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View a eulogy for William Childs Westmoreland, USMA '36, who passed away on July 18, 2005.

William Childs Westmoreland

West Point, 1936

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Charles G. Cleveland on July 20, 2005:

As an Air Force Lt Col, I had the priceless opportunity, if not the unqualified pleasure, of serving General Westmoreland as his executive assistant in Vietnam from May 1966 to May 1967. I knew I was in the presence of greatness during that year, the toughest of the 35 years I spent in the service. I served with many outstanding officers of all services, mostly Air Force, and he is the only one that in my judgment truy deserved to be called "great." In the Vietnam war, which was essentially unwinnable under the circumstances he was forced to operate in, he was the right general at the wrong time. If he had come to full bloom during WWI or WWII, I am convinced he would have been the Pershing or Marshall of his day. The pygmies who attacked him brought no honor on themselves or their country.

I can personally attest to the 10 to 14 hour workdays, 7 days a week duty schedule. He was the soul of integrity, and I was appalled and angered at the CBS piece in January 1982 that accused him of "cooking the books" on enemy strength to show false progress in the war, and then being surprised by the strength of the North Vietnamese assault during Tet 1968. I was there during much of that time(1967), saw some of the "books," attended some of the briefings , and heard his questions. The allegations were flat false, the product of some lower level CIA operative's bitter personal feelings about being on the losing side of a commander's totally proper military judgment.

He had great courage, stamina, judgment, and energy of will. The country has lost one of its most important military leaders of the past century.

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