The Top American Field Commanders in the Vietnam War

 

General William Childs Westmoreland

                                                                            

The Military Assistance Command, Viet Nam (MACV) was created on February 8, 1962, to have a unified command over all American units during the Viet Nam War. The mission of the MACV was to assist  South Viet Nam maintain internal security against subversion and insurgency and to repel attack from North Vietnam. The Commanding General of the MACV was the highest-ranking US military officer in Viet Nam during the war. He was responsible for the overall conduct of military operations inside South Viet Nam and other areas of interest that included North Viet Nam, Laos, and Cambodia. It was disbanded on March 29, 1973, after the signing of the Paris Peace Accord and the withdrawal of the American forces from South Viet Nam. Following are four successions of American generals who commanded the MACV:

General Paul Donal Harkins (1962-1964) He was born in Massachusetts, USA on May 15, 1904. A graduate of US Military Academy at West Point in 1929, General Harkins was the first commander of the Military Assistance command, Viet Nam when it was organized in 1962. One of his significant assignments was his being Deputy Chief of Staff of General George Patton during WW2. General Harkins also served the US forces during the Korean War in the early 50’s. The initial US troops build up in the Viet Nam War occurred during his watch. When General Harkins left Viet Nam, there were around 11,000 to 16,000 US troops there. General Harkins died on August 21, 1984.

Photo credit: Herbert Abrams

                                                                                                                                                          General William Childs Westmoreland (1964-1968) Also called as “Westy” in the military circle, General Westmoreland was born on March 26, 1914, in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He graduated with distinction at the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1936 receiving the award of First Captain which was the highest graduating rank and the Pershing Sword which was given to the most able cadet. At 42 Westy was the youngest American officer ever to be promoted as major general. As a lieutenant he served in the artillery and during the Second World War he saw action in Sicily, France and Germany and served as the commander of the 187^th Regimental Combat Team during the Korean War. He was assigned as the superintendent of the United States Military Academy and the commander of the XVll Airborne Corps in 1963. He then became the deputy commander of General Paul D. Harkins at MACV and assumed full command of it in 1964. When Westmoreland took over the command the US forces had only about 16,000 troops. His stint as Commander of all US forces saw massive build up of American troops. When he was relieved of his post at MACV the US forces strength stood at 535,000. Westmoreland during his term used the conventional military strategies like search-and-destroy and the war of attrition to deal with the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese forces. The war of attrition called for the deployment of large units with superior firepower using artillery and air support to destroy the enemy. The communist on the other hand countered Westy’s strategy by using hit-and-run tactics and by avoiding larger US and South Vietnamese units. Westmoreland was the commander of all American forces when the communists launched their Tet Offensive on which they attacked simultaneously about one hundred urban targets inside South Vietnam. Although the US and South Vietnamese forces defeated the communists attack and inflicted thousands of casualties on them, the American public started to doubt its country’s ability to win the war. The huge cost, the high number of casualties and the negative publicities of the war had slowly but surely eroded American public support for it. After his assignment in Viet Nam, Westmoreland returned to Washington to become the Chief of Staff of the United States Army. He retired in 1972. He ran for Governor in California in 1974 under the Republican Party, but he lost in the election. General Westmoreland died on July 18, 2005.

General Creighton Williams Abrams Jr. (1968-1972) He was born on September 15, 1914, in Springfield, Massachusetts.  General Abrams was a classmate of Westmoreland in West Point Class of 1936. He served with the 1^st cavalry Division from 1936 to 1940. In July 1942 to March 1943, he was a battalion commander, and then a regimental executive officer from March 1943 to September 1943 with the US Armor Regiment.  General Abrams was promoted to general in 1964 and appointed as Vice Chief of Staff of the army. In 1968 he replaced Westmoreland as the Commanding General of MACV. Abrams’ stint saw the drastic reduction of the US forces due to “Vietnamization” policy of the Richard Nixon’s administration in 1969. From a high of 535,000 during the term of Westmoreland, it was trimmed down to 49,000 at the end of Abrams’ term. Abrams used a strategy that was different from his predecessor’s. He broke the large US units to small ones whose members lived with the villagers to train them and to help them ward off enemy infiltrations and attacks. He put more emphasis on winning the people’s hearts and minds in the conflict affected areas believing that the people’s trust and confidence in the US forces and its ally were significant factor in winning the war. In 1972 Abrams was relieved of his command at MACV and elevated to the position of Chief of Staff of the US Army. He died of lung cancer while in office. The US main battle tank M1 Abrams was named after him.

General Frederick Carlton Weyand (1972-1973) He was born on September 15, 1916, in Arbuckle, California. General Weyand was a graduate of the ROTC program. As a young officer he was assigned with the 6^th field artillery.  One of his significant positions included an assignment as commander of the 25^th Division, stationed in Hawaii. That unit was introduced to Viet Nam with him as commander in 1965 and 1966. In 1970 he became the deputy commander of the MACV and in June 1972 was the commander after Gen. Creighton Abrams became the Chief of Staff of the United States Army. Conducting the US policy of “Vietnamization” of the war, General Weyand oversaw the withdrawal of the US military forces from South Viet Nam. After the disbandment of MACV in March 1973, he was assigned as Commander-in-Chief US Army, Pacific in 1973 and as Vice Chief of Staff of the US Army in 1973 and 1974. He finally made it as Chief of Staff of the US Army on October 3, 1974. He retired from the service on October 1, 1976. After his retirement he settled in Hawaii and died there on February 10, 2010.

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