It Happened in New Orleans – General William Westmoreland

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It Happened in New Orleans - General William Westmoreland

by Lt. Hardy Parkerson, J.D.

Sep 5, 2011

It Happened In New Orleans. - Gen. Wm. Westmoreland

From Wikipedia on Gen. Wm. Westmoreland

In the early 1980s I saw a large man in a business suit standing beside a taxi-cab on Canal Street in New Orleans in front of the Marriot Hotel. I asked him if I and my traveling companion could share a cab with him to the Airport. He took one look at my traveling companion who was a beautiful woman and promptly said, “Jump in!” So she and I both got into the back seat of the cab and waited for the tall, impressive-looking man to get in himself. I noticed that many likewise impressive looking people were shaking his hand and seeing him off from in front of the Marriot on Canal Street; and when he finally got into the cab, he got into the passenger side of the front seat of the cab. As the cab pulled out, he reached over the back of the front seat and offered his hand and said, “I am General Westmoreland.” As the cab continued to the airport, in order to keep him talki...See MoreIt Happened In New Orleans. - Gen. Wm. Westmoreland

From Wikipedia on Gen. Wm. Westmoreland

In the early 1980s I saw a large man in a business suit standing beside a taxi-cab on Canal Street in New Orleans in front of the Marriot Hotel. I asked him if I and my traveling companion could share a cab with him to the Airport. He took one look at my traveling companion who was a beautiful woman and promptly said, “Jump in!” So she and I both got into the back seat of the cab and waited for the tall, impressive-looking man to get in himself. I noticed that many likewise impressive looking people were shaking his hand and seeing him off from in front of the Marriot on Canal Street; and when he finally got into the cab, he got into the passenger side of the front seat of the cab. As the cab pulled out, he reached over the back of the front seat and offered his hand and said, “I am General Westmoreland.” As the cab continued to the airport, in order to keep him talking I said, “Sir, you mean you don’t travel with body guards?” He abruptly said, “No and I don’t want any!” Still to keep him talking, I said, “Sir, isn’t it wonderful that Haig has just been appointed Secretary of State!” to which he gruffly responded, “Yeah! Yeah! Haig was one of my field commanders in Viet Nam. Nixon called him back to Washington and promoted him from the rank of Colonel to Four Star General in the matter of about two years. Made a lot of the career Army officers angry!” I knew I had said the wrong thing. Next I said, “Sir, I just finished reading Nguyen Kao Ky’s book,” to which he again gruffly responded, “Yeah! Yeah! That was a bunch of baloney! He made the Diem Family look bad. Those were fine people!” Again, I knew I had said the wrong thing. He then asked me, “Have you read my book?” To which I responded that I did not know he had written one. I asked him the title of it and he told me that the title of it was A SOLDIER REPORTS. To which I told him that I would have to get it and read it. He said, “Give me your card, and I will send you a copy! It will be the paper-back edition. Now if you want the hard-back edition, you will have to buy it yourself at the local bookstore.” I gave him my card, and sure enough, he sent me an autographed paperback copy of his book. To keep him talking, I asked him, “Sir, who were some of the great leaders that you have known and dealt with during your career?” He started off by telling me that it was General John J. Pershing had been the one who pinned his second lieutenant bar on him. Then he talked about President Nixon. He said that he had dealt with President Nixon during the Viet Nam War, and--exact words--"If Nixon had listened to me, we would have won that war!” I told him that I was a Lieutenant in the Louisiana Army National Guard, and he wanted to know the name of my unit, for he wanted to mention it when he autographed the book he was to send to me. Then, again, to keep him talking, I said, “We have a general from Lake Charles, General Leonard Pauley.” To which he promptly said, “Yes, I know Pauley!” Then he said, “You had another one from Lake Charles, General Eddleman.” He probably called his first name, I don’t recall. Since I had never heard of General Eddleman before, when I got back to Lake Charles, I mentioned this General Eddleman to my wife’s grand-mother who was born in 1904 and had lived in Lake Charles most all of her adult life; and she advised me that she remembered him well. (A GOOGLE search shows the grave marker of a General Clyde David Eddleman, who is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.) I did my best to keep him talking, and I did a pretty good job of it; but I do not recall much more that he said. When we got to the airport, i said, “Now, Sir, I’m paying for the cab fare,” to which he retorted, “Oh, no you’re not! I’m paying!” To which I responded, “Well, it’s kinda hard for a Lieutenant to argue with a Four Star General!” When he sent me the autographed paper-back edition of his book, he had a nice letter with it in which he referred to my traveling companion as “your lovely wife.” He had noticed too, for she was indeed a beautiful woman. I found it amazing, and my friend did too, that ones so insignificant as us, particularly while we both were still in our 30’s, would have such an interesting experience and be able to ride along and talk with such a great American military leader. That was an experience that I shall never forget. When I got home, I went across the street from my house to visit with my neighbor who was a ranking Army officer and Viet Nam veteran to tell him about this experience; and when I told him about saying to General Westmoreland, “Sir, isn’t it great that Haig has been appointed Secretary of State!”, before I could even report what General Westmoreland had responded, my neighbor, the ranking Army officer, immediately responded, “Boy, that was the wrong thing to have said!” To which I immediatly responded, “And so I promptly learned!” This is a true story, as true as my memory recalls it these twenty-five or so years later. - Hardy Parkerson, Atty. - Lake Charles, LA —The preceding unsigned comment was added (to Wikipedia) by Hardy Parkerson (talk • contribs) 01:46, March 20, 2006 (UTC)

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