University Press of Kansas
Honorable Warrior: General Harold K. Johnson and the Ethics of Command
Key Metrics
- Lewis Sorley
- University Press of Kansas
- Hardcover
- 9780700608867
- 9.58 X 6.51 X 1.25 inches
- 1.8 pounds
- Biography & Autobiography > Military
- English
Secure TransactionBook Description
A native of North Dakota, Johnson survived more than three grueling years as a POW under the Japanese during World War II before serving brilliantly as a field commander in the Korean War, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism. The latter experiences led to a series of high-level positions that culminated in his appointment as Army chief in 1964 and a cover story in Time magazine.
What followed should have been the most rewarding period of Johnson's military career. Instead, it proved to be a nightmare, as he quickly became mired in the politics and ordeal of a very misguided war.
Johnson fundamentally disagreed with the three men--LBJ, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, and General William Westmoreland--running our war in Vietnam. He was sharply critical of LBJ's piecemeal policy of gradual escalation and his failure to mobilize the national will or call up the reserves. He was equally despondent over Westmoreland's now infamous search-and-destroy tactics and reliance on body counts to measure success in Vietnam.
By contrast, he advocated greater emphasis on cutting the North's supply lines, helping the South Vietnamese provide for their own internal defenses, and sustaining a truly legitimate government in the South. Unheeded, he nevertheless continued to work behind the scenes to correct the nation's flawed approach to the war.
Sorley's study adds immeasurably to our understanding of the Vietnam War. It also provides an inspiring account of principled leadership at a time when the American military is seeking to recover the very kinds of moral values exemplified by Harold K. Johnson. As such, it presents a profound morality tale for our own era.
Author Bio
Dr. Lewis Sorley is an award winning author and military historian. His most recent book, Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam, was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in October 2011.
A former soldier and civilian official of the Central Intelligence Agency, Dr. Sorley has also served on the faculties at West Point and the Army War College. His Army assignments included leadership of tank and armored cavalry units in Germany, Vietnam, and the United States and staff positions in the offices of the Secretary of Defense and the Army Chief of Staff.
Dr. Sorley is an Emeritus Director of the Army Historical Foundation and is Executive Director Emeritus of the Association of Military Colleges and Schools of the United States.
Source: Foreign Policy Research Institute
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