Hamilton Gregory

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

17:24 min

Politics, Sociology, History

262 pages, 2015

In 1966, facing a critical shortage of troops for Vietnam, Defense Secretary Robert McNamara implemented a controversial solution that would forever alter thousands of lives. Gregory's short reveals how Project 100,000 drafted over 350,000 men who had previously failed military qualification tests due to low IQ scores and other limitations. This short exposes the devastating consequences: death rates three times higher than other soldiers, minimal educational support despite grand promises, and "bad paper" discharges that permanently damaged veterans' futures. Gregory shows how this misguided policy sacrificed vulnerable Americans to avoid political fallout, offering crucial documentation of a little-known chapter in American military history that raises essential questions about ethics, duty, and the true cost of war.

Hamilton Gregory

Hamilton Gregory is a Vietnam War veteran who served during the peak of Project 100,000, giving him firsthand experience with its implementation and consequences. Through extensive interviews with commanders, fellow soldiers, and the families of affected recruits, Gregory has documented this controversial Pentagon policy's implementation and effects. His research reveals how intellectually limited men were systematically exploited by military leadership and provides an essential historical record of one of America's least examined wartime policies.

Chapters

Low-IQ recruits like Johnny Gupton were forced into military service despite severe intellectual limitations, endangering themselves and others while commanders falsified records to improve performance metrics.

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