Paul D. Harkins
Encyclopedia
Paul Donal Harkins was Deputy Chief of Staff
during World War II
to George S. Patton Jr. and later became a U.S. Army
General and the first Military Assistance Command, Vietnam
(MACV) commander from 1962 to 1964.
Harkins was deputy Chief of Staff, Third Army, under General Hobart R. Gay
. While in that capacity he earned the nickname "Ramrod" for his determination to fulfill Patton's desire to always keep moving. When asked by a fellow officer who asked him "how the devil our G.I.s can remain so cheerful at the front under these frightful conditions?" Harkins is said to have replied, "Well the Old Man knows that as long as they are winning and moving forward they will remain happy and their morale will be high".
Harkins, in his capacity as deputy of operations, for the Third Army, was present with Patton at the famous staff meeting called by General Dwight D. Eisenhower
to discuss the Allied
response to the German attack
in the Ardennes
, in which Patton promised Eisenhower that Third Army would be ready to disengage his troops from their current eastward attack and move north approximately a hundred miles to counter-attack
in three days, something which seemed impossible at the time.
Harkins had made it plain that he felt that the nationally ranked football team was not in line with his vision of the USMA. In a controversial decision, he asked cadets to gather information about the cheating; eventually a formal inquiry was held and ninety cadets were dismissed from the academy, some of those had not participated in the cheating but knew of it and had not reported it, which was considered a breach of the Cadet Honor Code (A cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do).
The head coach for Army at that time, Earl "Red" Blaik
, felt that Harkins was "a black and white man with no shades of gray" and accused him of bias. Blaik's son was one of the cadets who knew of the cheating but had not acted.
occurred during his watch. Harkins appeared on the cover of Time magazine, (What it Takes to Win 1962-05-11), where he was described as "look(ing) every inch the professional soldier". The article went on to the commitment of the US to stay in Vietnam even if it took a decade, quoting then Attorney General
Robert Kennedy from November 1962, "We are going to win in Vietnam. We will remain until we do."
did not match the information released by MACV.
The battle of Ap Bac
in particular seriously affected many of the reporters view of the credibility of the Army and of Harkins in particular. When details of the battle emerged that differed from the Army's official version it became a very serious matter and press reports of it embarrassed the Kennedy
administration.
Harkins was described by Neil Sheehan
as an "American General with a swagger stick and cigarette holder...who would not deign to soil his suntans and street shoes in a rice paddy to find out what was going on was prattling about having trapped the Viet Cong". New York Times
Vietnam correspondent David Halberstam
became so angry with Harkins he refused to shake his hand at a Fourth of July celebration, hosted at the US Embassy, Saigon. When the hosts called for a toast to Harkins, Halberstam shouted "Paul D. Harkins should be court-martialed and shot!", in contrast to his compatriots, who complied with the toast for Harkins.
Time magazine correspondent Lee Griggs and Mecklin parodied the General in song at one time for saying the war was "well in hand".
Griggs recalls the General overheard this and "did not smile".
replacing Harkins in 1964, recalled later that he got varying readings from the outgoing Harkins, whose favorite poet was Kipling
, and when veering from optimism to pessimism would, according to Westmoreland, “constantly” quote a version of Kipling for him:
When Harkins left in June, 1964 there were between 11,200 and 16,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam. His successor Westmoreland raised the levels to 500,000 men by 1968.
Harkins wrote a book in 1969 on General George S. Patton Jr. and Third Army titled When the Third Cracked Europe: The Story of Patton's Incredible Army.
Harkins also is credited as a technical consultant for the 1970 film Patton
.
Chief of Staff
The title, chief of staff, identifies the leader of a complex organization, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a Principal Staff Officer , who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide to an important individual, such as a president.In general, a chief of...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
to George S. Patton Jr. and later became a U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
General and the first Military Assistance Command, Vietnam
Military Assistance Command, Vietnam
The U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, MACV, , was the United States' unified command structure for all of its military forces in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War.-History:...
(MACV) commander from 1962 to 1964.
Early life
Harkins was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He was a West Point graduate, class of 1929.World War II
Hobart R. Gay
Lieutenant General Hobart Raymond Gay , nicknamed "Hap", was a United States Army general.-Early military career:...
. While in that capacity he earned the nickname "Ramrod" for his determination to fulfill Patton's desire to always keep moving. When asked by a fellow officer who asked him "how the devil our G.I.s can remain so cheerful at the front under these frightful conditions?" Harkins is said to have replied, "Well the Old Man knows that as long as they are winning and moving forward they will remain happy and their morale will be high".
Harkins, in his capacity as deputy of operations, for the Third Army, was present with Patton at the famous staff meeting called by General Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
to discuss the Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
response to the German attack
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
in the Ardennes
Ardennes
The Ardennes is a region of extensive forests, rolling hills and ridges formed within the Givetian Ardennes mountain range, primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, but stretching into France , and geologically into the Eifel...
, in which Patton promised Eisenhower that Third Army would be ready to disengage his troops from their current eastward attack and move north approximately a hundred miles to counter-attack
Counter-Attack
Counter-Attack is a 1945 war film starring Paul Muni and Marguerite Chapman as two Russians trapped in a collapsed building with seven enemy German soldiers during World War II...
in three days, something which seemed impossible at the time.
West Point cheating scandal
On 1951-04-02 Harkins, commandant of cadets and head of the tactical department at West Point, was informed by a first class cadet that a classmate had told him that there was a group of cadets, mainly among the football team, who were involved in a cheating ring.Harkins had made it plain that he felt that the nationally ranked football team was not in line with his vision of the USMA. In a controversial decision, he asked cadets to gather information about the cheating; eventually a formal inquiry was held and ninety cadets were dismissed from the academy, some of those had not participated in the cheating but knew of it and had not reported it, which was considered a breach of the Cadet Honor Code (A cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do).
The head coach for Army at that time, Earl "Red" Blaik
Earl Blaik
Earl Henry "Red" Blaik was an American football player, coach, college athletics administrator, and United States Army officer. He served as the head football coach at Dartmouth College from 1934 to 1940 and at the United States Military Academy from 1941 to 1958, compiling a career college...
, felt that Harkins was "a black and white man with no shades of gray" and accused him of bias. Blaik's son was one of the cadets who knew of the cheating but had not acted.
Vietnam
The initial U.S. build up in the Vietnam warVietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
occurred during his watch. Harkins appeared on the cover of Time magazine, (What it Takes to Win 1962-05-11), where he was described as "look(ing) every inch the professional soldier". The article went on to the commitment of the US to stay in Vietnam even if it took a decade, quoting then Attorney General
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
Robert Kennedy from November 1962, "We are going to win in Vietnam. We will remain until we do."
Controversy
At the beginning of his command of MACV Harkins and his staff had repeatedly expressed optimism about the course of the war. As the violence escalated however, many reporters began to feel that what they were seeing in the field and being told confidentially by officers such as Lieutenant Colonel John Paul VannJohn Paul Vann
John Paul Vann was a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army, later retired, who became well known for his role in the Vietnam War.-Early life:...
did not match the information released by MACV.
The battle of Ap Bac
Battle of Ap Bac
The Battle of Ap Bac was a major battle fought on January 3, 1963, during the Vietnam War. It was fought in Dinh Tuong Province , South Vietnam. On December 28, 1962, U.S...
in particular seriously affected many of the reporters view of the credibility of the Army and of Harkins in particular. When details of the battle emerged that differed from the Army's official version it became a very serious matter and press reports of it embarrassed the Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
administration.
Harkins was described by Neil Sheehan
Neil Sheehan
Cornelius Mahoney "Neil" Sheehan is an American journalist. As a reporter for The New York Times in 1971, Sheehan obtained the classified Pentagon Papers from Daniel Ellsberg. His series in the Times revealed a secret U.S. Department of Defense history of the Vietnam War and resulted in government...
as an "American General with a swagger stick and cigarette holder...who would not deign to soil his suntans and street shoes in a rice paddy to find out what was going on was prattling about having trapped the Viet Cong". New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
Vietnam correspondent David Halberstam
David Halberstam
David Halberstam was an American Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author and historian, known for his early work on the Vietnam War, his work on politics, history, the Civil Rights Movement, business, media, American culture, and his later sports journalism.-Early life and education:Halberstam...
became so angry with Harkins he refused to shake his hand at a Fourth of July celebration, hosted at the US Embassy, Saigon. When the hosts called for a toast to Harkins, Halberstam shouted "Paul D. Harkins should be court-martialed and shot!", in contrast to his compatriots, who complied with the toast for Harkins.
Time magazine correspondent Lee Griggs and Mecklin parodied the General in song at one time for saying the war was "well in hand".
We are winning, this I know, General Harkins tells me so.
In the mountains, things are rough,
In the Delta, mighty tough,
But the V.C. will soon go, General Harkins tells me so.
Griggs recalls the General overheard this and "did not smile".
Harkins' comment to his replacement, General Westmoreland
As interviewed later by historian Michael MacLear, the incoming commander General William WestmorelandWilliam Westmoreland
William Childs Westmoreland was a United States Army General, who commanded US military operations in the Vietnam War at its peak , during the Tet Offensive. He adopted a strategy of attrition against the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam and the North Vietnamese Army. He later served as...
replacing Harkins in 1964, recalled later that he got varying readings from the outgoing Harkins, whose favorite poet was Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
, and when veering from optimism to pessimism would, according to Westmoreland, “constantly” quote a version of Kipling for him:
The end of the fight is a tombstone whiteSaid Westmoreland: “I’m very fond of Kipling because he’s a soldier’s poet,” but he confessed: “I didn’t take it quite to heart.” The reason given by MacLear being that neither Kipling or even MacArthur – no one in the history of war – had ever known the mobility and fire-power that Westmoreland had been promised by Secretary of Defense McNamara, and was shortly to command.
With the name of the late deceased.
And the epitaph drear, a fool lies here
Who tried to hustle the East.
When Harkins left in June, 1964 there were between 11,200 and 16,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam. His successor Westmoreland raised the levels to 500,000 men by 1968.
Author
Harkins also is credited as a technical consultant for the 1970 film Patton
Patton (film)
Patton is a 1970 American biographical war film about U.S. General George S. Patton during World War II. It stars George C. Scott, Karl Malden, Michael Bates, and Karl Michael Vogler. It was directed by Franklin J. Schaffner from a script by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H...
.
Further reading
- Harkins, Paul When the Third Cracked Europe;: The Story of Patton's Incredible Army Stackpole Books 1969 ISBN 978-0811711647
External links
- Find A Grave page, accessed December 31, 2010
- U.S. Army Pacific Biography, accessed December 31, 2010