliberately switched emphasis away from what Westmoreland dubbed attrition. Television is an instrument which can paralyze this country. In February 1966, at a strategy meeting in Honolulu, President Lyndon Johnson asked his commander in Vietnam, Gen. William Westmoreland, what his next step might be if he were the enemy commander. Just the names. Who knew what the hell the man said? Anytime it was advertised that I was going to be at a particular place, the radicals would be there, … The parade, attended by 200,000 Vietnam veterans and more than half a million spectators, did much to repair the rift between Vietnam veterans and the American public.[31][32]. The numbers troubled Westmoreland, who feared that the press would not understand them. He went on to say, Once the expenditure of effort exceeds the value of the political object, the object must be renounced. He then commanded the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. We set goals which we realistically could not achieve.” Tran Van Tra, writing in 1978 Primary Duty: Chief of Staff". At the age of 15, William became an Eagle Scout at Troop 1 Boy Scouts, and was recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award and Silver Buffalo from the Boy Scouts of America as a young adult. [3][4][5] Westmoreland also served as the superintendent of the Protestant Sunday School Teachers.[6]. [30], Many military historians have pointed out that Westmoreland became Chief of Staff at the worst time in history with regard to the army. [33][34] Others point out that the settlement occurred after two of Westmoreland's former intelligence officers, Major General Joseph McChristian and Colonel Gains Hawkins, testified to the accuracy of the substantive allegations of the broadcast, which were that Westmoreland ordered changes in intelligence reports on Viet Cong troop strengths for political reasons. He then commanded the 101st Airborne Division from 1958 to 1960. Public support for the war eventually diminished, especially after the Battle of Khe Sanh and the Tet Offensive in 1968. He then completed the Army War College as a student in 1951, and stayed as an instructor from 1951 to 1952. 1900–2000 (Gifts to Manuscripts Division 2001, South Caroliniana Library)", "General William Westmoreland, Friend of ASA, Dies", "South Carolina General Assembly 109th Session, 1991–1992, Bill 918", "Laureates by Year – The Lincoln Academy of Illinois", "General William Westmoreland Uniform – UNIFORMS [REF] USA", "Biography General William Childs Westmoreland", An article on the CBS documentary controversy by LTC Evan Parrott for the Air War College, PDF copies of MG McChristian's deposition for the CBS trial, A biography on William Westmoreland at Encyclopaedia Britannica, MG McChristian's deposition concerning his participation in the documentary and clarifying his observation of the facts, Analysis of the broadcast by Professor Peter Rollins of Oklahoma State University, hosted on Vietnam Veterans website, 1981 video interview with Westmoreland about U.S. military involvement in Vietnam, Initial report on the death of Westmoreland, Obituary: General Commanded Troops in Vietnam, Gen. Westmoreland, Who Led U.S. in Vietnam, Dies, Commander of US forces in Vietnam dies aged 91, General Westmoreland's Death Wish and the War in Iraq, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_Westmoreland&oldid=996093305, United States Army personnel of World War II, United States Army personnel of the Korean War, United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War, Candidates in the 1968 United States presidential election, Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army), Recipients of the National Order of Vietnam, Recipients of the Gallantry Cross (Vietnam), Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Korea), Recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France), People from Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni, Articles with dead external links from August 2010, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2009, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2015, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2019, Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with Trove identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Commander, 34th Field Artillery Battalion, 9th Infantry Division; 1943–1944, Chief of Staff, 9th Infantry Division; October 13, 1944 to 1946, Commander, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82d Airborne Division; 1946 to 1947, Chief of Staff, 82d Airborne Division; 1947 to 1950, Instructor, Army Command and General Staff College; 1950 to 1951, Instructor, Army War College; 1951 to November 1952, 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team; November 1952 to 1953, Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff, G–1, for Manpower; 1953 to 1955, Secretary of the General Staff; 1955 to 1958, Commanding General, 101st Airborne Division; 1958 to 1960, Superintendent, United States Military Academy; 1 July 1960 to 27 June 1963, Commanding General, XVIIIth Airborne Corps; July 1963 to December 1963, Deputy Commander, United States Military Assistance Command Vietnam; January 1964 to June 1964, Commander, United States Military Assistance Command Vietnam; June 1964 to June 1968, Chief of Staff, United States Army; July 3, 1968 to June 30, 1972, This page was last edited on 24 December 2020, at 14:04. Your continued strong support is vital to the success of our mission. He was Superintendent of the United States Military Academy from 1960 to 1963. When the soldiers came home from Vietnam, there were no parades, no celebrations. Nine months afterward, when the My Lai Massacre reports started to break, Westmoreland resisted pressure from the incoming Nixon administration for a cover-up,[citation needed] and pressed for a full and impartial investigation by Lieutenant General William R. Peers. William Childs Westmoreland (March 26, 1914 – July 18, 2005) was a United States Army General, who commanded US military operations in the Vietnam War at its peak (1964–68), during the Tet Offensive.He adopted a strategy of attrition against the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam and the North Vietnamese Army.He later served as U.S. Army Chief of Staff from 1968 to 1972. We were winning. In the end, we lost IndoChina to the communists. In 1962, Westmoreland was admitted as an honorary member of the Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati. However, the government wished to win at low cost, and policymakers received McNamara's interpretation indicating huge American casualties in prospect, prompting a reassessment of what could be achieved. [39][40][41], Just hours after Westmoreland was sworn in as Army Chief of Staff on July 7, 1968, his brother-in-law, Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Van Deusen (commander of 2nd Battalion, 47th Infantry Regiment), was killed when his helicopter was shot down in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. Vietnam was the first war ever fought without any censorship. Westmoreland's response, to those Americans who criticized the high casualty rate of Vietnamese civilians, was: "It does deprive the enemy of the population, doesn't it? General William Childs Westmoreland was the US Army commander who led American forces during the early years of the Vietnam War.Having entered the service in 1932, he distinguished himself during World War II and the Korean War.Appointed to lead US forces in Vietnam in 1964, he sought to defeat the Viet Cong through the large-scale use of artillery, air power, and large-unit battles. U.S. Army General William C. Westmoreland served four years in Vietnam, from 1964 to 1968, as COMUSMACV—Commander U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam.He was in command during the Tet Offensive, a surprise, country-wide attack on the U.S. forces by the combined forces of the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam and the Vietnam People's Army in 1968. William Childs Westmoreland (March 26, 1914 – July 18, 2005) was a United States Army General, most notably commander of United States forces during the Vietnam War from 1964 to 1968. William Westmoreland Quotes ... July 18 2005) was a United States Army General who commanded US military operations in the Vietnam War at its peak (1964–68) during the Tet Offensive. Post 1969 Westmoreland also made efforts to investigate the Phong Nhị and Phong Nhất massacre a year after the event occurred. Growing United States casualties and the draft undermined United States support for the war, while large-scale casualties among non-combatants weakened South Vietnamese support. Westmoreland made a series of public and private remarks that suggested hope and optimism about the situation in Vietnam. Regular North Vietnamese army units infiltrating across the remote border were apparently concentrating to mount an offensive and Westmoreland considered this the danger that had to be tackled immediately. The attempted French re-colonization of Vietnam following World War II culminated in a decisive French defeat at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. Some of our policies were kind of … (Entry reads: "O-20223 Westmoreland, William C Col, Reld fr asdg HQ 9 Inf Div Arty & asgd to Div Hq 9 Inf Div per par 1, SO 241 HQ 9 Inf Div dtd 12 Oct 44. And as the philosophy of the Orient expresses it: Life is not important. "[36], Westmoreland's view has been heavily criticized by Nick Turse, the author of the book Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam. We won every engagement we were involved in out there. Although the decision had been made in late 1967, it was widely seen in the media as a punishment for being caught off guard by the communist assault. However, many hard-liners scorned these as too liberal. He told President Lyndon B. Johnson that the Vietcong would be unable to replenish those kinds of numbers and that the end of the war was near. [9] He commanded the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team in operations in Korea from 1952 to 1953. Tet Offensive The Vietnamese people pay tribute to their ancestors on Tet, their most sacred holiday of the year. The award is given each year in recognition to an outstanding SAR veterans volunteer. He wanted the North Vietnamese to leave their brothers in the South alone. He had suffered from Alzheimer's disease during the final years of his life. It was a difficult war against an unorthodox enemy. I was participating in my own lynching, but the problem was I didn't know what I was being lynched for. By virtue of Vietnam, the U.S. held the line for 10 years and stopped the dominoes from falling. Westmoreland was promoted to Brigadier General in November 1952 at the age of 38, making him one of the youngest U.S. Army generals in the post-World War II era. Vo Nguyen Giap was a legendary Vietnamese general credited with defeating French forces — and French colonial rule — in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/william-westmoreland-quotes per par 2, GO 87 Hq 9 Inf Div dtd 12 Oct 44. It became very clear that Hanoi was in effect strategically running the Viet Cong operation. "There stood General Westmoreland himself," said Sergeant John Setelin. Moreover, the Battle of Ia Drang was unusual in that US troops brought a large enemy formation to battle. He adopted a strategy of attrition against the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army. He was an instructor at the Army Command and General Staff College from 1950 to 1951. This was a type of war that we'd had no experience with before. During the acrimonious trial, Mike Wallace was hospitalized for depression, and despite the legal conflict separating the two, Westmoreland and his wife sent him flowers. The fashion for counter-insurgency thinking also denigrated the role of conventional warfare. [44], In 1996, the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution authorized the General William C. Westmoreland award. I haven't yet figured out how I was made first captain, because I was not an outstanding student. Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam (2011) by Lewis Sorley, p. 96. Who cared?" A deposition by McChristian indicates that his organization developed improved intelligence on the number of irregular Viet Cong combatants shortly before he left Vietnam on a regularly scheduled rotation. He wanted the commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam to make the case that the United States was winning. The names of the dead are listed there, chronologically. Troops in Vietnam", "Finding Aid for Papers (ca. [citation needed], At one point in 1968, Westmoreland considered the use of nuclear weapons in Vietnam in a contingency plan codenamed Fracture Jaw, which was abandoned when it became known to the White House. Joined 12 Oct 44. I've made this statement many times: If I would have to do it over again, I would have made known the forthcoming Tet Offensive. "He made a speech there in the rain and while he talked we watched the rain turn that hot dinner into cold Mulligan stew. In January 1964, he became deputy commander of Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), eventually succeeding Paul D. Harkins as commander, in June. Disagreements persist about the appropriateness of some of the methods of CBS's editors.[35]. [42], Westmoreland died on July 18, 2005, at the age of 91 at the Bishop Gadsden retirement home in Charleston, South Carolina. This also failed to weaken North Vietnam's will to fight, and the Government of South Vietnam—a factor largely out of Westmoreland's control—never succeeded in establishing enough legitimacy to quell defections to the Viet Cong. General Johnson turned out to be prescient. Westmoreland filed a lawsuit against CBS. In the second half of 1967, the United States military chief in Vietnam, General William C. Westmoreland, made three trips home brief President Lyndon Johnsonon the progress of the war. The infiltration by regular North Vietnam forces into the South could not be dealt with by aggressive action against the northern state because intervention by China was something the US government was concerned to avoid, but President Lyndon B. Johnson had given commitments to uphold South Vietnam against communist North Vietnam. The documentary, shown on January 23, 1982, and prepared largely by CBS producer George Crile III, alleged that Westmoreland and others had deliberately understated Viet Cong troop strength during 1967 in order to maintain U.S. troop morale and domestic support for the war. He served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1968 to 1972. Regardless, U.S. and South Vietnamese troops successfully fought off the attacks during the Tet Offensive, 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. Westmoreland ran unsuccessfully for Governor of South Carolina as a Republican in the 1974 election. He concluded that, after having "spoken to survivors of massacres by United States forces at Phi Phu, Trieu Ai, My Luoc and so many other hamlets, I can say with certainty that Westmoreland's assessment was false". The attacks were carried out by some 85,000 troops against five major South Vietnamese cities, dozens of military installations, and scores of … President Johnson was critical of Westmoreland's defused corporate style, considering him overattentive to what government officials wanted to hear. Backed at home by resolve, confidence, patience, determination, and continued support, we will prevail in Vietnam over the communist aggressor!" He published his autobiography the following year. As those theories gained speed, a quote attributed to renowned North Vietnamese General Giap, the architect of the Tet Offensive, seemed to confirm theories that the ant-war effort had indeed contributed to the U.S.’s loss. The last man in the world who should have been criticized was the American soldier. Supposedly, General Giap had written in How We Won the War that in the aftermath of the Tet Offensive of 1968, the Communist leaders in Vietnam had … After returning to the United States, Westmoreland was deputy assistant chief of staff, G–1, for manpower control on the Army staff from 1953 to 1955. [14], The Gulf of Tonkin incident of 2 August 1964 led to a dramatic increase in direct American participation in the war, with nearly 200,000 troops deployed by the end of the year. TIME (1986). The Tet Offensive showed that Johnson and Westmoreland were lying about having “reached an important point where the end begins to come into view,” as Westmoreland … I do not believe that the men who served in uniform in Vietnam have been given the credit they deserve. [16][17] Much of the thinking about defense was by academics turned government advisors who concentrated on nuclear weapons, seen as making conventional war obsolete. The most important constraint was staying on the strategic defensive out of fear of Chinese intervention, but at the same time President Lyndon B. Johnson had made it clear that there was a higher commitment to defending Vietnam. As Stanley Karnow noted, "Westy was a corporation executive in uniform."[10]. From 1947 to 1950, he served as chief of staff for the 82nd Airborne Division. I don't think I have been loved by my troops, but I think I have been respected. [13][14][15], Chief of Staff of the United States Army, General Harold Keith Johnson, and subsequently historians such as Harry G. Summers, Jr. came to see US goals as having become mutually inconsistent, because defeating the Communists would require declaring a national emergency and fully mobilising the resources of the US. "In evaluating the enemy strategy", he said, "it is evident to me that he believes our Achilles heel is our resolve. He reported this. It's the first war we've ever fought on the television screen and the first war that our country ever fought where the media had full reign. An American commander losing men like that would hardly have lasted more than a few weeks." He was promoted to lieutenant general in July 1963 and was Commanding General of the XVIII Airborne Corps from 1963 to 1964. In more than a decade of analyzing long-classified military criminal investigation files, court-martial transcripts, Congressional studies, contemporaneous journalism and the testimony of United States soldiers and Vietnamese civilians, I found that Gen. William C. Westmoreland, his subordinates, superiors and successors also engaged in a profligate disregard for human life. They should have criticized me. 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