McNamara's Folly: The Use of Low-IQ Troops in the Vietnam War - Softcover

Gregory, Hamilton

4.31

270 ratings by Goodreads

9781495805486: McNamara's Folly: The Use of Low-IQ Troops in the Vietnam War

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1495805484 ISBN 13: 9781495805486

Publisher: Infinity Publishing, 2015

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In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson and Defense Secretary Robert McNamara were desperate to find additional troops for the Vietnam War, but they feared that they would alienate middle-class voters if they drafted college boys or sent Reservists and National Guardsmen to Vietnam. So, on October 1, 1966, McNamara lowered mental standards and inducted thousands of low-IQ men. Altogether, 354,000 of these men were taken into the Armed Forces and a large number of them were sent into combat. Many military men, including William Westmoreland, the commanding general in Vietnam, viewed McNamara’s program as a disaster. Because many of the substandard men were incompetent in combat, they endangered not only themselves but their comrades as well. Their death toll was appallingly high. In addition to low-IQ men, tens of thousands of other substandard troops were inducted, including criminals, misfits, and men with disabilities. This book tells the story of the men caught up in McNamara’s folly.

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From the Inside Flap:

"Hamilton Gregory's book describes in incredible detail the horror that befell those men caught up in Secretary McNamara's desire to find the troops needed to fight the Vietnam War without eliminating draft deferments or calling up the National Guard and Reserves."--John Rowan, President & CEO, Vietnam Veterans of America

"An important story, well told...an important contribution to the history of America's War in Vietnam." -- Andrew Bacevich, Colonel, U.S. Army (retired), Vietnam veteran, Professor (emeritus), Boston University

"Great book...I hope it will have a big impact on getting the men in 'McNamara's 100,000' their proper military discharges and VA benefits."--Daniel E. Evans, Jr., D.V.M, author, Doc: Platoon Medic, former combat medic in Vietnam with 39th Infantry (1968-69)

"This book represents information that Gregory gathered over more than 45 years, documenting his story with extraordinary thoroughness...The book makes a completely convincing case that U.S. draft policy should be remembered as one of the major moral outrages of the Vietnam war...I hope the book gets the attention it deserves."--Arnold R. Isaacs, Vietnam War correspondent, Baltimore Sun, and author, Vietnam Shadows: The War, Its Ghosts, and Its Legacy

"Having worked as a drill instructor in the Recruit Training Regiment at San Diego and being Chief Clerk of the Drill Instructor School at Parris Island, I had first-hand experiences with Marine recruits that were exactly as described in this book. Gregory's report is accurate and offers an insight that is rarely portrayed about the Vietnam War. Thanks to Gregory for bringing this information forward so that the unknowing public can grasp the atrocity that occurred during that time. It is truly amazing what our government is capable of doing and then cloaking their actions as being benevolent."--Gregg Stoner, SSgt, U.S. Marine Corps, drill instructor (1969-1972), author of The Yellow Footprints to Hell and Back; Ooorah; Echoes from the Halls, and Hardcore Iron Mike

About the Author:

Hamilton Gregory is a former Associated Press writer and the author of a best-selling college textbook, Public Speaking for College & Career. A Vietnam veteran, he has been a longtime advocate for the needs of veterans with physical, emotional, and intellectual disabilities.

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