John McNaughton (government official) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John McNaughton
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McNaughton (right) taking the oath of office to become Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, ISA in 1963
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| United States Secretary of the Navy - designate | |
| Died before assuming office | |
| Preceded by | John Connally |
| Succeeded by | Paul B. Fay (Acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 21, 1921 Bicknell, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | July 19, 1967 (aged 45) Hendersonville, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | DePauw University (BA) Harvard University (LLB) Oriel College, Oxford (BLitt) |
John Theodore McNaughton (born November 21, 1921 – died July 19, 1967) was an important American government official. He was born in Bicknell, Indiana. John McNaughton worked as the United States Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. He was also a very close advisor to Robert S. McNamara, who was the Secretary of Defense. Sadly, he died in a plane crash at age 45. This happened just before he was going to become the Secretary of the Navy.
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John McNaughton's Early Life
John McNaughton grew up in Bicknell, Indiana. His father owned a local newspaper called the Bicknell Daily News. Later, his family moved to Pekin, Illinois, because his father bought another newspaper, the Pekin Daily Times.
John graduated from DePauw University in 1942. That same year, he joined the United States Navy. He served on ships in the Atlantic Ocean during World War II.
After the war, in 1946, he went to Harvard Law School. He finished his law degree in 1948. He then received a special scholarship called a Rhodes Scholarship. This allowed him to study at Oxford University in England in 1949.
In 1950, he took a year off from his studies. He worked for a program called the European Payments Union. This program was part of the Marshall Plan, which helped European countries rebuild after the war.
John returned to the United States in 1951. He became the editor of the Pekin Daily Times newspaper. A year later, he decided to run for Congress as a Democrat in Illinois. However, he was not elected.
His Career in Government
In 1953, John McNaughton started working as a professor at Harvard Law School. He was known for being tall and speaking very quickly.
He was good friends with Thomas Schelling, who later won a Nobel Prize for his work in economics. They had worked together in Paris on the Marshall Plan.
Working at the Department of Defense
In 1964, McNaughton and Schelling were both teaching at Harvard. Schelling was asked to work at the United States Department of Defense. Instead, he suggested that McNaughton go, promising to help him with ideas about weapons and strategy. So, McNaughton was appointed Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs.
Together, they planned a bombing strategy for North Vietnam in 1964. This plan led to the first part of Operation Rolling Thunder. This was a series of bombing attacks that happened in March 1965.
McNaughton wrote a secret memo about stopping the bombing. He said that North Vietnam needed to stop sending troops into South Vietnam. They also had to pull back the troops they already had there. In addition, the Viet Cong (a group fighting in South Vietnam) had to stop their attacks. They also had to let the government in Saigon (South Vietnam's capital) control most of South Vietnam.
However, the North Vietnamese did not react as American officials expected. The bombing did not scare them. The real-world situation was more complicated than the plans made using abstract ideas.
By 1966, McNaughton and his assistant, Adam Yarmolinsky, had to admit that the air strikes had not worked.
Focusing on South Vietnam
McNaughton was a very practical person. He realized that one important part of the war effort could make a big difference. This was helping South Vietnam become a strong country. He believed it needed to be able to stand against attacks from the North with help from the U.S.
In March 1965, McNaughton told President Lyndon B. Johnson that these efforts might not help quickly enough. But he felt they were important for the future. He said that such efforts were "essential to provide a foundation for the longer run."
McNaughton was talking about a plan to help build up South Vietnam. This plan was created by Major-General Edward Lansdale. Lansdale was an expert in fighting against rebels. He had successfully stopped a rebellion in the Philippines in the 1950s. Other experts like Sir Robert Thompson from Britain and Roger Hilsman from the U.S. also contributed to these ideas.
Edward Lansdale had pointed out that South Vietnam depended a lot on U.S. aid. This meant the U.S. had to keep providing a lot of help. If this help was reduced, the enemy would win.
Family and Legacy
John McNaughton was married to Sarah Elizabeth "Sally" Fulkman. They had two sons, Alexander "Alex" and Theodore "Ted" (born in 1955).
Robert McNamara, the Secretary of Defense, once said that McNaughton could have been his replacement.
John McNaughton resigned from his job as Assistant Secretary of Defense. He was scheduled to become the Secretary of the Navy on August 1, 1967. The United States Senate had already approved him for this role.
However, on July 19, 1967, he died in the Piedmont Airlines Flight 22 plane crash. His wife and younger son, Theodore, also died in the accident.
A bridge in Pekin, Illinois, is named after him. It is called the John T. McNaughton Bridge and carries Illinois Route 9 across the Illinois River. There is also a park northeast of Pekin named John T. McNaughton Park.
