Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam

by Lewis Sorley

  CMH U.S. Army Center of Military History

  CRS Congressional Research Service

  HKJ Harold K. Johnson

  LBJ Lyndon Baines Johnson Library

  MCHC Marine Corps Historical Center

  MFR Memorandum for Record

  MHI U.S. Army Military History Institute

  NARA National Archives and Records Administration

  SCL South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina

  USAC&GSC U.S. Army Command & General Staff College

  USAWC U.S. Army War College

  USMA United States Military Academy Library and Archives

  WP Westmoreland Papers

  PROLOGUE

  1 Westmoreland Oral History (Cameron/Funderburk), MHI.

  2 SMA Leon L. Van Autreve interview, 12 February 1988.

  1. ORIGINS

  1 Although Westmoreland's father had no military service, he somehow acquired the informal title of "Colonel," apparently a result of his service with various Citadel boards and associations. On 1 April 1950 Governor Strom Thurmond made it somewhat official, appointing J. R. Westmoreland a Colonel in the Unorganized Militia of the State of South Carolina with date of rank from 4 April 1924.

  2 When Westmoreland had been at the Military Academy for perhaps five months, his father wrote to him about a recent conversation when he met Senator Byrnes on the street. "He is much pleased that you are doing so well. He says that your position in your class is a surprise to him. He said that he had had great apprehensions as to you making the grade based on his knowledge of the Academy."

  3 Westmoreland Remarks, Memorial Day Ceremonies, Gettysburg Battlefield, 30 May 1988, Box 49, WPSCL.

  4 Westmoreland's father also sought to motivate his son academically by paying him for good grades. "I have decided to put you on a different basis when you get to West Point," he wrote in the spring of 1932, when Westmoreland was still at The Citadel. "I will pay you your monthly bonus every time you register in the first half of the class." In another letter he specified the amount as $6.00 a month.

  5 This exchange of correspondence with Col. Robert C. Brown is in Box 17, WPSCL.

  6 Letter, Col. Garrett'S. Hall to Westmoreland, 11 February 1991, Box 17, WPSCL.

  7 One of 1936's three-star generals was Benjamin O. Davis Jr., mentioned previously, the only black in the class, who retired at that rank in 1970. In 1999 he was promoted on the retired list to four-star general. Clinton D. Vincent, also 1936, became an Army Air Corps brigadier general at age twenty-nine and thus, according to the West Point Register of Graduates, "the youngest West Point graduate promoted to general in the 20th century."

  2. EARLY SERVICE

  1 "Reminiscent Thoughts About the Class," USMA 1936 50th Reunion, Box 49, WPSCL.

  2 As quoted in Gwen Moseley, "The General's Lady," Sunday Telegraph (Canberra, Australia) (6 February 1972), Box 67, WPSCL.

  3 In telling this story many times over the years, to interviewers in particular, Kitsy sometimes reversed it and claimed she had told Westmoreland she would wait for him until he grew up. A childhood friend remembered Kitsy fondly from those days, with her thick dark braids, huge hazel eyes, and "foot-long eyelashes." And, she added, "I can still see you in those wonderful old dresses of your mother in your quarters in New Post, with your hair piled high upon your head, gazing into the mirror in the guest room and saying, 'Patty, someday I'm going to be somebody. Someday I am going to be a great lady.' And indeed you are, Kitsy, my dear—in every sense—and it has surprised no one, least of all me." Letter, Patricia Metcalf to Kitsy, 20 February 1968, Box 38, WPSCL.

  4 Westmoreland's sister, Margaret, visited him while he was stationed in Hawaii, and remembered Millie Hatch and her brother's affection for her: "He wanted to marry her, but she threw him over and married somebody else."

  5 Camden McConnell the younger, son of the officer at Fort Sill, posted this anecdote involving Westmoreland and his father on a West Point eulogy website honoring Westmoreland.

  6 Correspondence in Box 1, WPSCL.

  7 The 8th Field Artillery was apparently seriously short of officers at this time, since orders published in July 1940 appointed Westmoreland, only a first lieutenant, the 2nd Battalion's "Battalion Adjutant, S-2 and S-3," or in other words to most of the principal staff positions of the unit.

  8 In a January 1969 speech to new Air Force brigadier generals at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama, Westmoreland mentioned the cooks and bakers school, saying he had "flunked the course." He misremembered. There is a certificate of proficiency from this course in his papers at the South Caroliniana Library. It should also be noted that, while Westmoreland did not attend any of the usual run of formal service schools, as a junior officer he did receive instruction in "Troop Schools" run by the unit in a variety of such subjects as gunnery, animal transport and stable management, signal communication, tactics, and training methods.

  3. WORLD WAR II

  1 Westmoreland told this story in "Riding to Battle," Army (April 1993), pp. 43–44. Even at that remove there was no indication on his part that he realized the potential seriousness of his disobedience of orders, that by slyly (as he thought) arranging for his battalion to remain behind to "police the ship" so they could also feast on the special meal he risked their destruction had the anticipated German bombing of the port actually come to pass. There is also one minor anomaly: Westmoreland remembered it as a New Year's feast, whereas other sources seem to indicate it was a Christmas Eve repast. Elsewhere Westmoreland says of Casablanca, "I got there just before Christmas," so in the article he has apparently misremembered it as New Year's. Only the year before publishing this article, at the 9th Infantry Division Association's annual meeting, Westmoreland had told a significantly different version of the event: "We were all set for a turkey dinner when we were ordered to go ashore, where we 'feasted' on 'C' rations and [were] bombed that evening in our bivouac area." Speech, "50 Years Ago," 9th Infantry Division [Association], 1992, WPSCL.

  2 This anecdote is found in notes dictated by Westmoreland for use in preparation of his memoirs. Box 41, WPSCL.

  3 Taylor's recollections of the combat interaction were equally positive. He wrote in his memoirs of "Lieutenant Colonel W. C. Westmoreland, whose sure-handed manner of command led to the entry of his name in a little black book I carried to record the names of exceptional young officers for future reference." Swords and Plowshares, p. 50.

  4 Westmoreland was equally impressed with Taylor: "This was the beginning of a long association with General Taylor during which I found him to be, himself, very much of a workman-like individual. Extremely alert, always thinking ahead, questioning every statement, weighing alternative courses of action in dealing with a problem, and sometimes imperious in his manner, he was a most unusual man." Notes, Box 41, WPSCL.

  5 Mittelman, Hold Fast, p. 13.

  6 In Westmoreland's papers at the South Caroliniana Library reference is made to a 53-page pamphlet, published on 6 September 1943, entitled "Operating Practice and Procedures" for the 34th Field Artillery Battalion.

  7 Westmoreland was apparently serious about this. In 1965 a Vietnam War battle lasting ten days at the Duc Co Special Forces camp in the Central Highlands involved Major (later General) Norman Schwarzkopf. Toward the end of the action Westmoreland arrived to have a look. Right behind him came a helicopter full of reporters. All converged on Schwarzkopf. Westmoreland asked the press if he could have a moment alone with his commander on the scene, then drew Schwarzkopf aside. "Schwarzkopf expected a quiet, soldier-to-soldier pep talk from the general," reported columnist Jack Anderson, "but Westmoreland instead simply asked him if the mail had gotten through during the fighting. Schwarzkopf was deflated." Stormin' Norman, p. 31.

  8 Westmoreland wrote to his mother: "Please send me some insignia of rank. I have one (1) eagle and cannot get any more. They are not available in the country we have been operating in. I begged one from a friend the day I was promoted [and] have been unab
le to obtain a supply since."

  9 Address, 50th Anniversary Commemoration, Battle of the Bulge, Chicago, 20 December 1994, Box 50, WPSCL.

  10 These were matters that obviously troubled Westmoreland greatly, for he made these remarks nearly twenty-five years later in a talk given to new Air Force brigadiers at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama. Box 49, WPSCL.

  11 Years later, while Westmoreland was commanding U.S. forces in Vietnam, Father Connors accepted on his behalf the "Honor et Veritas" award presented by the Catholic War Veterans of America. On that occasion Connors remembered Westmoreland in World War II as "expert in all phases of his job, well-disciplined, courageous, a forceful leader—but always with compassion and understanding—a reverent man, a truly dedicated, a self-sacrificing American." He also recalled a comment made to him by General Craig not long after he became the 9th Infantry Division's commander and had observed Westmoreland for only a short time: "I believe that your friend, Colonel Westmoreland, is going to go all the way."

  12 As quoted in Mittelman, Hold Fast, p. 17.

  13 Ibid., p. 44.

  14 At this time he commented on the new job to his father, saying, "It's an unusual assignment for an artillery officer but considering myself an army officer first & a artilleryman second, I'm quite enthusiastic and consider it a very good break." Also: "Confidentially please Gen. Craig ask[ed] for me as his corps chief of staff but Gen. Patton would not allow it because he thought I was too young. He's probably correct but I don't feel that way any longer."

  4. AIRBORNE DUTY

  1 Westmoreland Oral History (Ganderson), MHI.

  2 Memorandum, Lt. Col. Thomas J. H. Trapnell to Commanding General, 82nd Airborne Division, 17 January 1949. Box 1, WPSCL.

  3 Col. Thomas P. McKenna, e-mail to Sorley, 1 May 2005. Looking back on the episode later McKenna, who retired as a full colonel, acknowledged that that was "certainly a rather cheeky thing for a PFC to say to a LTC [lieutenant colonel]."

  4 After leaving the division General Byers wrote to Westmoreland that "the first letter has to be written to you because, from the date of my reporting to the division, your work has been outstanding. Your varied experience brings to the task of chief of staff a background from which you have drawn examples with unusual intelligence. The energy, tact, drive and patience with which you have undertaken tasks have produced splendid results but"—and this next would come as a surprise to many people—"topping all of these from my standpoint, is the sense of humor which makes it pleasant to work with you." Letter, Maj. Gen. Clovis E. Byers to Westmoreland, 21 July 1949, Box 1, WPSCL.

  5 In November 1949 Brig. Gen. W. B. Palmer was sent to jump school preparatory to (or perhaps immediately after) taking command of the 82nd Airborne Division. He had an accident with a bad knee while at the school and was hospitalized. It appeared he would have to command without jump wings, at least for a time. Westmoreland was very reassuring to him about doing this, very considerate and supportive, even recalling an accident of his own "on my 11th jump at which time I ended up in the hospital for 10 days." Letter, Westmoreland to Palmer, 23 November 1949, Box 1, WPSCL.

  6 Many correspondents had trouble with Katherine Van Deusen Westmoreland's nickname "Kitsy." Among variations over the years there appeared Kitsie, Kitzy (from Maxwell Taylor), Kitsi, Kittsy, Kittsie, Kittsey, Kitzi (in Assembly magazine's Westmoreland obituary), Kitzie, Kittzie, Kitsey (Admiral McCain), Kitsye, and even Kits.

  7 "How Two Patriots Saw Their Call to Duty," Parade (7 July 1985), pp. 4ff.

  8 As quoted in Levona Page, "Westy," The State (Columbia, S.C.) (21 January 1974), Box 65, WPSCL. There was a similar age difference between Westmoreland's parents, his father being nearly a decade older than his mother.

  9 Kitsy later told an interviewer about the brief courtship: "I met West when I was a student at WC (UNC-G)," Women's College of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. "He was a full colonel commanding some paratroopers at Fort Bragg, and he drove that winding road from the east to see me every weekend in Greensboro. He was as attractive then as he is now, and all the girls in my dorm would line up at the windows to admire him when he came to call. My housemother was right there at the windows looking at him too. She used to say to me, 'Kitsy, that colonel is much too old for you, but he's just the right age for me.'" As quoted in Linetta Pritchard, "General's Wife," Raleigh Times (11 November 1971), Box 10, WPSCL.

  10 Years later Kitsy received a letter from a girlhood friend. "One of the most significant episodes of our wonderful childhood," she wrote, "is to recall your saying so often to me, especially at the Hunter Trials and other horse shows at good old Fort Sill, 'You see that lieutenant, Patty? I'm going to marry him some day.' And I used to laugh at you. Imagine! Then I received a wedding invitation, and at the bottom of such a formal invitation were your inscribed words, 'Ha! Ha! I told you so.'" Letter, Patricia Metcalf to Kitsy, 20 February 1968, Box 38, WPSCL.

  11 Letter, Maj. Gen. Louis A. Craig to Westmoreland, 8 October 1951, Box 1, WPSCL.

  5. JAPAN AND KOREA

  1 Significantly, the assumption of command order is signed "Colonel, Artillery."

  2 Westmoreland, A Soldier Reports, p. 30.

  3 Memorandum, Westmoreland to Subordinate Commanders, Subject: Command Inspection, 10 September 1952, Box 1, WPSCL.

  4 Westmoreland Oral History (Cameron/Funderburk), MHI.

  5 In notes dictated for preparation of his memoirs Westmoreland refers twice in discussing this matter to the "Chowon" Valley, but General Frederick Kroesen, who then as a major commanded the displaced unit, recalled that they were then "above Kumwha" and, in a contemporaneous letter to Westmoreland, Major General Barriger notes that Westmoreland's outfit was then "defending the approaches to Kumwha." In his history of the 187th RCT Fred Waterhouse notes that the unit had "closed into defensive positions in the Chorwon Valley." And in an e-mail to the author General Kroesen recalled that "the Chorwan Valley is one of three principal approaches from N to S, the one that leads to Seoul. Kumwha, now in the DMZ, heads Kumwha Valley which leads to Chorwan Valley."

  6 Westmoreland Paper on Korean War Experience, Box 41, WPSCL. A history of the unit notes that Barriger had "a surname which Westmoreland, to the General's annoyance, insisted on mispronouncing 'Barringer.'" Waterhouse, The Rakkasans, p. 100. Barriger was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for his command of the division.

  7 Kroesen interview, 18 September 2009.

  8 Westmoreland was now continuing a familiar pattern of harsh criticism of many of those he had worked under, going back to his first battery commander at Fort Sill, his battalion commander in Hawaii, the division artillery commander in Europe during World War II, and others. After Korea he stated: "The division commanders were adequate but not impressive. I disagreed with both of them. I wasn't one not to argue with senior officers. I was no 'yes man,' and no politician." Oral History (Cameron/Funderburk), MHI.

  9 Westmoreland, speech to Rakkasan reunion, c. 1980s, Box 50, WPSCL.

  10 Costa, Diamond in the Rough, p. 204.

  11 Posted by Lt. Col. Robert Frank on a West Point eulogy page for Westmoreland.

  12 Letter, Westmoreland to Col. R. H. Tucker, 9 April 1955, Box 1, WPSCL.

  13 Letter, Westmoreland to Col. R. L. Ashworth, 18 February 1954, Box 1, WPSCL.

  14 Letter, Westmoreland to SFC Paul E. Blenis, 22 December 1953, Box 1, WPSCL.

  15 Flanagan, "A New Perspective," Army (July 1993), p. 49.

  6. PENTAGON

  1 Furgurson, Westmoreland, p. 228.

  2 Westmoreland, Taylor Profile, Box 41, WPSCL.

  3 Westmoreland Oral History (Ganderson), MHI.

  4 DePuy Oral History, MHI.

  5 Westmoreland, "Our Twentieth Century Army," Lecture, Airborne Conference, 7 May 1957, as quoted in Linn, Echo of Battle, p. 170.

  6 In his memoirs Westmoreland wrote that the Vice Chief of Staff, General Williston Palmer, "directed that Christmas cards not be exchanged among officers and civilian offic
ials on the staff who associated with each other daily," but that is not the way others remembered it, and the order Westmoreland issued had read "by direction of the Chief of Staff."

  7 Maj. Gen. Winant Sidle interview, 6 June 1999. Sidle thought that Westmoreland was effective as SGS, "but maybe not as effective as some others might have been." Of the decree that there would be no local Christmas cards: "Westy would think on that plane."

  7. DIVISION COMMAND

  1 Hon. Martin R. Hoffmann interview, 18 March 2010. Hoffmann was Secretary of the Army during 1975–1977.

  2 Brig. Gen. Weldon F. Honeycutt telephone interview, 12 December 2009.

  3 Maj. Gen. John K. Singlaub interview, 23 November 2005.

  4 Westmoreland, A Soldier Reports, p. 30. Under a photograph of Westmoreland in the Nashville Banner on 24 April 1958 the caption read: "He jumped last."

  5 Westmoreland, A Soldier Reports, p. 30.

  6 Westmoreland's jump log, on file with his papers at the University of South Carolina, shows him making his first jump with the division on 8 April 1958, then his next jump on 23 April, the date of the accident. The next jump entered is on 28 April. In his memoirs Westmoreland says that he jumped first the day after the accident, apparently misremembering the chronology. Many years later, on a radio program during a book tour, Westmoreland still maintained that "the next day I jumped by myself." Mike Miller Radio Show, 16 December 1976, WPSCL. Actually it was five days later, and his aide accompanied him on that jump. Westmoreland Parachute Log, WPSCL.

  7 E-mail, Hon. Martin R. Hoffmann to Sorley, 19 March 2010.

  8 Palmer interview, 1 December 1997.

  9 Hon. Martin R. Hoffmann interview, 18 March 2010.

  10 Westmoreland Oral History (Cameron/Funderburk), MHI.

  11 "How Two Patriots Saw Their Call to Duty," Parade (7 July 1985), pp. 4ff.

  12 Millett was a good choice for the assignment. Said another officer who served in the division at that time, "He was a little bit crazy, but had a lot of charisma and was a guy you would want with you in a fight." Col. Franklin A. Hart interview, 14 December 2009.