Robert Strange McNamara: 1916-2009

He was without doubt the most powerful and controversial American secretary of defense in the twentieth century — and the most scorned. He served as defense secretary under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson from 1961 to 1968 and his name soon became irretrievably linked to the long and tragic years of the Viet Nam War. His many and often fierce critics called the bloody conflict in Southeast Asia McNamara’s War. That name and that public blame would stick with him until death.

Robert S. McNamara: 1916-2009

Excerpted from a 1972 column by the late William Caldwell in the Vineyard Gazette:

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He’s a newspaper editor, decent and stern in his judgments on events and men, including himself, and he is troubled by the decision he made on the Kopechne case. Kopechne. Mary Jo. The Dike Bridge, remember?

We the People

On the eve of Independence Day, with parades, picnics and baseball games on deck and flags flying from every corner, it is also a time to pause and remember who we are as a people and what we stand for as a nation. Two hundred and thirty-three years after the founding of the country, what are the principles and values that guide American society?

From Abroad and Without Work

Field of David’s Dreams

As Sophomores Turn to Juniors