Appendix: Cast of Characters
Acheson, Dean Secretary of State, 1948–1953; member of the “Wise Men” during the Johnson administration. Ackley, Hugh Gardner Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, 1964–1968. Alsop, Joseph (Joe) Prominent journalist and syndicated columnist; personal friend of President Kennedy’s; brother of Stewart. Alsop, Stewart Prominent journalist and political analyst; brother of Joe. Aubrac, Raymond French resistance hero; friend of Ho Chi Minh’s. Ball, George Undersecretary of State for Economic and Agricultural Affairs, 1961–1966. Bell, David E. Director of the Bureau of Budget, 1961–1962; first director of USAID, 1962–1966. Bradley, Omar N. US Army General, field commander in North Africa and Europe during World War II; US Army Chief of Staff, 1948–1949; first formal Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1949–1953. Brent, Joseph Director, United States Operations Mission (USOM), 1962–1964. Bundy, McGeorge National Security Advisor, 1961–1966; President of the Ford Foundation, 1966–1979; brother of William P. Bundy. Bundy, William P. Deputy (1961–1963) then Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, 1963–1964; Assistant Secretary of State, East Asian and Pacific Affairs, 1964–1969; brother of McGeorge Bundy. Burke, Arleigh A. Chief of Naval Operations, 1955–1961. Byrd, Harry F. US Senator (Democrat) from Virginia, 1933–1965; Chairman, Senate Finance Committee, 1955–1965. Clay, Lucius D. US Army General, deputy to General Eisenhower, 1945; Commander in Chief US Forces in Europe and Governor of American Zone, Germany, 1947–1949; Chairman of Committee to Strengthen the Security of the Free World (“Clay Committee”), 1962–1963. Clifford, Clark Chairman of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, 1938–1968; Secretary of Defense, 1968–1969. Colby, William E. OSS in World War II; Deputy (1959–1960) then Chief of CIA Station, Saigon, 1960–1962; Deputy (1962) then Chief of CIA Far East Division, 1962–1967; director of CORDS, Vietnam, 1968–1971; director of CIA, 1973–1976. Conein, Lucien “Lou” OSS in World War II; CIA operative in South Vietnam, 1963–1968. Connally, John B. Secretary of the Navy, 1961; Governor of Texas, 1963–1969. Cronkite, Walter Broadcast journalist; anchorman of CBS Evening News, 1962–1981. De Gaulle, Charles French General, leader of the Free French, 1940–1944; post-war head of the Provisional Government of the French Republic, 1944–1946; Prime Minister of France, 1958–1959; President of France, 1959–1969. Dean, Sir Patrick Henry British diplomat; Ambassador to the United States, 1965–1969. Diem, Ngo Dinh First President of South Vietnam, 1955–1963. Dillon, C. Douglas Patrician and financier; US Ambassador to France, 1953–1957; Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs, 1957–1961; Secretary of the Treasury, 1961–1965. Dulles, John Foster Secretary of State, 1953–1959. Eisenhower, Dwight D. US Army General, Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe, 1943–1945; Governor of the American Zone, Germany, 1945; US Army Chief of Staff, 1945–1948; President of Columbia University, 1948–1953; first temporary Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1949; first Supreme Commander of NATO (SACEUR), 1951–1952, US President, 1953–1961. Ellsberg, Daniel PhD candidate at Harvard University and RAND strategic analyst, consultant on nuclear issues to OSD, 1959–1964; Special Assistant at ISA, 1964–1965; State Department advisor on pacification in Vietnam, 1965–1967; RAND analyst during which time he worked on the Pentagon Papers, 1967–1971, before eventually leaking them to the New York Times in 1971. Enthoven, Alain C. Economist at RAND, 1956–1960; Deputy Comptroller and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Systems Analysis, 1961–1965; Assistant Secretary of Defense for Systems Analysis, 1965–1969. Fall, Bernard B. War correspondent and historian; expert on Indochina. Fay, Paul B. Old Navy friend of President Kennedy’s, Undersecretary (1961–1965) and Secretary of the Navy, 1963. Felt, Harry D. US Navy Admiral, Commander in Chief of Pacific Command (CINCPAC), 1958–1964. Forrestal, James V. Secretary of the Navy, 1944–1947; first Secretary of Defense, 1957–1949; father of Michael Forrestal. Forrestal, Michael V. Staff member on NSC, 1962–1967; son of James Forrestal, unofficially adopted by Averell Harriman. Fulbright, J. William US Senator (Democrat) from Arkansas, 1945–1975; Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 1959–1974. Galbraith, John K. Harvard economist; US Ambassador to India, 1961–1963. Gates, Thomas S. Undersecretary (1953–1957) then Secretary of the Navy, 1957–1959; Deputy (1959) then seventh Secretary of Defense, 1959–1961. Gilpatric, Roswell Undersecretary of the Air Force, 1951–1953; member of Symington Committee, 1960; Deputy Secretary of Defense, 1961–1964. Goldberg, Arthur Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, 1962–1965; US Ambassador to the United Nations, 1965–1968. Goldwater, Barry M. US Senator (Republican) from Arizona, 1953–1965 and 1965–1987; Republican presidential nominee, 1964; member of Senate Armed Services Committee, later its Chairman, 1985–1987. Goodpaster, Andrew J. US Army General, director of the Joint Staff, JCS, 1966–1967; Deputy Commander of Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), 1968–1969. Gromyko, Andrei Soviet politician; Minister of Foreign Affairs, 1957–1985; Chairman of the Presidium, 1985–1988. Gruening, Ernest H. US Senator (Democrat) from Alaska, 1959–1969. Halberstam, David Journalist; New York Times correspondent to Vietnam, 1962–1964; former academic tutee of McGeorge Bundy at Harvard. Harkins, Paul D. US Army General, Commander of MACV, 1962–1964. Harriman, W. Averell US diplomat and politician; US Ambassador-at-large, 1961; representative to International Conference on Laos, 1961–1962; Assistant Secretary of State, Far Eastern Affairs, 1961–1963; Undersecretary of State, Political Affairs with responsibility for Africa, 1963–1965; US Ambassador-at-large, 1965–1969. Harris, Seymour E. Economic advisor to President Kennedy, 1960; senior consultant to the Secretary of the Treasury, 1961–1968. Heller, Walter W. Keynesian economist; Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, 1961–1964. Hilsman, Roger OSS in World War II; director of INR, State Department, 1961–1963; Assistant Secretary of State, Far Eastern Affairs, 1963–1964; professor at Columbia University, 1964–1990. Hitch, Charles J. “Father” of defense economics, head of Economics Division at RAND, 1948–1961, Assistant Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), 1961–1965. Co-author, with Roland N. McKean, of The Economics of Defense in the Nuclear Age, the “bible of defense economics.” Honey, Patrick J. Lecturer, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) (1949–1965); Visiting Professor, Cornell University (1964) and Reader, University College London (1965–1985) specializing on Vietnam. Hoopes, Townsend W. Deputy Assistant (1964–1965) then Principal Deputy Secretary of Defense at ISA, 1965–1967. Johnson, Louis A. Assistant Secretary of War, 1937–1940; second Secretary of Defense, 1949–1950. Johnson, Lyndon B. US Representative from Texas (Democrat), 1947–1949; US Senator, 1949–1961; Senate Majority Leader, 1955–1961; Vice President, 1961–1963; President of the United States, 1963–1969. Johnson, U. Alexis Deputy Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, 1961–1964; Deputy Ambassador to South Vietnam, 1964–1965; Deputy Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, 1965–1966. Kaufmann, William W. Nuclear strategist; researcher at RAND, 1956–1961; advisor to Defense Department (1961–1981), Professor at MIT, 1961–1984. Kaysen, Carl Deputy National Security Advisor, 1961–1963; Professor at Harvard University, 1964–1966. Kennedy, Edward “Ted” M. US Senator (Democrat) for Massachusetts, 1962–2009; brother of John F. and Robert F. Kennedy. Kennedy, John F. US Senator (Democrat) from Massachusetts, 1947–1953; President of the United States, 1961–1963. Kennedy, Robert F. Attorney General, 1961–1964; Chair of the Special Group (CI), 1962–1963; US Senator (Democrat) from New York, 1965–1968; brother of John F. Kennedy. Khanh, Nguyen South Vietnamese Army officer; Prime Minister of South Vietnam, 1964. Khrushchev, Nikita S. Leader of the Soviet Union, 1953–1964. Kissinger, Henry Harvard political scientist; National Security Advisor, 1969–1975; Secretary of State, 1973–1977. Komer, Robert W. CIA analyst then Director of Intelligence, 1957–1961; staff member, NSC, 1961–1965; interim National Security Advisor, 1966–1967; head of CORDS, 1967–1968. Krulak, Victor H. US Marine Corps General; representative for the JCS to Special Group (CI), 1962–1964. Ky, Nguyen Cao Prime Minister of South Vietnam, 1965–1967; Vice President of South Vietnam, 1967–1971. Lansdale, Edward G. OSS in World War II; advisor to Ngo Dinh Diem, 1953–1957; Deputy Assistant to Secretary of Defense of Special Operations, 1957–1963; advisor on pacification efforts in Vietnam, 1965–1968. LeMay, Curtis E. US Air Force General; Commander 8th Air Force, England, 1941–1943; head of Strategic Air Command, 1948–1957; Air Force Chief of Staff, 1961–1965. Leffingwell, William M. Deputy Director for Military Assistance at ISA, 1961–1965. Lemnitzer, Lyman L. US Army General; Army Chief of Staff, 1957–1960; Chairman of the JCS, 1960–1962; Supreme Allied Commander at NATO (SACEUR), 1963–1969. Lippmann, Walter US reporter; influential syndicated columnist. Lodge, Henry Cabot Jr. US Senator (Republican) from Massachusetts, 1937–1944; US Ambassador to the United Nations, 1953–1960; vice presidential candidate, 1960; US Ambassador to South Vietnam, 1963–1964 and 1965–1967. Lovett, Robert A. Assistant Secretary of War for Air, 1941–1945; Undersecretary of State, 1947–1949; Deputy (1950–1951) then fourth Secretary of Defense, 1951–1953; offered but declined Defense and Treasury Secretaryships by President Kennedy. MacArthur, Douglas. US Army General; Supreme Allied Commander for Allied Powers in Japan, 1945–1951; Commander of UN Forces in Korea, 1950–1951, until public falling out over strategy with President Truman. Mansfield, Michael J. US Senator (Democrat) from Montana, 1953–1977; Senate Majority Leader, 1961–1977; member, Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Marcovitch, Herbert Head of the Institut Pasteur in Paris. Marshall, George C. US Army General; Army Chief of Staff, 1939–1945; Secretary of State, 1947–1949; third Secretary of Defense, 1950–1951. Martin, William McChesney Chairman of the Federal Reserve, 1951–1970. McCloy, John J. President of the World Bank, 1947–1949; Assistant Secretary of War, 1942–1945; US Commissioner for Occupied Germany, 1949–1952; member of the “Wise Men” committee. McCone, John A. Director of the CIA, 1961–1965. McConnell, John P. US Air Force General; Chief of Staff of the Air Force, 1965–1969. McElroy, Neil H. President of Procter & Gamble, 1948–1957; sixth Secretary of Defense, 1957–1959. McGarr, Lionel C. Lt. General of US Army; Commander of Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG), Vietnam, 1960–1962. McKean, Roland N. Research economist at RAND, 1951–1963; co-creator of PPBS and co-author, with Charles J. Hitch, of The Economics of Defense in the Nuclear Age, the “bible of defense economics.” McNamara, Robert S. President, Ford Motor Company, 1960; eighth Secretary of Defense, 1961–1968. McNaughton, John T. Professor of law at Harvard Law School, 1953–1961; Deputy Assistant Secretary for Arms Control, 1961–1962; General Counsel of the Department of Defense, 1962–1964; Assistant Secretary of Defense at ISA, 1964–1967. Mendès-France, Pierre Prime Minister of France, 1954–1955. Morrison, Norman Quaker peace activist who self-immolated outside Robert McNamara’s office in 1965. Morse, Wayne L. US Senator (Republican, Independent and, from 1955, Democrat) from Oregon, 1945–1969; member, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, later vocal and early opponent of war in Vietnam. Nes, David G. US career diplomat; Deputy Chief of Mission to South Vietnam, 1964. Neustadt, Richard E. Political scientist, advisor to Kennedy administration transition team, 1960–1961 and informally thereafter. Nhu, Ngo Dinh Brother and advisor to President Diem, husband of “Madame Nhu”; head of South Vietnam’s Special Forces and secret police, 1955–1963. Nitze, Paul H. Director of Policy Planning at the State Department, 1950–1953 where he was the principal author of NSC 68; Assistant Secretary of Defense at ISA, 1961–1963; Secretary of the Navy, 1963–1967. Nixon, Richard M. Vice President of the United States, 1953–1961; President of the United States, 1969–1974. Nolting, Frederick US Ambassador to South Vietnam, 1961–1963. Ormsby-Gore, David Long-time friend of President Kennedy; British Ambassador to the United States, 1961–1965. Phillips, Rufus CIA officer in Laos and Vietnam, 1954–1962; Assistant Director for Rural Affairs, USOM Saigon, 1962–1964; consultant to USAID and State Departments on Vietnam, 1965–1968. Quarles, Donald A. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, 1953–1955; Secretary of the Air Force, 1955–1957; Deputy Secretary of Defense, 1957–1959. Richardson, John H. CIA Station Chief Saigon, 1962–1963. Rockefeller, David US banker at Chase National Bank (later renamed Chase Manhattan Bank after a merger he helped to oversee); expert in international banking. Rockefeller, Nelson Governor of New York, 1959–1973; Chair of President Eisenhower’s Advisory Committee on Government Organization (1952). Ronning, Chester A. Canadian diplomat. Roosevelt, Franklin D. President of the United States, 1933–1945. Rostow, Walt W. Economist and modernization theorist; OSS in World War II; Deputy National Security Advisor, 1961; Chairman of the Policy Planning Council in the State Department, 1961–1966; National Security Advisor, 1966–1969. Rusk, Dean Secretary of State, 1961–1969. Russell, Richard B. US Senator (Democrat) from Georgia, 1933–1971; Chairman of the Senate Armed Service Committee, 1951–1953 and 1955–1969. Salinger, Pierre E. G. White House Press Secretary, 1961–1964. Schelling, Thomas C. Harvard economist and expert in game theory. Schlesinger, Arthur M. Jr. Historian and special assistant to President Kennedy, 1961–1963. Schulze, Charles Assistant (1962–1966) then director of the Bureau of the Budget, 1966–1968. Seaborn, J. Blair Canadian diplomat; member of the International Commission for Supervision and Control (Vietnam), 1964–1967. Sevareid, Eric US author and CBS journalist, 1939–1977. Shoup, David M. General of US Marine Corps; Commandant of the Marine Corps, 1960–1963. Shriver, Robert Sargent First director of the Peace Corps, 1961–1966; President Kennedy’s brother-in-law. Sorensen, Theodore C. Chief legislative aide to Senator Kennedy, 1953–1960; President Kennedy’s primary speechwriter, 1961–1963; White House Counsel, 1961–1964. Stennis, John C. US Senator (Democrat) from Mississippi, 1947–1989 Stevenson, Adlai Governor of Illinois, 1949–1953; US Ambassador to the United Nations, 1961–1965. Symington, William Stuart Secretary of the Air Force, 1947–1950; US Senator (Democrat) from Missouri, 1953–1976; author of Symington Committee Report, 1960; member of Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees. Taylor, Maxwell D. US Army General; superintendent of West Point Academy, 1945–1949; Author of The Uncertain Trumpet, 1960; Army Chief of Staff, 1955–1959; leader of Task Force to investigate failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion, 1961; Military Representative to President Kennedy, 1961–1962; Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1962–1964; US Ambassador to South Vietnam, 1964–1965. Thant, U. United Nations Secretary General, 1961–1971. Thieu, Nguyen Van President of South Vietnam, 1965–1975. Thompson, Robert G. K. British counterinsurgency expert, with experience suppressing Malayan insurgency; head of BRIAM, 1961–1965. Thornton, Charles Bates “Tex” Leader of team at Office of Statistical Control in the US Army Air Forces during World War II that included McNamara; later led team to Ford Motor Company. Truman, Harry S. President of the United States, 1945–1953. Vance, Cyrus “Cy” R. General Counsel of the Department of Defense, 1961–1962; Secretary of the Army, 1962–1964; Deputy Secretary of Defense, 1964–1967. Vinson, Carl US Representative (Democrat) from Georgia, 1914–1965; Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, 1949–1953, 1955–1965. Warnke, Paul C. General Counsel of the Department of Defense, 1967; Assistant Secretary of Defense at ISA, 1967–1969. Westmoreland, William C. US Army General, Commander of MACV, 1964–1968. Wheeler, Earle G. “Bus” US Army General; Army Chief of Staff, 1962–1964; Chairman of JCS, 1964–1970. Wilson, Charles E. President of General Motors, 1941–1953; fifth Secretary of Defense, 1953–1957. Wood, Chalmers Second Secretary at US Embassy Saigon, 1957–1959; Vietnam desk officer at State Department, 1959–1963. Yarmolinsky, Adam Member of Kennedy transition team, 1960–1961; Special Assistant to McNamara, 1961–1964; Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense at ISA, 1965–1966; Professor Harvard Law School, 1966.
