U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara with U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff General Curtis LeMay at The Pentagon on April 10, 1963. During World War II, McNamara served under LeMay's command as a statistician for the United States Army Air Forces.

Robert S. McNamara (born June 9, 1916, San Francisco, California, U.S.—died July 6, 2009, Washington, D.C.) was the U.S. secretary of defense from 1961 to 1968 who revamped Pentagon operations and who played a major role in the nation’s military involvement in the Vietnam War.

3 days ago · Robert McNamara's career spanned several high-profile positions, which contributed to his financial standing. As a prominent business executive at Ford Motor Company, where he was part of the influential "Whiz Kids," McNamara earned a sizable salary, especially after he became the company's first non-Ford family member president in 1960.

In conjunction with assured destruction McNamara stressed the importance of damage limitation–the use of strategic forces to limit damage to the nation's population and...

Jul 7, 2009 · Robert S. McNamara, the forceful and cerebral defense secretary who helped lead the nation into the maelstrom of Vietnam and spent the rest of his life wrestling with the war’s moral ...

Apr 2, 2014 · Robert S. McNamara was an American business executive and the eighth U.S. Secretary of Defense. He is best known for helping lead the United States into the Vietnam War.

Jan 19, 2025 · McNamara’s support of Kennedy paid dividends when he was offered the position of Secretary of Defense after “conservative banker” (Time’s misnomer — not ours) Robert Lovett of Manhattan had turned down both the Treasurer’s post [Time 12/26/60, p.7] and the Defense position [bid., p.12]. Lovett, by the way, had been Secretary of ...

McNamara served as general manager and vice president of Ford's automotive division during the 1950s and in 1960 became the first man outside the Ford family to be named president of the Ford Motor Company.

May 11, 2018 · Robert S. McNamara (born 1916) was a business executive, U.S. secretary of defense, and president of the World Bank. Robert Strange McNamara was born in San Francisco on June 9, 1916, the son of Robert James McNamara, sales manager for a wholesale shoe company, and the former Clara Nell Strange.

Sep 25, 2018 · Robert S. McNamara (June 9, 1916–July 6, 2009) was a secretary of the U.S. Department of Defense in the 1960s and the chief architect and most vocal defender of the Vietnam War. He spent his later years as an elder statesman, apologizing for an escalation of the conflict that became known as "McNamara's War."