William Westmoreland

William Childs Westmoreland (26 March 1914 – 18 July 2005) was a United States Army general, most notably commander of United States forces during the Vietnam War from 1964 to 1968.

William Childs Westmoreland was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on 26 March 1914 to Eugenia Talley Childs and James Ripley Westmoreland.

His upper middle class family was involved in the local banking and textile industries.

Eugenia's aunt Bessie Springs Childs' lived with other influential family members in Columbia, South Carolina, owning property that would become the Visanska Starks House. The family operated Springs Industries (now Springs Global) railroads and utilities.

At the age of 15, William became an Eagle Scout in his Boy Scouts of America (BSA) local council's Troop 1, and was recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award and Silver Buffalo from the BSA as a young adult.

After spending a year at The Citadel in 1932, he was appointed to attend the United States Military Academy on the nomination of Senator James F. Byrnes, a family friend.

His motive for entering West Point was "to see the world".

He was a member of a distinguished West Point class that also included Creighton Abrams and Benjamin O. Davis Jr. Westmoreland graduated as First Captain—the highest cadet rank—and received the Pershing Sword, which is "presented to the cadet with highest level of military proficiency".

Westmoreland also served as the superintendent of the Protestant Sunday School Teachers.

In World War II, Westmoreland saw combat with the 34th Field Artillery Battalion, 9th Infantry Division, in Tunisia, Sicily, France, and Germany; he commanded the 34th Battalion in Tunisia and Sicily.

Following graduation from West Point in 1936, Westmoreland became an artillery officer and served in several assignments with the 18th Field Artillery at Fort Sill.

In 1939, he was promoted to first lieutenant, after which he was a battery commander and battalion staff officer with the 8th Field Artillery at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

He reached the temporary wartime rank of colonel, and on 13 October 1944, was appointed the chief of staff of the 9th Infantry Division.

After the war, Westmoreland completed paratrooper training at the Army's Jump School in 1946.

From 1947 to 1950, he served as chief of staff for the 82nd Airborne Division.

He then commanded the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division.

He was an instructor at the Command and General Staff College from August to October 1950 and at the newly organized Army War College from October 1950 to July 1952.

From July 1952 to October 1953, Westmoreland commanded the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team in Japan and Korea.

He was promoted to brigadier general in November 1952 at the age of 38, making him one of the youngest US Army generals in the post-World War II era.

After returning to the United States in October 1953, Westmoreland was deputy assistant chief of staff, G–1, for manpower control on the Army staff until 1955.

In 1954, Westmoreland completed a three-month management program at Harvard Business School.

As Stanley Karnow noted, "Westy was a corporation executive in uniform."

The Geneva Conference (26 April – 20 July 1954) discussed the possibility of restoring peace in Indochina, and temporarily separated Vietnam into two zones, a northern zone to be governed by the Việt Minh, and a southern zone to be governed by the State of Vietnam, then headed by former emperor Bảo Đại.

From 1955 to 1958, he was the United States Army's Secretary of the General Staff.

A Conference Final Declaration, issued by the British chairman of the conference, provided that a general election be held by July 1956 to create a unified Vietnamese state.

Although presented as a consensus view, this document was not accepted by the delegates of either the State of Vietnam or the United States.

In addition, China, the Soviet Union and other communist nations recognized the North while the United States and other non-communist states recognized the South as the legitimate government.

By the time Westmoreland became army commander in South Vietnam, the option of a Korea-type settlement with a large demilitarized zone separating north and south, favored by military and diplomatic figures, had been rejected by the US government whose objectives were to achieve a decisive victory and not to use vastly greater resources.

He then commanded the 101st Airborne Division from 1958 to 1960.

He was Superintendent of the United States Military Academy from 1960 to 1963.

In 1962, Westmoreland was admitted as an honorary member of the Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati.

He was promoted to lieutenant general in July 1963 and was Commanding General of the XVIII Airborne Corps from 1963 to 1964.

The attempted French re-colonization of Vietnam following World War II culminated in a decisive French defeat at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu.

He served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1968 to 1972.

Westmoreland adopted a strategy of attrition against the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army, attempting to drain them of manpower and supplies.

He also made use of the United States' edge in artillery and air power, both in tactical confrontations and in relentless strategic bombing of North Vietnam.

Nevertheless, public support for the war eventually diminished, especially after the Battle of Khe Sanh and the Tet Offensive in 1968.

By the time he was reassigned as Army Chief of Staff, United States military forces in Vietnam had reached a peak of 535,000 personnel.

Westmoreland's strategy was ultimately politically and militarily unsuccessful.

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.