June 2017 Sports Card & Memorabilia Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/25/2017
This 4"x6" photo is signed in blue sharpie marker and certified authentic by Beckett. Westmoreland is best known as a United States Army general, who most notably commanded U.S. forces during the Vietnam War from 1964 to 1968. He passed away in 2005 at the age of 91. From Westmoreland’s arrival in South Vietnam in January 1964, his brief was to achieve outright victory over the Northern-backed Viet Cong, with minimal US casualties, without provoking the Chinese by attacks on the North. These demands were clearly contradictory, as even some of his critics acknowledged, and when casualties inevitably mounted, he was accused of pursuing a war of attrition. During his period of command, both the Battle of Ia Drang (Nov. 1965) and the Tet Offensive (Jan. 1968) were technically US victories, but public support for the war was diminished. By the time he was re-assigned as Army Chief of Staff, US military forces in Vietnam had reached a peak of 535,000. Westmoreland’s strategy, based on artillery and air power, was tactically successful but politically unsuccessful, as it resulted in large-scale casualties among non-combatants, which eroded American support for the war.
Condition: EX-NM
General William Westmoreland Autographed 4"x6" Photo - Beckett COA (US Army General & Vietnam War Commander)
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