William Westmoreland was born on March 26, 1914, in Spartanburg, South Carolina, to an upper middle class family. In 1932 he enrolled at West Point Military Academy, graduating in 1936 at the top of his class as First Captain. During World War II, Westmoreland bravely fought in North Africa and in the European Theater of Operation, ending the war with the rank of Colonel. Although he had the reputation of a stern taskmaster, he was a man who cared about his men, taking interest in their welbeing. In 1947, he married Katherine Stevens Van Deusen. They had three children: two daughters named Katherine Westmoreland and Margaret Westmoreland and one son named James Ripley Westmoreland.

During the Korean War, Westmoreland served as commander of the 187th Regimental Combat Team, 82th Airborne Division. In 1953, Westmoreland was promoted to Brigadier General, spending five years in the Pentagon. He became the youngest Major-General in the Army, assuming command of the 101st Airborne Division in 1958. He created the concept of Recondo training in the division, later bringing the concept elsewhere in the Army.

In 1964, Westmoreland was named Deputy Commander of Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. He was known for highly publicized, positive assessments of US military prospects in Vietnam. He adopted a strategy of attrition against the National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) of South Vietnam and the North Vietnamese Army.

Although under Westmoreland’s command, the American forces won every battle, the turning point of the war was the 1968 Tet Offensive, in which communist forces, having staged a diversion at the Battle of Khe Sanh, attacked cities and towns throughout South Vietnam. US and South Vietnamese troops successfully fought off the attacks, and the communist forces took extremely heavy losses. Nevertheless, the way in which the American media reported and depicted the Tet Offensive shook American public confidence as Westmoreland’s previous assurances about the state of the war got undermined by leftist artists statement and behavior such as those of Joan Baez and drugged hippies demonstrations everywhere.

In June 1968, Westmoreland was replaced by General Creighton Abrams. Westmoreland served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1968 to 1972, then retired from the Army. Many military historians have pointed out that Westmoreland became Chief of Staff at the worst time in history with regard to the Army, guiding the Army as it transitioned to an all-volunteer force.