william westmoreland is the commander on the scene. what's your problem if you're westmoreland? >> you face two types of threats, the regular nba. if you just do guerrillas, >> what's the problem with that? >> you can't tell your force to discount it or combine arms. if you just do guerrillas, they'll overwhelm be with battalions. if you do just against nva -- you have to worry about the guerillas growing. >> if you're westmoreland, you now have this hybrid threat. on one hand you have large-scale operations with the nva, north vietnamese army, vietcong serving as main force guys but also as guerrillas. and also the political structure in the village. what are those guys doing, the political structure? what's their effort focused on? go ahead, matt. >> sir, what they are trying to do is the long-term fight. so they were trying to change a political culture in the villages. trying to win tactically and politically in order to have the regime change and switch over communism. >> subversion in the country side with the cadre, and we also have main forces. when westmoreland takes ov

does westmoreland in '66 and >> westmoreland, forr all his strategy, still has to work within the box of limited war. officially no laos, no cambodia, no attacks in north vietnam from the dmc. why does that matter? >> that's where all the militaries were retreating to, sanctuary for the military where they can plan next attacks. >> okay. what else have are you figured about these american forces? >> that you can't beat them toe-to-toe. conventional on conventional, the u.s. and overwhelming firepower is going to beat you every day. >> we have unquestioned power superior or the and unquestioned mobility to some extent superior or the. if you stand toe-to-toe against the americans, yeah, you can hurt them but at the end of the day, you're going to get schwhacked. let's talk about something here. how important is it for you to understand how you're doing in war? at any given point in time. >> that's going to assess your further actions. when we talk about operational approach and we talk about doing branch plans, different things come from that so we need to know where we are actually at

william westmoreland. so he's the one tasked with defeating the insurgents, the communist threat in southern vietnam. and the entire approach was predicated on this search-and-destroy tactic. and, and body counts. so, so basically what westmoreland seeks to do to achieve victory, is kill as many enemy troops, vietcong and north vietnamese as he can. so whenever americans go into combat once combat is over, they have to count how many vietnamese bodies are left behind. and based on the numbers provided, westmoreland measured how successful the u.s. was in the war. beyond all of this, in terms of of finding the enemies, because the vietnamese recked early on that they are no match for american forces. so if anything, the vietcong and the north vietnamese troops will try to avoid as much as they can, actually engaging americans in combat. they'll go after troops of the south vietnamese regime. feeling confident about their odds against them. but try to avoid make combat with american troops. and so that's why

some people loved the war because of westmoreland. because of the way he chose to deal with the communist presence in southern vietnam. he is a great guy to some and he is reviled by others. but like so many issues when it comes to vietnam, there is no consensus on westmoreland. like so many issues in vietnam, he was either great or he was really bad. remember, particularly the objective when it comes to vietnam, it is either all good or bad when it comes to policies and policy makers and in this together case, to the american commander responsible for military affairs. it on the cover of life magazine, the war will be extensively covered. by the world media, including the american media. and so, the war effectively becomes incapable if you are an american citizen. is not in the magazine your reading. it is on the tv news that you are watching or the radio programs that you're listening to, that people still listen to on the radio during that period. this was fine. these are great americans. of course they will suffer casualties. but

westmoreland's attempts? what is your assessment? >> i think it works out pretty well for what he wants to accomplish. he does limit the nva and push them out of the region. and then after ted, -- we are not at tet. before them. we push them away and give arvin room. then the nva has to work for it. >> we're gonna talk about this. what were the successful indicators. in westmoreland -- what indicators are that the strategy is working? >> they're going from a traditional war to a more guerrilla style were. they were performing insurgency -- they weren't winning force on force, they basically went to a guerrilla warfare mentality. then they could come back. >> these large sweeps don't work. in reality they are causing damage to the nva. if you are the nva, what you think about this american force fighting in 1967. what did we figure out? >> they were attacking cambodia, laos and north vietnam. met westmoreland for all of his strategy still has to work within the box of limited war. officially no laos, cambodia, no attacks in the north

johnson comes out and so does westmoreland. we knew this was coming, even though a lot of people underneath him are like, no. even if we had their plans, we wouldn't have believed them. yes, there were some that anticipated some kind of offensive, but nobody anticipated it on this scale. what's going to happen is this offensive is going to be a major tactical defeat for the vietcong, but a strategic defeat for the united states. tactical victory, strategic defeat. things happen. and nothing stands out probably in this way any more than what happened when the police commissioner of saigon takes a suspected vietcong and executes him in front of the cameras. this execution leads a lot of americans to question. and this is one that's important because i like to talk in the book about the people closest to johnson. the ones that are having the most influence. and harry mcpherson, a person described as the president's conscience emphasized the execution. not only demonstrated the inhumanity of an ally but confirmation of an impressio

johnson comes out and so does westmoreland. we knew this was coming, even though a lot of people underneath him are like, no. even if we had their plans, we wouldn't have believed them. yes, there were some that anticipated some kind of offensive, but nobody anticipated it on this scale. what's going to happen is this offensive is going to be a major tactical defeat for the vietcong, but a strategic defeat for the united states. tactical victory, strategic defeat. things happen. and nothing stands out probably in this way any more than what happened when the police commissioner of saigon takes a suspected vietcong and executes him in front of the cameras. this execution leads a lot of americans to question. and this is one that's important because i like to talk in the book about the people closest to johnson. the ones that are having the most influence. and harry mcpherson, a person described as the president's conscience emphasized the execution. not only demonstrated the inhumanity of an ally but confirmation of an impressio

they could submit a -- submit questions to general westmoreland. will the speaker please answer this question. none of the phases mentioned surrender by north vietnam. what is the significance of the mission? think about that? what is the significance of the omission? no surrender by the north vietnamese. let's carry that forward. i love this question. why not discuss surrender quirks think about that. right before 1967 comes to an end the prime minister of australia goes swimming on the coast of australia and december is their summer. he is off swimming and he disappears. ultimately harold holt is his name and his body will not be recovered. they hold a funeral in vietnam. they sent troops. here is what the president does. you read about this. he calls his personal pilot and say get the plane ready. we are going to a funeral. the plane is under repair. he complains about it. he will go around the world in 1967. the main issue will remain vietnam. he goes to australia and the first thing he does is meets with the president of south korea for obviou

arlington north westmoreland, all lanes blocked there. the travel times in maryland right no virginia is going to get messy. nnbound 66 and 95 are okay. remember to liso wtop when you hop in your car. >>> still a ahead, look inside a new d.c. charter school, unlike any other. who it's for and whyde acs aren't the only thing being taught. > and a wom who served on the jury for the paul manafort trial.ay what she ss stopped

monroe himself is from westmoreland county out east. he was born in 1758 and moved here from fredricksburg where he had settled with his young wife just after their marriage. first they lived at a property that's now the grounds of university of virginia. we call it now monroe hill. and he lived in that place. and then this property became available, and he saw it as being closer to jefferson, being a larger tract of land and hopefully more productive. he purchased the property in 1793 and moved hero officially late in the year of 1799. by the late 18-teens, he also had his property oak hill in loudoun county, and that was much closer to washington, so he went there more frequently. so during monroe's presidency when he came here, he very likely traveled with his wife. sometimes his elder daughter also accompanied him. of course, her husband, george h hay, was an important person to monroe being a confidant and secretary sometimes. so their family would come. they were certainly enslaved people during their lifetime. he claimed ownershi

and he looked up at my name tag and he said, westmoreland. he said, are you any relation to the general and i said, yes, i'm his wife. and he said, you know, ma'am, i have always wondered what general's wives did when their husbands were overseas. >> wow. >> and that was -- i said, well, i'm bathing you. >> yeah. that's nice. so that must have been quite an experience for you, being over there. >> it was. it made me feel more useful. >> sure. i'm sure your husband appreciated that as well. >> i don't know if he did or not. >> he was busy. >> yeah. so you really didn't spend a whole lot of time on the home front, did you? >> no. >> you were constantly back and forth between vietnam and the philippines and hawaii and -- >> yeah. yeah. >> so what sort of sense did you get of the -- of the divisiveness within the nation at that time? >> well, you see -- really we didn't have television particularly in the philippines. and i guess we realized it in hawaii some. but when we got to the philippines, you just had the army times and we really didn't ha

of course, he was born in the eastern part of the state in westmoreland county. during the main portion of his public career, here highland was his home. this represents his ministries abroad where he was twice minister to france and england and briefly to spain. it also represents his time as secretary of state. he was prior to that he was a four term governor when that was allowed. he was elected to four individual one-year terms. he was secretary of state and eventually a wildly popular two-term president. monroe was -- seems to be an easy man. they say he was able to put men and women at ease in social situations. i think he enjoyed dinner table conversation. parlor conversations. really was kind. people say he had a great sense of humor. we see that in people's accounts of monroe. he seems to poke fun at himself and others. james monroe went to campbelltown academy, which was a good school. it was in westmoreland county. it really prepared colonial young men for a real professional life. john marshall was at least briefly one of his classmates. after both of

how does history view william westmoreland's role?> let me say something about what was just said here. i think it's an important part of how we process this war. i hope more people in this country will talk to the vietnamese-american community and you will learn about a lot of the stakes in play during this war that we never talk about. when you talk to the vietnamese and i can talk to them, the japanese were the worst occupiers of vietnam. they killed and starved about a million vietnamese by taking rice out and sending it to japan. history, but the question in this post-world war ii period, is how does vietnam move forward away from a colonial system? there were a number of anti-french political groups and leaders that were also anti-communist, and a great percentage of them got killed before we got there, when ho chi minh was taking over and solidifying the communist system. a lot of the vietnamese who were on our side. 240,000 of them died on our side. a million of them were sent to re-education camps after the war. some of my fr

host: a key player in all of that, william westmoreland. how does history view his role?let me say something about those just said. it's an important part of how we process this war. i hope more people in this country will talk to the vietnamese-american community. you will learn about a lot of the stakes that were in play during this war that we never talk about. vietnam.h colonized ,hen you talk to the vietnamese i speak vietnamese and i can get away from translators. the japanese were the worst -- of vietnam.e in th great have a long colonial history. the question in this post-world war ii period, how does vietnam , away from a colonial system. there were a number of anti-french political, away frol groups and leaders that were also anti-communist and a great percentage of them got killed before we got there. when ho chi minh was taking over in solidifying the communist system. a lot of vietnamese who were on them,de, we forget about 245,000 of them died on our side. 1,000,000% to reeducation camps after the war. 13.5 years in reeducation camps after the war, came here

arlington north westmoreland, all lanes blocked there. the travel times in maryland right no virginia is going to get messy. nnbound 66 and 95 are okay. remember to liso wtop when you hop in your car. >>> still a ahead, look inside a new d.c. charter school, unlike any other. who it's for and whyde acs aren't the only thing being taught. > and a wom who served on the jury for the paul manafort trial.ay what she ss stopped >>> you're watching "news 4 today." >> back-to-school season in full swing right now. many of you might post pictures of your kids on social media. there's a new study that many parents ignore the dangers of postingictures online. more than 70% of parents agree that these photos could end up in the wrong hands. half of the parents say they would post a picture of their child wearing a schooluniform. >>> a brand-new charter school is up and running in d.c. statesman preratory school for boys opens up. >> it is a uniqueca eon site for black and brown boys. and the school places a premium on relationships. in this room, 60

symptomatic only the problems in vietnam and the complete denial of what was happening by william westmoreland. another book work read neglect current times he, the sociopath next door. what it's like to work with people who are almost universally seen as charming, who have no moral compass no sense of right or wrong, and no empathy for other people, and tend to be extremely narcissistic, i don't know but this book seemed to be relevant and i recommend it. took up a new mystery writer, more gee john, joe nesbo, an extraordinary writer and i want to read everything he has written and this is called "the first" but if you like complex characters, not your normal heros, very flawed, sort of main character who nonetheless solves crimes, this is the writer and it's very complex writing, and a joy to read. jo nesbo. book by mel irvin paint can called "stand to go armageddon" the united states goes through cycles in terms of progressive reforms, and this documents that period of time, and well worth -- history well worth knowing, informs us about movements today. at bit dry in is prose and not as man

this is westmoreland sending out a command performance mounting the party line. and then, of course, january 31st, february 1st, vietnam, the tet offensive takes place which again, the u.s. militarily wins but psychologicicly, strategically loses. who is telling the truth? what's the media supposed to do with it? by this time some heavy hitters, sheehan and others, they know better and they've got news authority to say differently, they've got the post and the times. who is truthful? who is legitimate? who is credible? so you start to see especially in '68 both of those big paradigms, who we are in the world and who we are at home becoming issues that news media have to constantly think about. now, most newspapers, most producers, most editors they're still operating in a very narrow political parameter, but the questions are now there. and political authorities are aware that the media is no longer simply mouthing established lines. mostly it is, but not completely anymore. so now we come home, it's chicago, you're preparing now for the national convention. the

. >> reporter: as tributes poured in from around the westmoreland there was one person who appeared unmoved. >> do you have any thoughts at all about john mccain? >> the president ignored questions about mccain today. and it wasn't until veterans groups brought pressure that the white house lowered its flag for a second time to honor mccain. the president issuing a proclamation that all public buildings and grounds do the same. a georgia republican urged the president to drop his long time grudge with the war hero. >> anybody who in any way tarnishes the representation of john mccain deserves a whipping. most of the ones who would do the wrong thing about the john mccain didn't have the guts to do the right thing when it was their turn. >> at the capitol his senate desk was draped in black. >> we can try as he did to put country before party, we can try as he always did to speak truth to power. >> i will miss one of the very finest gentleman with whom i have had the honor to serve. we will not forget him. >> i have made mistakes. but i hope my love for america will be weighed favorably agai

. >>> next, katherine westmoreland. she talked about her life, including being a nurse's aide during the vietnam war. the interview from the west point interview center for oral history is a little bit over an hour. >> good evening, ma'am. today is the first of october, 2016, and we are in the west point center for oral history, and i'm here with katherine stevens van hazen westmoreland. you go by kitsy. can you spell your last name for the triber? >> w-e-s-t-m-o-r-e-l-a-n-d. >> tell us what it was like to grow up in the army? >> i grew

, it goes to this johnson clip, is that the tet offensive as an event was 180 degrees off what westmoreland had been saying in the summer of '67, which is we're close to the light at the end of the tunnel. it's not as if cronkite is coming out of the blue with this summation he had. and then, of course, you have johnson here just kind of being twirled on the wheel of indecision between the politicians and congress who are feeling this blow-back from the country and watch the tet unfold in color on their tv screens. >> michael in san bernardino, california, good morning to you. >> caller: good morning. i want to say that -- make this quick. my father was with patton in the 3rd army so i felt it was my duty to go to vietnam. when i got there, i was with -- of the highest ranking officers died that month. then president nixon visited us in '69. and then i got out and i was walking through international airport on may 4th, 1970, and i really felt like i was nothing, because they looked at me because everybody was looking at kent state. but now it's turned around. i had great experience with the

there were four of my classmates westmoreland -- high school in oregon who were killed in the vietnam war. one of them was in 1968. these are all guys i went to school with. there was a profound effect for me. i think, i was just getting it knowing that my friends were getting bumped off in vietnam. and that i wanted to go over there. all you had to do was go on the campuses. i was living and working in l.a. at the time, so i covered san francisco state. and all of the adjoining areas. you can see the rising tide of people protesting. steve: this is from a cbs radio network ad. mr. k and the kremlin. i mentioned that because you were also the author of "the year i was peter the great." so concerned about with the soviet union, why was this such a fear? >> in 1968, we were still part -- caught up in the cold war. and that was an existential fight and argument with the communist world. we were in the capitalist world. the entire world itself was divided by the cold war. vietnam was the pivotal war, which really turned the whole cold war around. in my judgment. in 1968, more than any oth

problems we had in vietnam at the time and the complete denial of what was happening, by william west westmoreland, and another book considering reading, the socionath next door. working with people who are almost universally seen as charming, who have no moral compass no sense of right or wrong and no empathy for other people and tend to be extremely narcissistic. i don't know why but this book seemed to be relevant, and i recommend it. i took up a new mystery writer, jonesbo and i want to read everything the has written ask this called "the first. " if you like complex characters, not your normal heroes, very flawed, sort of main character who nonetheless solves crimes. this is the writer and it's very complex writing, and a joy to read. jo nesbo. a book called standing at armageddon. this documents the period of time with progressive reforms and history well worth knowing, informs us but a movements today. a little dry in its prose, and not as many -- as the main characters in the progressive era but a good.com pendism to understand the era. another mystery writer i recommend is a canadian writ

those of you with gray in your hair, 1967, very end of the year, general westmoreland, the head of the vietnam command is pulled back in a political act by president johnson, political movement. and johnson is forced to go around to say, we're winning -- what is the phrase? light ten end of the tunnel. >> strategically, they win, but psychologically, they lose. some heavy hitters, they know better and they have news authority to say differently. they have the post of the time. who is truthful? who is legitimate? who is credible? you start to see especially in '68, the big par dimes, who we are in the world and who we are at home. that's something that news media have to think about. most newspapers, most editors are operating in a very narrow political parameter. but the questions are now there. and political authorities are aware that the media is no longer simply mouthing established lines. mostly it is. but not completely anymore. so, now we come home. it ale chicago -- it's chicago. you are preparing for the national convention. in 1968, the national convention has become a problem