William Westmoreland Vietnam War

William Westmoreland is better known by his service during the Vietnam War, but prior to the Vietnam War he began to establish himself as a commander in both World War II and the Korean War. William Westmoreland cut his teeth as a Lieutenant during World War II seeing combat in the North Africa theater and then in the invasion of Italy. Westmoreland quickly reached the position of Chief of Staff for the 9th Infantry Division. After World War II Westmoreland continued to move up in the ranks and obtain the rank of Major in 1948, two years before the break out of the Korean War. At the outbreak of the Koran War on June 25, 1950, Major Westmoreland was not in a combat role like in World War II, but he would actually be an instructor at the …show more content…
At this time the Korean War already saw the defense of the Pusan Perimeter, which pushed the North Korean army nearly out of the Korean Peninsula only to have the Chinese intervene with military force. The Chinese intervention pushed the United Nations (UN) back to the 38th parallel where both sides dug in strong and sturdy defensive positions. Colonel Westmoreland arrived after the Rakkasans had completed a successful operation to stamp out the prison rebellion at the United Nations Prisoner of War Camp No.1 on the island of Koje-do. Colonel Westmoreland immediately began to assess the Rakkasans’ ability as a unit and determine, “Although the unit had seen action earlier in the war, … the men had for long been in reserve in Japan and needed refresher training…”. Colonel Westmoreland initiated an aggressive training schedule to prepare the Rakkasans for future deployments against the North Korean Army and Chinese. This training also included training jumps that he also joined in on and on one jump his chute failed to open until the last minute nearly killing …show more content…
He was able to take a reserve unit that was lacking in training, by his standards, and implement a training regimen that prepared the Rakkasans for deployment ot the frontlines on the 38th parallel. General Westmoreland commanded the Rakkasans on operations along the Missouri line, re-deployment to Japan and maintain a rapid deployment unit. His ability to maintain a rapid deployment unit was put to the test in mid-1953, when he received orders to redeploy to block Chinese attacks and successfully did so until the armistice would go into effect on July 27, 1953. General Westmoreland would go on from the Korean War to also serve in Vietnam where he would become a household