Melvin R. Laird (1922–2016)

Melvin Robert Laird Jr. was born in Omaha, Nebraska on September 1, 1922. After graduating from Carleton College in 1942, he enlisted in the Navy and was commissioned a lieutenant. He received a Purple Heart after being wounded while serving on the destroyer Maddox in the Pacific. At the age of 23, show more he was elected to fill his father's seat in the Wisconsin Senate. Six years later, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives and served nine terms. In 1968, he became President Richard M. Nixon's first secretary of defense. He challenged the military policies during the Vietnam War. Under his leadership, the military eventually eliminated the draft. Laird became the president's chief domestic policy adviser during his second term. He left the White House before Nixon resigned to become the senior counselor on national and international affairs for the Reader's Digest Association. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1974. His book, A House Divided: America's Strategy Gap, was published in 1962. He died from complications of respiratory failure on November 16, 2016 at the age of 94. (Bowker Author Biography) show less