Roderick Wetherill
Roderick "Rod" Wetherill, Sr. (b. January 19, 1918, d. June 26, 1978) was a notable officer of the United States Army from World War II through the Vietnam War.[1] The official Army history of the War in southeast Asia considers him to have been a "key ... commander in Vietnam".[2]
Wetherill graduated from West Point Military Academy in 1940,[1][3] as had his father and would his son.[4] He married Josephine Bolling, daughter of Army officer Alexander R. Bolling, who later bacame a Lieutenant General and former Chief of Army Intelligence.[5]
He was working there at West Point after graduation, and residing in Highland Falls, New York, when his son Roderick Wetherill, Jr., was born on January 20, 1942.[4]
After a long military career, he rose to the rank of Major General;[2] as a commanding officer, Wetherill was the named defendant in a famous conscientious objector case during the Vietnam War, Polsky v. Wetherill, 438 F.2d 132 (10th Cir. 1971).[6] The Tenth Circuit decided Polski on jurisdictional grounds, without getting into the merits of the case, while sitting en banc.[6] However, the Supreme Court of the United States vacated that judgment and remanded it back to the 10th Circuit for further consideration.[7] On remand, the 10th Circuit ruled in favor of the petitioner 's request for a writ of habeas corpus, and against Wetherill, in Polsky v. Wetherill, 455 F.2d 960 (10th Cir. 1972).[8]
He was appointed the Senior Advisor, IV Corps, Delta Military Assistance Command on June 1, 1969,[2] and served until his retirement in May 1973.[9] He advised General Abrams in June 1969 to transfer certain units of the Vietnamese army out of Saigon to the Mekong delta area, in order for them to gain combat experience, but Wetherill's advise was ignored.[10]
Wetherill's official papers have been collected, which primarily concern field artillery issues, such as personnel and gunships versus field artillery.[11] He was the editor of the United States Army's monograph about the history of U.S. Field Artillery from 1972 to 1973.[9]
References
- ^ a b "Biographical stub at West Point alumni website". Retrieved September 15, 2011.
- ^ a b c Richard W. Stewart (ed.). "KEY U.S. OFFICIALS AND COMMANDERS IN VIETNAM, Appendix to the History of Vietnam war". United States Army. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
- ^ "1940 West Point Yearbook". 1940. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
- ^ a b Greg Letterman. "Biography at West Point alumni website". Retrieved September 15, 2011.
- ^ Michael R. Patterson. "GENERAL BOLLING DEAD; LED INTELLIGENCE; Figured in Army-McCarthy Hearings – In 2 Wars". Arlington Cemetary website. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
- ^ a b "Polsky v. Wetherill". Justia. January 24, 1971. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
- ^ Polsky v. Wetherill, 403 U.S. 916, 91 S.Ct. 2232, 29 L.Ed.2d 693 (1971); see also Polsky v. Wetherill, 455 F.2d 960 (10th Cir. 1972).
- ^ "Polsky v. Wetherill". Justia. March 2, 1972. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
- ^ a b David E. Ott (2003). "U.S. Field Artillery in Vietnam". United States Army. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
- ^ Jeffrey J. Clarke (1988). "Advice and Support: The Final Years, 1965-1973". United States Government Printing Office. p. 381.
- ^ Roderick Wetherill (1970). "The Roderick Wetherill papers". Retrieved September 15, 2011.
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