Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam

by Lewis Sorley

  In later years Westmoreland, widely regarded as a general who lost his war, also lost his only run for political office, lost his libel suit, and lost his reputation. It was a sad ending for a man who for most of his life and career had led a charmed existence.

  In his final days it could never be said he'd been broken, for he still maintained the mien and demeanor of the glory days, much of the "look of eagles" his splendid countenance had always afforded him, the obvious expectation of being admired and courted by others. But, at least with family and, back in his native South Carolina, certain very old friends and some new admirers, elements of his youthful charm seem to have reemerged. Said his daughter Stevie, describing those last years, "every day we're seeing less and less General and more and more Daddy."

  Acknowledgments

  WORK ON THIS biography has consumed a number of years, during which time very many people have encouraged and assisted me. First, of course, tribute must be paid to the indispensable community of archivists, librarians, researchers, and historians upon whom so much depends. Then those who served with Westmoreland and talked with me about that experience—some 175 people in all—provided invaluable and often unique and previously undisclosed elements of the account. Also of great importance were the encouragement and assistance of friends who believed in the historical importance of the story and were sympathetic to the uncongenial task of telling it.

  General Westmoreland's personal papers are in the South Caroliniana Library at the University of South Carolina, a charming venue situated on the Horseshoe of this historic campus. There I benefited greatly from the assistance of Herbert Hartsook, Director when I began my work there; his successor, Dr. Allen Stokes; and Beth Bilderback, Graham Duncan, Sam Fore, Henry Fulmer, Craig Keeney, Nicholas Meriwether, and Elizabeth West of the staff. Brian Cuthrell was particularly helpful and knowledgeable about the collection.

  Other valuable Westmoreland materials, including copies of his remarkable "History Notes," are held by the U.S. Army Center of Military History at Fort McNair in Washington. There the Chief of Military History, Brigadier General John Sloan Brown, and his successor, Dr. Jeffrey Clarke, provided valuable assistance. I also thank Patricia Ames, Dr. Richard Davis, Vincent Demma, Dena Everett, Joseph Frechette, Lenore Garder, Dr. Joel Meyerson, Mason Schaefer, Jamaal Thomas, and Dr. Erik Villard. Frank Shirer, Chief of the Historical Resources Branch and custodian of much valuable Westmoreland material, was especially knowledgeable and helpful. Also thanks to Renee Klish, curator of the Army Art Collection.

  Yet another essential repository is the U.S. Army Military History Institute at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. Among its holdings are two separate and very useful Westmoreland oral history interviews running to several hundred pages, as well as similar interviews with other senior officers who served with Westmoreland, plus the papers of many such senior officers. The Director, Dr. Conrad Crane, and also Dr. Richard Sommers, David Keough, and Randy Rakers, all valued longtime friends, were extremely helpful. Thanks also to Rich Baker, David Birdwell, Tom Hendrix, and Jessica Sheets. Randy Hackenburg was very helpful with photos.

  Some Westmoreland material can also be found at West Point in the U.S. Military Academy Archives and Special Collections, headed by Suzanne Christoff. My valued friend Alan Aimone was also most helpful in the USMA Library. Elsewhere on post Carolyn Knicht helped me with access to Westmoreland's cadet records.

  Also at West Point tribute must be paid to the superb work done by Lieutenant Colonel Julian M. Olejniczak, longtime Editor in Chief of the invaluable Register of Graduates and of Assembly, the West Point alumni magazine, and to Sylvia Graham, Managing Editor of the Register. Both publications are of crucial importance to anyone writing about a graduate of the Military Academy. Syl Graham also generously provided the author photo for this book.

  The Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library in Austin, Texas, has copies of some of the material held elsewhere, as well as valuable oral histories, a superb photo collection, and—a unique and poignant artifact—the model of Khe Sanh kept in the White House Situation Room for contemplation by LBJ during the 1968 siege of that remote outpost in Vietnam. Archivist John Wilson, Margaret Harman in the audiovisual archives, and Renée Gravois, Mike McDonald, and Tina Houston were very helpful to me.

  I had only limited access to the Westmoreland materials at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, but thank William Seibert and Brittany Helfin for the information provided me.

  At the South Carolina Military Museum in Columbia there is an extensive collection of Westmoreland-related artifacts, including his personal copy of the Boy Scout manual, Handbook for Boys. Ewell "Buddy" Sturgis manages this fine facility, and on my visit Michael Lott kindly showed me through the Westmoreland exhibit.

  Debra Hutchins assisted me at the Spartanburg County Public Library, while Brigadier General Ed. Y. Hall (South Carolina State Guard) showed me the Westmoreland materials at American Legion Post 28 in Spartanburg. Walter Oates provided a tour of Troop 1's Scout Hut, virtually the same as it was in Westmoreland's day, and showed us other Westmoreland Scout artifacts on display nearby.

  Professor Marc Selverstone generously invited me to spend several days at the University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs, where I was able to harvest much valuable material from their collection of edited transcripts of Lyndon Johnson's recorded telephone conversations. Sean Gallagher, Sheila Blackford, Ken Hughes, and Shane Vanderberg were very helpful to me during my visit.

  Once again Albert McJoynt has assisted me by preparing excellent maps, for which I am most grateful.

  My West Point classmates, some of whom served as aides-de-camp to General Westmoreland or in other assignments close to him, have been an enormous source of encouragement and often of substantive help as well. I thank them all, and particularly Lieutenant General Charles Bagnal; Brigadier General John Bahnsen; Brigadier General Zeb B. Bradford Jr.; Lieutenant General Frederic Brown; Colonel Victor T. Bullock; Colonel William Cody; Lieutenant Colonel Maury Cralle Jr.; Colonel William Crews; Colonel Rudolph DeFrance; Colonel Gene Dewey; Major General James Ellis; Colonel Donald Ernst (USAF); General John Foss; Major General Eugene Fox; Lieutenant General Thomas Griffin; Colonel William Haponski; Colonel Jerry Huff; Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Lang (USAF); Lieutenant Colonel George Martin; Lieutenant General Dave Palmer; General H. Norman Schwarzkopf; General John Shaud (USAF); Major General Perry Smith (USAF); Colonel Thomas Winter; Lieutenant General John Woodmansee; and Major General Stephen R. Woods Jr.

  Colonel Paul Miles, a longtime teacher of history at West Point and now at Princeton University and for many years a close associate and advisor to Westmoreland, was of very great assistance. His understanding of and insights into the personality and motivations of General Westmoreland are unsurpassed. Colonel Reamer "Hap" Argo Jr., now deceased, also had long and close associations with Westmoreland and, also a historian, was an acute and accurate observer. General Volney Warner was also very close to Westmoreland as his executive officer during the last two Chief of Staff years and continued as his sympathetic friend and advisor in later years. His articulation of the most positive view of Westmoreland has been very much appreciated. These three stand out, among the many aides and executive officers who served Westmoreland over the years, in having established and maintained such close personal relationships with him.

  Lee Bandy and John Monk at The State in Columbia, South Carolina, were very friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable, and Lee Hemphill assisted with photos there.

  At the Library of Congress, where I made my way through wartime issues of the Saigon Post and searched for an obscure and long-defunct journal in which a stunning Westmoreland photo had appeared, I received valuable assistance from Arlene Balkansky and Thomas Jabine. Jerome Brooks, Liz Faison, and Travis Wesley also helped.

  Two earlier Westmoreland biographers, Ernest Furgurson and Samuel Zaffiri, have been very receptive to this project, Zaffiri even lending me the
tape recordings of his interviews of Westmoreland. I thank them both for their cordiality.

  Others who helped with advice, photographs, documents, and insights include Brigadier General Creighton Abrams; Colonel Thomas Adcock; Thomas Ahern; Brigadier General David Armstrong; Patsy Bagnal; Douglas Becker; Kimberly Becker of Becker Design; Colonel Lance Betros; Colonel Harold Birch; Tony Bliss Jr.; Mara Borack of Academy Photo; Colonel Fred Borch III; the late Colonel Paul Braim; Brigadier General Charles Brower IV; Brigadier General John Sloan Brown; Major General Clay Buckingham; B. G. Burkett; Dr. John Carland; Colonel Jack Chase; Dr. Roger Cirillo; Allen Clark; James Codla; Lieutenant General Robert Coffin; Major General Neal Creighton; Kelvin Crow; Dr. Edwin Deagle; Maude DeFrance; John Del Vecchio; William E. DePuy Jr.; Brigadier General Robert Dilworth; Lieutenant General David Doyle; Lou Dunham, computer whiz; Brigadier General Karl Eikenberry; Colonel David Farnham; Brigadier General Alan Farrell (VMI); Dr. John Feagin; Colonel Zane Finkelstein; the late Lieutenant Colonel Philip Gage, Scribe of the West Point Class of 1936; General John Galvin; Colonel Martin Ganderson; Dale Garvey; Eric Gillespie; Dr. Russell Glenn; Major General George Godding; Dr. Alan Gropman; Dr. Stephen Grove; Elise Haldane; Brigadier General Ed. Hall (South Carolina State Guard); Andrew Hamilton; Corporal Christopher Hamilton; Colonel Morris Herbert; Dr. Paul Herbert; Colonel John Hesterly; Colonel Jon Hoffman (USMCR); Donald Hogan; Christopher Holmes; Dr. James Hooper; Warren Howe; Richard Howland; Colonel Seth Hudgins; Bobby Jackson; Diane Jacob at the VMI Archives; Lena Kaljot of the Marine Corps History Division; Brigadier General Douglas Kinnard; General Frederick Kroesen; Charles A. Krohn; the late Colonel James Leach; Harold Lyon; Colonel Thomas McKenna; Brigadier General H. R. McMaster; Major General Guy'S. Meloy III; Major General John Murray; Brigadier General Harold Nelson; Lieutenant General Max Noah; Walter Oates, the longtime adult leader of Spartanburg's Troop 1, Boy Scouts of America, in which Westmoreland became an Eagle Scout; General Glenn Otis; Mark Perry; H. J. "Jack" Phillips; Rufus Phillips III; Colonel Homer Pickens; Dr. Walter Poole; Dr. John Prados; Robert Previdi; Merle Pribbenow; Dr. Robert Pringle; Lieutenant General Robert Pursley (USAF); Charles Ravenel; Lieutenant Colonel David Rice; Colonel Gordon B. Rogers Jr.; Dr. Herbert Schandler; Max and Loren Schluder at the Carolina Café in Columbia; Major General Frank Schober; Paul Schonberger; Jason Schull; Detective Sarit Scott of the Montgomery County, Maryland, Police Department; the late Colonel Donald Shaw; Brigadier General James Shelton; Stephen Sherman; Dr. Jack Shulimson of the Marine Corps History Center; Judith Sorley Simpson, my sister; Major General John Singlaub; General Donn Starry; Colonel Michael Starry; Kirstin Steele at The Citadel's Daniel Library; Thomas Stites; Colonel William M. Stokes III; Cookie Strong; John Taylor; Dr. Robert Turner; Dr. John Votaw; Jerry Warner; Robert Watz; Colonel William Weber; Dr. Andrew Wiest; Richard P. W. Williams; Charles Wilson; Dr. Edward Woods; SMA William Wooldridge; and Barry Zorthian.

  Bruce Nichols, my editor at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, has been a delight to work with and has made this a better book. Sincere thanks also to Christina Morgan, Summer Smith, Laurence Cooper, Luise Erdmann, and Gordon Brumm for their valuable help. Over now many years my agent, Peter Ginsberg, has also become a valued friend. I am most grateful for his belief in the importance of the work. This book is dedicated with profound gratitude to my wife, Virginia Mezey Sorley, who, in addition to her multitude of other fine attributes, is a superb professional research librarian who has devoted many years to faithful public service.

  Glossary of Acronyms and Abbreviations

  ABF attack by fire

  AFB Air Force Base

  AID Agency for International Development

  APC armored personnel carrier

  ARVN Army of the Republic of Vietnam

  AUSA Association of the United States Army

  CAS close air support

  CHICOM Chinese communists

  CIA Central Intelligence Agency

  CIDG Civilian Irregular Defense Group

  CIIC Combined Information and Intelligence Conference

  CINCPAC Commander in Chief, Pacific

  CJCS Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff

  CMH Center of Military History

  COMUSMACV Commander, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam

  CONARC Continental Army Command

  COSVN Central Office for South Vietnam (enemy)

  CRS Congressional Research Service

  CTZ Corps Tactical Zone

  CY Calendar Year

  DEPCOMUSMACV Deputy COMUSMACV

  DEPCORDS Deputy to the COMUSMACV for Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support

  DIA Defense Intelligence Agency

  DMZ Demilitarized Zone

  DOD Department of Defense

  DPM Draft Presidential Memorandum

  DRV Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam)

  DSDUF Declassified and Sanitized Documents from Unprocessed Files, LBJ Library

  FFORCEV Field Force, Vietnam

  FSB Fire Support Base

  FWMAF Free World Military Assistance Forces

  GVN Government of (South) Vietnam

  HES Hamlet Evaluation System

  H&I harassment and interdiction (artillery fire)

  JCS Joint Chiefs of Staff

  JGS Joint General Staff (Republic of Vietnam)

  JUSPAO Joint U.S. Public Affairs Office

  KIA killed in action

  KP kitchen police

  LBJ Lyndon Baines Johnson

  LZ landing zone

  MAAG Military Assistance Advisory Group

  MACSOG Military Assistance Command Studies and Observations Group

  MACV Military Assistance Command, Vietnam

  MACOV Mechanized and Armor Combat Operations in Vietnam

  MAF Marine Amphibious Force

  MAW Marine Air Wing

  MFR memorandum for record

  MHI Military History Institute

  MIA missing in action

  NSAM National Security Action Memorandum

  NVA North Vietnamese Army

  NVN North Vietnam/North Vietnamese

  OACSI Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence

  OCMH Office of the Chief of Military History

  OSD Office of the Secretary of Defense

  PA public address

  PAVN People's Army of Vietnam (North Vietnam)

  PBS Public Broadcasting System

  PF Popular Forces

  PRG Provisional Revolutionary Government (Viet Cong)

  PSDF People's Self-Defense Force

  RF Regional Forces

  ROK Republic of Korea

  R&R rest and recuperation/rest and recreation

  RVN Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam)

  RVNAF Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces

  SACSA Special Assistant for Counterinsurgency and Special Activities (to the Joint Chiefs of Staff)

  SAMVA Special Assistant for the Modern Volunteer Army

  SASC Senate Armed Services Committee

  SEA Southeast Asia

  SEACOORD Southeast Asia Coordinating Committee for U.S. Missions

  SEATO Southeast Asia Treaty Organization

  SECDEF Secretary of Defense

  SOG Studies & Observations Group

  SVN South Vietnam

  TSN Tan Son Nhut (Air Base) (Saigon)

  USAID U.S. Agency for International Development

  USARPAC U.S. Army, Pacific

  USARV U.S. Army, Vietnam

  USGPO U.S. Government Printing Office

  USIS United States Information Service

  USMA United States Military Academy

  USMACV U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam

  VC Viet Cong

  VCI Viet Cong Infrastructure

  VN Vietnam/Vietnamese

  VNIT Vietnam Interview Transcript

  Notes

  A Note on the Notes

  The documentary record of the Vietnam War is very rich. Published histo
rical sources, official records and accounts, oral history interviews, after action reports, and the collected papers of participants in various archives and other repositories run to millions of pages.

  Given this abundance of material, it would have been possible to footnote virtually every line, but that seemed unnecessarily distracting and pedantic. All materials drawn from the work of other scholars have of course been credited in the notes in the usual manner.

  At the U.S. Army Center of Military History the Westmoreland Papers were pending reorganization at the time I made use of them. Thus box numbers I have cited may have changed by the time future researchers consult those materials, but all the documents cited should be easy to locate chronologically in the papers.

  In most cases where Westmoreland or another person quoted used incorrect grammar or pronunciation, that has been rendered as stated and without inserting the [sic] notation, as have Westmoreland's misspellings in quotations from materials he has written.

  Key to Note Abbreviations

  These abbreviations are used throughout the notes to indicate sources. In the Selected Bibliography a full citation may be found for each item. When items appear only in the notes and not in the bibliography, a full citation is given in the relevant note.