 |  As one who has had few good experiences with generals, I still was touched with a bit of sadness at the death of William Westmoreland, the Vietnam era effigy. It is a bad rap overall, I think.
My complaint with generals in Vietnam is pretty much the same that it is with much of Vietnam: the inequity of it all. Many who served in Vietnam didn't live a bad life; but, a few miles away, American soldiers were dying left and right. Not any real difference in Iraq today. The disparity of those who are really doing the fighting: the infantry and "front line" troops and the support soldiers is more than wide: it is often cavernous. Not much to be done about it.
In Vietnam, generals who sat back and pronounced great strategy often lived in the lap of luxury. So, when all these dignitaries show up in Iraq, always remember they are getting the red carpet treatment.
Westmoreland was a tragic figure. Trying to fight an unpopular war was difficult. Contrast that to the hero generals of WW II. Even lessor lights, so to speak, were given hero status. Even in death, it is hard to get someone to say something positive about Westy. I think he did the best he could! He was vilified by the media and eventually fought a long and hard court fight for his reputation. Although the lawsuit was settled before it went to the jury, he lost! He never totally regained his reputation.
Westy said we didn't lose the war. Wrong. We never lost a battle; but, what we did, and he was the architect, was fight the war in a conventional manner. We operated with our value system: belief in the importance of life. This had something to do with strategy. With our enormous advantage of firepower, Westy figured; that, if we killed enough of the enemy, they would tire and accept the futility of it and quit. Wrong! We had history in Korea. When the Chinese swamed over the borders to rescue North Korea, MacArthur issued an order: Kill as many Chinese as we could. It didn't work, they kept coming. It would not deter the North Vietnamese because individual life had no real meaning. For the wailing peasant mother who had raised her son in the family rice paddy and now had lost him, it made a difference, but not to HO. Westy never grasped this; or, if he did, it was too late.
Westy never got the idea that corruption was sinking us. The Vietnamese, who had been at war forever, would not support us knowing their government mostly lined their own pockets; corruption was rampant at every level. And, sadly, for Westy, he never got the fact that the media was intrusive and not interested in the truth but a story. Still, the media wasn't the enemy. As expressed in the often referenced Pogo cartoon: we have seen the enemy; and, he are us. Sadly, it took us 58,000 dead to learn the lesson; and then, we didn't as we only have to point to Iraq which has quickly become Iraqnam. God bless Westy; may he rest in peace.
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| ___ In Memorium: General William Childs Westmoreland ___
 General Westmoreland, age 91, died Monday, July 18, at a retirement center in South Carolina. He was commander of American forces in Vietnam from 1964-1968. His time in Vietnam was surrounded by controversy and the mention of his name brings up old wounds for many VietVets.
In an associated press interview in 1985, he said, "I have no apologies, no regrets. I gave my very best efforts." "I've been hung in effigy. I've been spat upon. You just have to let those things bounce off." He sued CBS for an unflattering documentary(to say the least) "The Uncounted Enemy: A Vietnam Deception." The lawsuit was settled out of court before it went to the jury. As we have said in the past "He has left the building." God Bless his family. May he rest in peace. God Bless America and all VietVets. JHL
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