Photo
from Mark Bradley's Page at the
University of Milwaukee Photo
from Mark Bradley's Page at the
University of Milwaukee
General William Westmoreland was a WWII and Korea veteran. Johnson appointed him head of the U.S. military advisory group in Vietnam, and he held the command of the U.S. forces in Vietnam until his departure in 1968.
Although it would be gratuitous to assign individual responsibilities for the U.S. escalation in Vietnam, Westmoreland's role in the process was very influential. Against the opinion of Ambassador Taylor, Westmoreland requested two marine battalions to protect the American base in Danang, the first step in the increasing American commitment. President Johnson, following a strictly military approach to the conflict, offered Westmoreland all the forces he considered necessary to win the war. Westmoreland also argued for a more active role for the U.S. forces, patrolling the countryside, instead of limiting them to a purely defensive mission.
Biography of
William Westmoreland (NY Times, November 16, 1984)
From Mark Bradley's Page at the University of Milwaukee
http://www.uwm.edu/~mbradley/westmorelandbio.html
June 14, 1965
Telegram requesting the deployment of more troops
From Mark Bradley's Page at the University of Milwaukee
http://www.uwm.edu/~mbradley/westmorelanddoc1.html
Westmoreland sends a request for American combat troops who would take up the large-scale confrontations with North Vietnamese and NLF units. Having U.S. troops engaging large Communist units would free the SVA, according to Westmoreland, to focus on countering the guerrilla and terrorist attacks.
June 24, 1965
Telegram to Wheeler on future course of action
From the Historian of the State Department
http://www.state.gov/www/about_state/history/vol_iii/010.html(Doc.
# 17)
At Wheeler's request (Doc. # 14, same page), Westmoreland sends his personal views on the strategy to follow in Vietnam. Westmoreland states that "[...]I see no likelihood of achieving a quick, favorable end to the war[...]" and concludes that "[...] US forces in appropriate numbers must be deployed[...]" He then gives a rough estimate of the types and number of forces that would be necessary, and warns that "we must be prepared for a long war which will probably involve increasing numbers of US troops."
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