Engineer Memoirs
schemes and test them under conditions of actual combat.
Vance also told me that this new assignment would mean that my promotion would
be put on hold. He said there were two reasons for this. First, the idea of arming
helicopters and giving the Army a role in close tie support from the air was highly
contested by the Air Force and Navy. Keeping me at a one-star rank would help
to promote a low profile approach. Second, General Joseph Stilwell (my former
boss at Benning, whom we had nicknamed "Cider Joe" because he was not up to
his father's reputation as "Vinegar J o e " ) was in charge of Army support for the
Vietnamese in Saigon. It would be difficult if I were promoted to two stars, to
work under Stilwell, who was a one-star general.
Incidentally, I had sent my uniforms to Korea to have them retailored and to have
the large yellow 1st Cavalry patches sewn on them. It was not until more than a
year later, after I had returned home from Vietnam, that my uniforms were shipped
back to me. The 1st Cavalry Division had sent them to the Deceased Effects
Bureau of the Army, who forwarded them on to me after they established that I
was, in fact, still alive.
I was quite disappointed at the notion of having my promotion delayed. I had set
my heart on commanding the 1st Cavalry Division and now the opportunity was
being snatched away. But I had to admit that taking armed helicopters to Vietnam
and experimenting with them in combat was a fascinating challenge. In the end I
simply licked my wounds and accepted my new job as a matter of fate.
I spent the next week writing my charter and getting my staff lined up. I was very
fortunate in getting Colonel Frank Clay assigned as my deputy. I had known Clay
as a highly principled man who would fight my battles vigorously with the other
services over roles and missions. My idea was to establish Clay in the Pentagon
as my liaison man. The fact that Clay was highly respected as an armor officer
would help me, especially since I knew I would get most of my opposition in the
Army from armored officers. Clay was also on good terms with General Creighton
Abrams, then a deputy in the Army's office of force development, ACSFOR,
[assistant chief of staff, force development]. As it later turned out, Abrams played
a critical role in keeping my efforts in Vietnam from going under.
I was also fortunate in getting assigned to my staff the Army's best writer. Colonel
Robert Kinkor. He and Clay helped me pick officers to serve on my staff. One
outstanding officer we picked was Colonel William Tyrell, a man of uncommon
moral courage. They, in turn, helped me choose outstanding civilian scientists,
some of whom I had met through my work on the Army's Scientific Advisory
Board.
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