Westmoreland Vs Giap

During the Vietnam War General Westmoreland and General Vo Nguyen Giap were very different, but despite their differences they ultimately have the same goal. General Vo Nguyen Giap was a very highly regarded General during this war, but he was not born into the military like some other Generals from the Vietnamese war. One General That was born into the military was General Westmoreland. He was the general for the U.S. and Unlike General Vo Nguyen Giap Westmoreland knew he was going to be a part of the military the second that he was able to understand what the military is and does. Although these two men are very unalike they do have a couple of similarities.

The Vietnam was fought because the U.S. wanted to stop communism from spreading around

Westmoreland was born on March 26, 1914, in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Westmoreland was a very highly regarded General in the military. He led American troops through a large part of the Vietnam War as a four star general. He was a very controversial leader in this war, he had a long, notable career in the U.S. Army. From the time he was a teenager Westmoreland knew that the military was a part of his life. He went to school at the Citadel for about a year until he entered West Point. He graduated in 1936 and he earned the Pershing Sword award after being the top student in his class. The Pershing Sword award is an award you get for being the most militarily proficient cadet. When Westmoreland joined the military he was already a first captain for his rank because he had graduated a military school with his Pershing Sword award. For a few months Westmoreland was serving as a deputy to the U.S. Commander General Paul Harkins. After he was finished serving for a while General Paul Harkins put General Westmoreland in charge of troops in South Vietnam. He was the head of the Military Assistance Command. This was around the time when he got promoted to a four star general. Once Westmoreland was put to this position he assured America that they would win the war. One way he planned to carry out this goal was by escalating the number of American troops in the country. When Westmoreland gained control in 1964, there were about 15,000 to 20,000 American "military advisors" in Vietnam. By 1968, there were approximately a half million American soldiers in Vietnam. Westmoreland calculated achievement in Vietnam by the number of foe troops killed by the enormous quantity of American troops. The general supposed that if the enemy was killed at a pace that would be more rapidly than they could be replaced, the so-called "war of attrition," victory would be forthcoming. Westmoreland's strategies lost support over his term in Vietnam. The boost in troops did not