Retired General William Westmoreland, the man who was the top ranking Army officer during America's long involvement in the war in Vietnam, died Monday night at the age of 91.
Westmoreland was living at the Bishop Gadsden retirement home with his wife according to his son, James Ripley Westmoreland. He died of natural causes.
To his dying day, Westmoreland defended the U.S. role in Vietnam. 'It's more accurate to say our country did not fulfill its commitment to South Vietnam,' he once said. 'By virtue of Vietnam, the U.S. held the line for 10 years and stopped the dominoes from falling.'
Despite the fact that South Vietnam fell to the communists in 1975, Westmoreland remained proud of his effort there.
'Few people have a field command as long as I did,' he said. 'They put me over there and they forgot about me. But I was there seven days a week, working 14 to 16 hours a day.'
'I have no apologies, no regrets. I gave my very best efforts,' he added. 'I've been hung in effigy. I've been spat upon. You just have to let those things bounce off.'
Vietnam was the most divisive war in the history of the United States with the exception of the Civil War. As the commanding officer of the troops, Westmoreland was a target for much criticism. Many American troops took abuse upon their return to the United States, a fact that hurt Westmoreland deeply.
It meant a lot to Westmoreland in 1982 when he led Vietnam veterans to the dedication of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, DC. Westmoreland called that experience, 'one of the most emotional and proudest experiences of my life.'
Westmoreland was born on March 26, 1914 in Spartanburg, South Carolina. After one year at The Citadel, he transferred to West Point where he graduated in 1936 after holding the highest rank in the cadet corps.
In World War II, he saw action in North Africa, Sicily and the European theater. By the end of the war, he had rose to the rank of colonel.
Perhaps his most dramatic victory came in the North African desert when he opposed German General Erwin Rommel and joined the battle himself rather than remaining safely behind the lines.
During the Korean War, he was made a brigadier general and was later made superintendent of West Point in 1960. Four years later, he was put in charge of American troops in Vietnam. He retired from active duty in 1972, shortly before American troops ended their involvement in the fighting in Southeast Asia.
In 1982, Westmoreland filed a highly publicized $120 million lawsuit against CBS over a documentary 'The Uncounted Enemy: A Vietnam Deception.' In the documentary, CBS news implied he had deceived President Johnson and the public about enemy troop strength in Vietnam.
At the time, Westmoreland said the question 'is not about whether the war in Vietnam was right or wrong, but whether in our land a television network can rob an honorable man of his reputation.'
After an 18 week trial, the case settled shortly before it went to the jury. The settlement was not disclosed to the public.
He later wrote his memoirs, entitled 'A Soldier Reports.'
Westmoreland is survived by his wife Kathy and his three children.
