At 7:15 on the morning of June 5, 1967, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara reached for a handset, one connected to a secure telephone line to a military switchboard at the White House. He asked the operator to ring the Air Force sergeant on duty outside President Lyndon B. Johnson's bedroom.
"Sergeant, this is Secretary McNamara, and I want to talk to the president."
"He's asleep, sir."
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