Robert McNamara

About

Secretary of Defense under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson who presided over America's entry into the Vietnam War. He was one of the "Whiz Kids," who were ten US Army Air Forces veterans who became Ford Motor Company executives in 1946.

Before Fame

After studying at Berkeley and Harvard, he used his analytical abilities for the U.S. Army Air Corps in WW II and Ford - helping to revive the flagging fortunes of the latter.

Trivia

After the Gulf of Tonkin incidents of 1964, in which U.S. warships may have been attacked, he backed the Gulf of Tonkin resolution to bring U.S. forces into Vietnam.

Family Life

His longtime wife Margaret founded the nonprofit organization Reading is Fundamental.

Associated With

He was critical of George W. Bush's administration of their decision to go to war in Afghanistan.