William Childs Westmoreland

William Childs Westmoreland (born 1914) was commander of all American forces in the Vietnam War from 1964 until 1968, when he became chief of staff of the U.S. Army.

By the time the political and military situation in South Vietnam had become almost chaotic West-moreland had risen to the rank of general. He had acquired a reputation for efficiency and was a protegé of General Maxwell D. Taylor, a leading proponent of the "Flexible Response" and the popular counterinsurgency strategies of the Kennedy administration.

In early 1964 President Lyndon Johnson sent West-moreland to Saigon as deputy commander, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. Within a few months, at the rank of full general, he succeeded to command American forces assisting the Republic of Vietnam in its war against the Communist Viet Cong insurgents. Westmoreland's assumption of command coincided with a decisive change in the nature of the conflict. The Viet Cong began shifting from small-scale guerrilla warfare to larger, more conventional attacks. Beginning early in 1965, regular North Vietnamese army units came south down the Ho Chi Minh Trail to reinforce the insurgents. In the same period the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson further escalated the conflict, first with a limited bombing campaign against North Vietnam and then by introducing U.S. combat forces into South Vietnam.

Westmoreland did not determine overall American strategy and had no control over most of the air war against North Vietnam. He did direct American operations within South Vietnam. He attempted to carry out a balanced campaign of attacks on enemy regular units and their bases on the one hand, and assistance to the South Vietnamese in pacification and population security on the other. Many observers, however, criticized him for emphasizing the first part of the strategy at the expense of the second. His name became associated with tactics of "search and destroy." In February 1968 the Viet Cong launched their Tet offensive. Although Westmoreland, with considerable reason, regarded the outcome as an allied victory, this display of enemy strength convinced much of the American public that the war was a failure. President Johnson then turned toward de-escalation and negotiation. In the aftermath of Tet in July 1968, Westmoreland returned to Washington to become chief of staff of the army.

As chief of staff, Westmoreland faced a difficult task. He had to extricate the army from Vietnam, reorient it toward the future, and make the transition from the draft to an all-volunteer service, all in a period of virulent anti-military sentiment. Although hampered by his own identification with an unpopular war, Westmoreland contributed much toward the post-Vietnam rebuilding of the army. He also championed his service's cause by extensive public speaking, despite antiwar and anti-military heckling and abuse.

Westmoreland retired as chief of staff on June 30, 1972. After that he made his home in South Carolina and continued an active public career. In 1974 he sought the Republican nomination for governor but was decisively defeated in the primary election. The controversies of the Vietnam War continued to follow him. In a January 1982 television documentary, "The Uncounted Enemy, " the Columbia Broadcasting System accused Westmoreland of manipulating figures on enemy strength to deceive President Johnson concerning progress in the war. In response, Westmoreland sued CBS for libel. The case ended in February 1985 in an out-of-court settlement which left the factual issues unresolved and both sides claiming victory.

Further Reading

The earliest full-length biography of Westmoreland is the highly favorable one by Ernest B. Furgerson, Westmoreland: The Inevitable General (1968). Westmoreland tells the story of his command in Vietnam in A Soldier Reports (1976). His strategy is sharply criticized by David Halberstam in The Best and the Brightest (1972). Gen. Bruce Palmer, Jr., in The Twenty-Five Year War: America's Military Role in Vietnam (1984) also analyzes and is critical of Westmoreland's conduct of operations. Don Kowet in A Matter of Honor (1984) tells the story of the CBS controversy, as does Renata Adler in Reckless Disregard: Westmoreland v. CBS et al.; Sharon v. TIME (1986). The crucial Tet offensive is recounted in Don Oberdorfer's Tet! (1971).

In 1994, Vietnam veteran Samuel Zaffiri published a biography, Westmoreland: A Biography of General William C. Westmoreland. A book reviewer stated that the book offered "a fair hearing for a man who has been alternately overlooked and maligned by history." Articles of interest can be found in the New York Times (January 25, 1991; September 30, 1990; and November 28, 1988) and the Los Angeles Times (April 22, 1991 and March 25, 1991). □

Westmoreland, William C. (1914–2005), U.S. general.One of the most controversial figures in American military history, William Westmoreland, by his own appraisal, was “the most vilified man in America” during the 1970s. A military leader of the U.S. buildup in the Republic of South Vietnam from 1964 until 1968, the general exuded confidence, only to undergo a devastating Communist attack during the 1968 Tet Offensive. Critics cited this attack as reason to withdraw U.S. forces and proof that Westmoreland had followed a failed strategy.

Born in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, and graduated from West Point in 1936, Westmoreland held Field Artillery assignments until World War II. Promoted to lieutenant colonel, he participated in the North Africa Campaign in 1942, landed in Sicily in 1943, and landed on the Normandy coast in 1944. Westmoreland gained a reputation for superb staff work and sound battle leadership during the war.

After the war, Westmoreland joined the infantry, became a paratrooper in 1946, and commanded the only U.S. airborne infantry regiment to participate in the Korean War. After attending an advanced management program at Harvard University, he commanded the 101st Airborne, (1958–60) and served as Superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy (1960–63), after which he took command of the XVIII Airborne Corps. Westmoreland's era of high notoriety began when, as a full general, he was assigned to head the United States Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) in 1964, an ad visory and support effort to the South Vietnamese Army. He saw that the infusion of increasing numbers of North Vietnamese troop units into the small Southeast Asian country was transforming a guerrilla war into a stand‐up contest between conventionally organized regulars. Convinced that U.S. forces would have to enter the war as offensive units, Secretary of Defense Robert S. MacNamara and President Lyndon B. Johnson received a proposal from Westmoreland that would have the new U.S. Army airmobile force, the 1st Cavalry Division, cut the Communist line of communications by establishing mobile bases in the Laotian Panhandle. Rebuffed and faced with the task of defending all of South Vietnam, Westmoreland devised a scheme of “search and destroy” offensive missions by U.S. forces to locate, engage, and defeat Communist forces in South Vietnam. Following the surprise Tet Offensive (1968) by the Communists and the erosion of American support, despite its defeat, Westmoreland was succeeded in Vietnam by Gen. Creighton Abrams.

Returning to the United States in 1968, Westmoreland became chief of staff of the army and retired in 1972. After an unsuccessful run for the governorship of South Carolina in 1974, he became embroiled in a failed 1985 suit against CBS for portraying himself and his staff as falsifying enemy strength and casualty reports during the Vietnam War.
[See also Westmoreland v. CBS.]

Bibliography

William C. Westmoreland , A Soldier Reports, 1976.
Samuel Zaffiri , Westmoreland: A Biography of General William C. Westmoreland, 1994.

Rod Paschall

Westmoreland, William Childs (1914–) U.S. Army officer. Born in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, William C. Westmoreland graduated from West Point in 1936 with a commission in the field artillery. He had a distinguished combat record. In World War II, he commanded a field artillery battalion in North Africa and Sicily, and became chief of staff of the 9th Infantry Division in Normandy. He commanded the 187th Regimental Combat Team in the Korean War, earning promotion to brigadier general there in 1952. He led the 101st Airborne Division before becoming superintendent of West Point in 1960. After that he took over the XVIII Airborne Corps and was promoted to lieutenant general. In 1964 he was designated to command U.S. Military Assistance Command in South Vietnam, and another star followed. For the next four years he supervised the expansion of American combat forces in Vietnam to a strength of over 500,000, relying on heavy firepower and “search and destroy” tactics to try to draw out and destroy an elusive guerrilla foe. After defeating the enemy's surprise Tet Offensive in early 1968, Westmoreland became chief of staff of the army in July, a post he held until retiring four years later. He has spent much effort since then defending his reputation from critics who blame him for various aspects of American failure in Vietnam, including taking CBS to court for libel.

William Childs Westmoreland 1914–2005, U.S. general, b. Spartanburg co., S.C. He graduated from West Point in 1936 and fought with distinction in North Africa and Europe during World War II and later (1952–53) in Korea. After serving (1960–64) as superintendent of West Point, Westmoreland attained (1964) the rank of general and commanded (1964–68) U.S. military forces in Vietnam (see Vietnam War ). He then assumed the position of army chief of staff, which he held until his retirement in 1972. In 1974 he was defeated in the Republican primary election for governor of South Carolina.

Bibliography: See his memoirs, A Soldier Reports (1976); biography by S. Zaffiri (1994).