Assaulting the Dead

An American hero died today.

William Westmoreland died in Charleston, SC, at the age of 91. His life was extraordinary by any measure. He was an Eagle Scout who graduated at the top of his class from West Point in 1936, and earned the respect of his soldiers fighting legendary German Filed Marshall Erwin Rommel in North Africa during World War II. He was a colonel by 30, and became a general during the Korean War.

He had the distinct honor of being the superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point from 1960-64, where he will soon be laid to rest.

After West Point, General Westmoreland commanded troops in Vietnam during the controversial years of 1964-1968, became Army Chief of Staff in 1968, and retired in 1972.

He became active in veterans' advocacy, and he visited veterans' groups in all 50 states. He led thousands of his comrades-in-arms in a veterans' march in 1982 to dedicate the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington, DC, calling it, "one of the most emotional and proudest experiences of my life."

This is how he should be remembered, as a soldier who dedicated his life to his country and to his men.

This is how the Washington Post would remember him:

One comment, lifted out of context, spoken out of passion, to tear down an entire career and reduce a man's dedication to his country to partisan politics.

I'd try to explain to the Post that this is not the way to honor someone who dedicated his life to preserving their freedom to say what they want, but that would involve explaining the concepts of duty, honor and loyalty, which would only cause confusion in the newsroom.

Update: The L.A. Times, perhaps predictably, proclaims an equally hate-filled view of General Westmoreland's life with the headline,"A Commander Caught in the Mire of Vietnam" and a lead paragraph that reads:

Gen. William C. Westmoreland, the World War II hero who was later vilified for his leadership of the United States' failed war in Vietnam, died Monday night in Charleston, S.C. He was 91.

Classy.