General William Westmoreland graduated from West Point in 1936. He was a combat officer in both World War II and Korea, and from 1960-63 he was commandant of West Point. In 1964, he was appointed head of the Military Assistance Command (MACV). He commanded US forces in Vietnam as they gradually expanded from a few thousand to over half a million.

In 1968, he returned to Washington to serve as Army Chief of Staff, a post he held until 1972.

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