He later served as military advisor to the U.S.-South Vietnamese delegation at the negotiations for the Paris Peace Accords and Chief of Staff of the NATO Southern Command.

[2] According to Geoffrey Ward and Ken Burns in The Vietnam War: An Intimate History, Ewell was apparently proud of this nickname, and saw nothing wrong with what the soldiers under his command had done.

[9][10] Having advanced to lieutenant colonel during the war, Ewell assumed command of 3rd Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Division.

Despite being unable to immediately account for a majority of his battalion because so many paratroopers had missed their landing zones, Ewell was still able to regroup and engage the German defenses.

That winter, he commanded the 501st when the 101st Airborne Division was rushed into the emergency defense of Bastogne in the Battle of the Bulge, and received the Distinguished Service Cross for his heroic actions.

[26][27] During his command, the division carried out Operation Speedy Express, an effort to eliminate Viet Cong and North Vietnamese soldiers with overwhelming force.

[30][31] After relinquishing command of II Field Force, Ewell was military advisor to the U.S.-South Vietnamese delegation at the negotiations for the Paris Peace Accords.

In their book, Ewell and Hunt argued that the allegations of obsession with the body count were unfounded, and that their effort to inflict maximum damage had "unbrutalized" the war for civilians in South Vietnam.

[41] Ewell and Hunt's views are countered in Nick Turse's book, Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam.

[42] Turse argues that Ewell's tactics amounted to war crimes and asserts that a coverup of Speedy Express went to the top of American decision-making in Vietnam.

[45] The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Julian J. Ewell (0–21791), Lieutenant Colonel (Infantry), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as Commanding Officer, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, in action against enemy forces on the night of 18–19 December 1944, at Bastogne, Belgium.

In the darkness of 18–19 December 1944, Colonel Ewell's regiment was the first unit of the 101st Airborne Division to reach the vicinity of Bastogne, Belgium, then under attack by strong enemy forces.

19 (March 14, 1945) Hometown: Washington, D.C.[47] World War II memorabilia from Ewell is on display at the December 44 Museum in La Gleize, a facility which commemorates the Battle of the Bulge.