The highest profile American general of the Vietnam War, William Westmoreland oversaw the U.S. troop build up and was a key architect of the military strategy. After successfully turning the tide against the North Vietnamese during 1965 he was named Time Man of the Year, but as the conflict dragged on it became increasingly unpopular. For some Westmoreland was irrevocably tainted by the war, so much so that in 1985 he told the Associated Press "I have no apologies, no regrets. I gave my very best efforts. I’ve been hung in effigy. I’ve been spat upon. You just have to let those things bounce off."
Westmoreland graduated from West Point in 1936, receiving the Pershing Sword for military proficiency, and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Field Artillery. He joined the 9th Infantry Division in 1941 and saw action during WWII in North Africa and Sicily as Battalion commander of the unit’s 34th Field Artillery. After further exploits in France and Germany, Westmoreland returned to the U.S. to complete his airborne training at Fort Benning before serving as the 82nd Airborne Division’s Chief of Staff from 1947 to 1950.
Korean WarIn 1952 he lead the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team in three campaigns across the Korean peninsula and was decorated for his effective leadership. After spending three years as Secretary of the Army General Staff he was made Superintendent of West Point in 1960. Three years later he was promoted to Lieutenant General and assumed command of the XVIII Airborne Corps, controlling the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions.
Vietnam WarIn January 1964 Westmoreland was named Deputy Commander of Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (
MACV). Six months later, following the departure of General Harkins, he became Acting Commander and on 1st August 1964 he was promoted to General and Commander of MACV.
Rather than focusing on population security, the core of classic counterinsurgency, Westmoreland opted to pursue a strategy of attrition in Vietnam. Utilizing the military’s logistics, high-tech mobility and superior firepower to mount search and destroy operations, he aimed to inflict losses heavier than the enemy was capable of replacing. These tactics produced an impressive victory in the Ia Drang valley in November 1965, however the Communists quickly learnt to avoid such large battles. The
Viet Cong reverted to guerrilla warfare and its access to the population remained largely unrestricted.
Though the insurgents increasingly refused to be drawn into battle unless it was on their terms, Westmoreland was encouraged by enemy body counts and remained confident of victory throughout his tenure. However, in March 1968, in the wake of the Communist’s
Tet Offensive and his subsequent request for an additional 206,000 personnel, he was replaced as MACV Commander by
Creighton Abrams.
Promoted to Chief of Staff of the Army, he supervised its transition to an all-volunteer force and its disengagement from the war as part of President Nixon’s
Vietnamization program.
Post VietnamAfter retiring from active service in July 1972 Westmoreland unsuccessfully ran for Governor of South Carolina before publishing his autobiography,
A Soldier Reports, in 1976. In 1982 he fought a libel action against CBS for a documentary they aired claiming that he had deliberately misled the Pentagon and the public about the true strength of the Communist forces in South Vietnam. However, he withdrew from the case after the television network stated that it did not mean to impugn his honor.
General Westmoreland was buried at West Point Cemetery on 23rd July 2005.