William Westmoreland/Related Articles

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Parent topics

• Vietnam War [r]: (1955-1975) war that killed 3.8 million people, where North Vietnam fought U.S. forces and eventually took over South Vietnam, forming a single Communist country, Vietnam. ^[e]
• Joint Chiefs of Staff [r]: The staff committee of the most senior members of the U.S. military services, charged with policy advice, doctrinal development, and preparedness rather than operational control of forces ^[e]
  • Chief of Staff of the Army [r]: Uniformed professional head of the United States Army, a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and of four-star general rank ^[e]
    • Harold Johnson [r]: U.S. Chief of Staff of the Army between 1964 and 1968, he was a full general who found himself increasingly at odds with the Vietnam War strategy of Lyndon Baines Johnson and William Westmoreland. He sponsored research on better approaches to counterinsurgency ^[e]
  • United States Pacific Command [r]: The U.S. Unified Combatant Command, headquartered in Hawaii, and responsible for the Pacific and East Asia ^[e]
• United States Mission to the Republic of Vietnam [r]: The combination of all U.S. official organizations in Vietnam; during the Vietnam War, it included the military, as opposed to the separate chains of command in Iraq and Afghanistan ^[e]
  • Maxwell Taylor [r]: U.S. Army officer who commanded Airborne units in the Second World War, he rose to full general and Chief of Staff of the Army. Recalled from retirement by John F. Kennedy, he took on a number of politicomilitary roles including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Ambassador to South Vietnam. ^[e]
    • Military Assistance Command, Vietnam [r]: Headquarters for most U.S. combat and support units assisting the Republic of Vietnam ^[e]

Subtopics

• Paul Harkins [r]: Add brief definition or description
• Battle of Khe Sanh [r]: While there had been fighting at Khe Sanh as early as 1964, with U.S. forces arriving in 1966, the main Battle of Khe Sanh ran from January to April 1968, capturing attention before the start of the Tet offensive at the end of January ^[e]
• Battle of the Ia Drang [r]: First divisional-scale battle involving helicopter-borne air assault troops, with U.S. forces against those of North Vietnam ^[e]
• Creighton Abrams [r]: General in the U.S. Army, who was the last head of Military Assistance Command, Vietnam and then Chief of Staff of the Army, who built the volunteer army and restructured the reserve components under the Total Force Concept ^[e]
• Stanley Larsen [r]: Lieutenant general of the U.S. Army, who commanded II Field Force of the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, a corps-sized unit in the Central Highlands, during the buildup of U.S. ground forces in the Vietnam War. He later commanded the Sixth United States Army in the Presidio of San Francisco. ^[e]

Missions

• Pacification in South Vietnam [r]: Add brief definition or description
  • Robert Komer [r]: U.S. national security official (1922-2000), best known for heading the U.S. pacification program during the Vietnam War, in the Johnson Administration ^[e]
• Joint warfare in South Vietnam 1964-1968 [r]: The period of the Vietnam War in which large numbers of foreign ground troops, primarily but not exclusively U.S., allied with the Army of the Republic of Viet Nam against the People's Army of Viet Nam and the Viet Cong ^[e]
• Tet Offensive [r]: A Communist offensive in the Vietnam War, possibly part of a larger strategy, in early 1968. The attackers suffered massive casualties and held no ground, but they achieved the turning of U.S. political opinion against continuing large-scale involvement in the war. ^[e]

Dissenting officers

• John Paul Vann [r]: Influential field operator in the Vietnam War, first as a United States Army advisor and lieutenant colonel, who later worked for the Agency for International Development in a role with the authority of a major general ^[e]
• David Hackworth [r]: Add brief definition or description

Journalists

• David Halberstam [r]: Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author, who was especially controversial for his coverage of the Vietnam War, where some thought he was providing critical investigation for the public, while others believed he was undermining the war effort ^[e]
• Neil Sheehan [r]: A Pulitzer Prize winning American journalist most known for his work on the Vietnam War, considered one of the key sources of truth by some and as a biased opponent by others. He received the Pentagon Papers and oversaw the publication of these classified historical documents in the New York Times. He is also known for his complex biography and war history of John Paul Vann, A Bright and Shining Lie. ^[e]

Other related topics

• Air campaigns in Cambodia and Laos [r]: Add brief definition or description
• CIA activities in Vietnam [r]: Add brief definition or description