"As any television viewer or newspaper reader could discern the end in South Vietnam, in April 1975, came with incredible suddenness, amid scenes of unmitigated misery and shame. Utter defeat, panic, and rout have produced similar demoralizing tableaux through the centuries; yet to those of us who had worked so hard and long to try to keep it from ending that way, who had been so markedly conscious of the deaths and wounds of thousands of Americans and the soldiers of other countries, who had so long stood in awe of the stamina of the South Vietnamese soldier and civilian under the mantle of hardship, it was depressingly sad that so much misery should be a part of it. So immense had been the sacrifices made through so many long years that the South Vietnamese deserved an end- if it had to come to that- with more dignity to it."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Academics from the United StatesMilitary leaders from the United StatesRepublican Party (United States) politiciansUnited States Army peoplePeople from South Carolina
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
p. 396.
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Westmoreland
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
William Westmoreland
William Childs Westmoreland (March 26, 1914 – July 18, 2005) was a United States Army general, who most notably commanded U.S. forces during the Vietnam War from 1964 to 1968. He served as [[w:Chief of Staff of the United States Army|Chief of Staff of the
57 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by William Westmoreland →
Related Quotes
"Among a stream of visitors to the 9th Division in England, while it was preparing for D-Day in the early months of 19…"
"Soon after the war- Jim Gavin told me to our amusement- the commandant of the Air War College, Major General Orvil A.…"
"Despite a number of near misses, I came through the war unscathed. In Tunisia a shell hit my vehicle but without harm…"
"During the war years, it was my privilege to associate on a number of occasions with prominent personalities, such as…"
"Russians and vodka, I soon learned, were virtually synonymous. Twice I accompanied my division commander, General Cra…"
"While in Sicily, I re-established an earlier acquaintance with a dynamic young colonel commanding one of the 82d Airb…"
"Being in Germany in the 1940s brought back recollections of my first visit long before as a Boy Scout, when I had had…"
"Returning home on leave following my second year at West Point, I called on a great-uncle who had joined the Confeder…"
"As graduation neared, neither my classmates nor I could know, of course, that World War II was in the offing. It was …"
"I first met George S. Patton, Jr., before World War II when he was a lieutenant colonel at Fort Sill, and in North Af…"