American Notes Texas

In his open-necked shirt and tan overcoat, the silver-haired old soldier looked out of place among some 30 younger Viet Nam veterans dressed in battle fatigues as they marched through Texas last week in a tribute to their fallen comrades. Yet the vets snapped to attention when he joined their ranks. "It's a great feeling to be with the men again," said General William Westmoreland, 71, who commanded U.S. troops in Viet Nam from 1964 to 1968. "They have much to be proud of, and they're showing their pride."

The march, a 300-mile pilgrimage to raise funds for a Texas Viet Nam veterans memorial, began in Dallas Oct. 19 and is to conclude on Veterans Day at the Alamo, in San Antonio, where the veterans will honor 161 Texas servicemen listed as missing in action. Westmoreland led the group along Interstate 35 just south of the small town of Pflugerville, then joined them the following day on the steps of the Texas capitol, in Austin, to accept a proclamation from Governor Mark White supporting the event. It was Westmoreland's second such march; in 1982 he led a procession of 15,000 veterans through Washington.