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.

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.

Related Topics:
Army Chief of Staff - 1968 - 1972 - South Carolina - 1974

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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.

Related Topics:
Mike Wallace - CBS - The Uncounted Enemy - Vietcong

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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.

Related Topics:
Westmoreland v. CBS - Libel

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In a 1998 interview for George magazine, Westmoreland dismissed the battlefield prowess of his opponent North Vietnamese General Vo Nguyen Giap. "Of course, he 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."

Related Topics:
George - Vo Nguyen Giap - W. Thomas Smith, Jr.

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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."

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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.

Related Topics:
Distinguished Service Medal - Bronze Star - Presidential Unit Citation - Combat Infantryman?s Badge - Master Parachutist Badge

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

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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".

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