A Soldier Reports (Signed)

Doubleday, 1976. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 9x6x1. Signed. [Association copy, warmly inscribed by William C. Westmoreland on half title page to Bob Channon.] Hardcover and dust jacket. Tears to jacket with loss. Dust jacket in protective mylar cover. Good binding and cover. Clean, unmarked pages. *Autographed by author.* <br> William C. Westmoreland was a U.S. Army General who commanded U.S. forces in the Vietnam War from 1964 to 1968. In 1964 Westmoreland was assigned to Vietnam as deputy to General Paul Harkins, commander of U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. Westmoreland landed in Saigon on January 27 and in March was appointed to succeed Harkins, in part because President Lyndon Johnson and his advisers thought he had a more realistic understanding of the obstacles faced in Indochina. During his command, Westmoreland oversaw the U.S. military commitment rise from 20,000 troops to more than 500,000. Along with the Pentagon, he supported the intensive bombing of North Vietnam and oversaw the search-and-destroy tactics against the enemy. According to his biographer Samuel Zaffiri, Westmoreland did this reluctantly after Johnson stated that one of his goals was to 'Kill enemy soldiers faster than they could be replaced.' Although Time magazine named him Man of the Year for 1965, Westmoreland's star gradually tarnished as American casualties mounted and a conclusion to the war seemed no closer than when he assumed command. In the wake of the Tet Offensive in February 1968, criticism became ever greater even though the enemy attacks were soundly defeated. Although there is uncertainty as to the exact motives for relieving Westmoreland, in 1968 he was brought home to a promotion as army chief of staff. Even this position was fraught with controversy as he tried shoring up the public perception of the military. He supervised the establishment of the all-volunteer force and elimination of the draft and worked for other changes in the army command structure before retiring in June 1972.