William C Westmoreland, the US’s man in Vietnam

CHARLESTON – Years after the Vietnam War, retired General William Westmoreland remained steadfast, proud of his command and of his support for a bigger military at a time when American casualties were mounting.

“I have no apologies, no regrets. I gave my very best efforts,” Westmoreland told The Associated Press in 1985.”I’ve been hung in effigy.I’ve been spat upon.You just have to let those things bounce off.”Westmoreland died on Monday of natural causes.He was 91.The silver-haired, jut-jawed officer, who rose through the ranks quickly during World War II and later became superintendent of the US Military Academy at West Point, New York, contended the United States did not lose the conflict in Southeast Asia.”We held the line.We stopped the falling of the dominoes,” he said in 1985 at the 20th anniversary of the Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade’s assignment to 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.”As commander of US forces in Vietnam, Westmoreland oversaw the introduction of ground troops in South Vietnam and a dramatic increase in the number of US troops there.In vain, he sought permission to engage enemy forces in their sanctuaries in Cambodia, Laos and North Vietnam.American support for the war suffered a tremendous blow near the end of Westmoreland’s tenure when enemy forces attacked several cities and towns throughout South Vietnam in the Tet Offensive in 1968.The American public was stunned that the enemy had gained access to the US Embassy in Saigon, even if only for a few hours.Westmoreland asked for reinforcements in response to the attacks but was recalled to Washington to serve as Army chief of staff, a post he held until 1972.Later, after many of the wounds caused by the divisive conflict began to heal, Westmoreland led thousands of his comrades in the November 1982 veterans march in Washington to dedicate the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.He called it “one of the most emotional and proudest experiences of my life”.Westmoreland retired from active duty in 1972 but continued to lecture and participate in veterans’ activities.James Gregory, President of the Charleston chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America, said Westmoreland participated in the chapter as an at-large member and remained physically active until about a month ago.”He got a raw deal in Vietnam.The war was actually run by the White House, not by the leadership in the field,” said Gregory, who served with Marine Corps in Vietnam in 1969 and 1970.”He was a great leader and I’m sorry to see him go.”A decade after his retirement, Westmoreland fought another battle involving Vietnam.In 1982, he filed a US$120 million lawsuit against CBS over a documentary ‘The Uncounted Enemy: A Vietnam Deception’, which implied he had deceived President Lyndon B Johnson and the public about enemy troop strength in Vietnam.At the time, Westmoreland said the question “is not about whether the war in Vietnam was right or wrong, but whether in our land a television network can rob an honourable man of his reputation”.After an 18-week trial in New York, the case was settled shortly before it was to go to the jury.William Childs Westmoreland was born near Spartanburg, South Carolina, on March 26 1914, into a banking and textile family.He attended The Citadel for a year before transferring to West Point.He graduated in 1936 and, during his senior year, held the highest command position in the cadet corps.Westmoreland saw action in North Africa, Sicily and Europe during World War II.He attained the rank of colonel by the age of 30.As commander of the 34th Field Artillery Battalion fighting German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, he earned the loyalty and respect of his troops for joining in the thick of battle rather than remaining behind the lines at a command post.He was promoted to brigadier general during the Korean War and later served in the Pentagon under Army Chief of Staff Maxwell Taylor.Westmoreland became the superintendent of West Point in 1960 and, by 1964, was a three-star general commanding American troops in Vietnam.In his autobiography, ‘A Soldier Reports’, Westmoreland wrote that in Vietnam, while he “tried to avoid any vendetta against the press”, he sometimes resented the time he had to spend correcting “errors, misinterpretations, judgements and falsehoods” contained in news reports.But he wrote that the press is “such a bulwark of the American system, that it is well to tolerate some mistakes and derelictions to make every effort to assure that total freedom and independence continue to exist”.- Nampa-API gave my very best efforts,” Westmoreland told The Associated Press in 1985.”I’ve been hung in effigy.I’ve been spat upon.You just have to let those things bounce off.”Westmoreland died on Monday of natural causes.He was 91.The silver-haired, jut-jawed officer, who rose through the ranks quickly during World War II and later became superintendent of the US Military Academy at West Point, New York, contended the United States did not lose the conflict in Southeast Asia.”We held the line.We stopped the falling of the dominoes,” he said in 1985 at the 20th anniversary of the Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade’s assignment to 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.”As commander of US forces in Vietnam, Westmoreland oversaw the introduction of ground troops in South Vietnam and a dramatic increase in the number of US troops there.In vain, he sought permission to engage enemy forces in their sanctuaries in Cambodia, Laos and North Vietnam.American support for the war suffered a tremendous blow near the end of Westmoreland’s tenure when enemy forces attacked several cities and towns throughout South Vietnam in the Tet Offensive in 1968.The American public was stunned that the enemy had gained access to the US Embassy in Saigon, even if only for a few hours.Westmoreland asked for reinforcements in response to the attacks but was recalled to Washington to serve as Army chief of staff, a post he held until 1972.Later, after many of the wounds caused by the divisive conflict began to heal, Westmoreland led thousands of his comrades in the November 1982 veterans march in Washington to dedicate the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.He called it “one of the most emotional and proudest experiences of my life”.Westmoreland retired from active duty in 1972 but continued to lecture and participate in veterans’ activities.James Gregory, President of the Charleston chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America, said Westmoreland participated in the chapter as an at-large member and remained physically active until about a month ago.”He got a raw deal in Vietnam.The war was actually run by the White House, not by the leadership in the field,” said Gregory, who served with Marine Corps in Vietnam in 1969 and 1970.”He was a great leader and I’m sorry to see him go.”A decade after his retirement, Westmoreland fought another battle involving Vietnam.In 1982, he filed a US$120 million lawsuit against CBS over a documentary ‘The Uncounted Enemy: A Vietnam Deception’, which implied he had deceived President Lyndon B Johnson and the public about enemy troop strength in Vietnam.At the time, Westmoreland said the question “is not about whether the war in Vietnam was right or wrong, but whether in our land a television network can rob an honourable man of his reputation”.After an 18-week trial in New York, the case was settled shortly before it was to go to the jury.William Childs Westmoreland was born near Spartanburg, South Carolina, on March 26 1914, into a banking and textile family.He attended The Citadel for a year before transferring to West Point.He graduated in 1936 and, during his senior year, held the highest command position in the cadet corps.Westmoreland saw action in North Africa, Sicily and Europe during World War II.He attained the rank of colonel by the age of 30.As commander of the 34th Field Artillery Battalion fighting German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, he earned the loyalty and respect of his troops for joining in the thick of battle rather than remaining behind the lines at a command post.He was promoted to brigadier general during the Korean War and later served in the Pentagon under Army Chief of Staff Maxwell Taylor.Westmoreland became the superintendent of West Point in 1960 and, by 1964, was a three-star general commanding American troops in Vietnam.In his autobiography, ‘A Soldier Reports’, Westmoreland wrote that in Vietnam, while he “tried to avoid any vendetta against the press”, he sometimes resented the time he had to spend correcting “errors, misinterpretations, judgements and falsehoods” contained in news reports.But he wrote that the press is “such a bulwark of the American system, that it is well to tolerate some mistakes and derelictions to make every effort to assure that total freedom and independence continue to exist”.- Nampa-AP