Talk:William Westmoreland

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[edit] Concern about the impartiality of this page

The writing on this page seems jingoistic. Can it be reviewed with a less partial pen? Hu Gadarn 04:03, 21 May 2006 (UTC)


I'd like to see evidence to back up the claim that "NVA General Vo Nguyen Giap orchestrated negative media coverage[citation needed] shook public confidence in Westmoreland's previous assurances about the state of the war." The Tet offensive, as disastrous as it was for the NVA and NLF in military terms, did undercut Westmoreland's optimism. The media came to its own conclusions, and was not orchestrated by Giap or anyone else. Entenman (talk) 16:27, 24 January 2008 (UTC)entenman

[edit] General

Westmoreland was named "Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1965; this should really be mentioned.

Militarily, the Tet Offensive was a disaster for the NVs and Viet Cong, not for the US troops on the ground and the ARVN - so I'm not sure what they mean by "disasterous Tet Offensive," as the Tet Offensive was actually begun by the Communists.

- K

As far as I know, it was "disastrous" to the U.S. war effort, inasmuch as it sapped public support for the war. —thames 15:53, 19 July 2005 (UTC)


It probably should be put in that context explicitly, then. Militarily, the Tet Offensive was a victory for the US - as Westmoreland himself stated, the US didn't lose the war. They merely packed up and went home.
After all, this is a biography of a military man....
- K
Define victory and losing. We could have continued to feed that meat grinder for another 20 years easily. Westy was following orders from a corrupt administration. As a soldier he was good. As a commander ,I feel, he did not fight enough for his troops. The ROE in the SE Asia theater were very constricting. In a war you either fight to win or it's worthless. In Westy's position I would have resigned rather than have my name attached to that quagmire. The last great General we had is MacArthur. He was not afraid to tell it like it is and let the chips fall where they may. If Westy had been more like this perhaps we would have wasted a few thousand less young American lives.OZ 11:17, 23 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] How many kids did he have??

The article currently says: "They had three children: Katherine, Margaret, Julie and James Ripley." I count 4, although who "James Ripley" is, is a bit of a question mark. Why does he get a middle name when the daughters don't? Or is Ripley a surname? In which case, is James Ripley his wife's son from a previous marriage, or something like that? In any event, as it stands it is confusing and ambiguous. Does anybody know the truth? The truth is out there. JackofOz 23:16, 19 July 2005 (UTC)

Three, according to all obituaries I have checked. "Julie" is a figment of someone's imagination, added by the IP 65.35.229.53 without giving a source. His children are Kathryn, Margaret, and James Ripley (seems to be a middle name). Or maybe the anon meant that Margaret was called "Margaret Julie"? Anyway, out she goes. Lupo 11:17, 1 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] very intriguing man

Though I never knew him, my family talked about him quite often. I always admired his accomplishments in the military and have studied him thoroughly. I was devastated to hear of his death last year, he will always hold a place in my heart. Here's to the Westmoreland tradition!

Sarah Westmoreland Louisville, KY

[edit] encounter with Westmoreland

This text was added to the article space by User:Hardy Parkerson and has been moved here by --rogerd 17:55, 20 March 2006 (UTC)

This person says, "I saw a large man in a business suit... ." Westmoreland was not "large" by anyone's standards. Lean, medium build, and certainly shorter than 5'10 or 5'11' So her encounter cannot be taken as fact. (May 20, 2006)


Addendum:

In the early 1980s I saw a large man in a business suit standing beside a taxi-cab on Canal Street in New Orleans in front of the Marriot Hotel. I asked him if I and my traveling companion could share a cab with him to the Airport. He took one look at my traveling companion who was a beautiful woman and promptly said, "Jump in!" So she and I both got into the back seat of the cab and waited for the tall, impressive-looking man to get in himself. I noticed that many likewise impressive looking people were shaking his hand and seeing off from in front of the Marriot on Canal Street; and when he finally got into the cab, he got into the passenger side of the front seat of the cab. As the cab pulled out, he reached over the back of the front seat and offered his hand and said, "I am General Westmoreland." As the cab continued to the airport, in order to keep him talking I said, "Sir, you mean you don't travel with body guards?" He abruptly said, "No and I don't want any!" Still to keep him talking, I said, "Sir, isn't it wonderful that Haig has just been appointed Secretary of State?" to which he gruffly responded, "Yeah! Yeah! Haig was one of my field commanders in Viet Nam. Nixon called him back to Washington and promoted him from the rank of Colonel to Four Star General in the matter of about two years. Made a lot of the career Army officers angry!" I knew I had said the wrong thing. Next I said, "Sir, I just finished reading Nguyen Kao Ky's book," to which he again gruffly responded, "Yeah! Yeah! That was a bunch of baloney! He made the Diem Family look bad. Those were fine people!" Again, I knew I had said the wrong thing. He then asked me, "Have your read my book?" To which I responded that I did not know he had written one. I asked him the title of it and he told me that the title of it was A SOLDIER REPORTS. To which I told him that I would have to get it and read it. He said, "Give me your card, and I will send you a copy! It will be the paper-back edition. Now if you want the hard-back edition, you will have to buy it yourself at the local bookstore." I gave him my card, and sure enough, he sent me an autographed paperback copy of his book. To keep him talking, I asked him, "Sir, who were some of the great leaders that you have known and dealt with during your career?" He started off by telling me that it was General John J. Pershing had been the one who pinned his second lieutenant bar on him. Then he talked about President Nixon. He said that he had dealt with President Nixon during the Viet Nam War, and--exact words--"If Nixon had listened to me, we would have won that war!" I told him that I was a Lieutenant in the Louisiana Army National Guard, and he wanted to know the name of my unit, for he wanted to mention it when he autographed the book he was to send to me. Then, again, to keep him talking, I said, "We have a general from Lake Charles, General Leonard Pauley." To which he promptly said, "Yes, I know Pauley!" Then he said, "You had another one from Lake Charles, General Eddleman." He probably called his first name, I don't recall. Since I had never heard of General Eddleman before, when I got back to Lake Charles, I mentioned this General Eddleman to my wife's grand-mother who was born in 1904 and had lived in Lake Charles most all of her adult life; and she advised me that she remembered him well. (A GOOGLE search shows the grave marker of a General Clyde David Eddleman, who is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.) I did my best to keep him talking, and I did a pretty good job of it; but I do not recall much more that he said. When we got to the airport, he would not let me pay the fare for the cab for the three of us, insisting that he pay it himself, which he did. Kinda hard to argue with a Four Star General! When he sent me the autographed paper-back edition of his book, he had a nice letter with it in which he referred to my traveling companion as "your lovely wife." He had noticed too, for she was indeed a beautiful woman. I found it amazing, and my friend did too, that ones so insignificant as us, particularly while we both were still in our 30's, would have such an interesting experience and be able to ride along and talk with such a great American military leader. That was an experience that I shall never forget. When I got home, I went across the street from my house to visit with my neighbor who was a ranking Army officer and Viet Nam veteran to tell him about this experience; and when I told him about saying to General Westmoreland, "Sir, isn't it great that Haig has been appointed Secretary of State?" before I could even report what General Westmoreland had responded, my neighbor, the ranking Army officer, immediately responded, "Boy, that was the wrong thing to have said!" To which I immediatly responded, "And so I promptly learned!" This is a true story, as true as my memory recalls it these twenty-five or so years later. -Hardy Parkerson, Atty. - Lake Charles, LA —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Hardy Parkerson (talk • contribs) 01:46, March 20, 2006 (UTC)

I have added the weasel tag to the first paragraph.Bharatveer 07:25, 17 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Is the "Quotation" absolutely necessary?

While it is essential to show general views of the man, I being an Asian/Indian, find this quote to be positively offensive and deriding. I am sure I speak for many others like me. I hope it is clear by now to the "we won/we lost" contributors to this page, that we Orientals do place the same value to human life as any other human being. This quote is prominently displayed, as if it is a great musing, without any explanations given. It immediately brings to mind the horror that was Vietnam, almost a justifications for the 7 million tons of bombs dropped.