washington<u+2014> melvin laird, a longtime wisconsin congressman who managed the american withdrawal from vietnam as richard nixon <u+2019>s secretary of defense, and who later phased out the u.s. military draft, died wednesday at a hospital in florida. he was 94. his death was confirmed by his son, david m. laird. mr. laird<u+2019>s death capped the life of a politician and policy maker who took control of the pentagon in 1969 after more than a decade in congress and oversaw one of the thorniest foreign-policy tasks that faced the newly minted nixon administration: exiting vietnam. he crafted a policy that he termed <u+201c>vietnamization<u+201d><u+2014>the effort to train and equip south vietnam<u+2019>s forces to provide for themselves while steadily withdrawing american troops from a war that had lost the support of the u.s. public. mr. laird later criticized the u.s. congress for failing to supply sufficient arms and support to south vietnam<u+2019>s weak government in the aftermath of the policy and letting the south fall to communist forces in 1975. at the pentagon, mr. laird overhauled the american armed forces. he suspended the u.s. military draft in 1973 and set up an all-volunteer force that has remained the bedrock of america<u+2019>s defense ever since. a veteran himself, he served in the u.s. navy during world war ii in the pacific theater, where he earned a purple heart. anthony h. cordesman, a strategy expert at the center for strategic and international studies in washington, d.c., who was a policy maker at the pentagon during mr. laird<u+2019>s tenure, praised the late secretary for his professional handling of the withdrawal from vietnam and his modernization of the american military at a difficult time for the country. <u+201c>what he really did was command professional respect,<u+201d> mr. cordesman said. defense secretary ash carter, in a statement wednesday, said mr. laird was particularly proud to have overseen the transformation of the american military to an all-volunteer force. <u+201c>as secretary of defense, i<u+2019>ve often benefited from his counsel, his encouragement, and his friendship,<u+201d> mr. carter said. <u+201c>he was a reminder of the long arc of our great country, and what we all owe to those who came before us.<u+201d> after four years in the pentagon, mr. laird served as a domestic affairs adviser to nixon in the white house from 1973 to 1974. he wrote that during that time he persuaded mr. nixon to select gerald r. ford, a longtime friend from congress, as vice president upon the resignation of spiro agnew. before entering the nixon administration, mr. laird served in the house of representatives as a republican congressman from 1953 to 1969. while still a young college student, hillary clinton was a summer intern on his staff. in an interview for an oral history project at a wisconsin high school, mr. laird said mr. nixon would have been a great president had he not lied about the coverup of watergate. <u+201c>that was a great mistake and one of my greatest disappointments in politics,<u+201d> mr. laird recalled in the interview for the project, published online by d.c. everest senior high in weston, wis. <u+201c>i could not forgive him for that.<u+201d> house armed services committee chairman mac thornberry (r., texas) and ranking member adam smith (d., wash.) released a joint statement expressing sadness about laird<u+2019>s passing. <u+201c>as secretary of defense, he led america<u+2019>s military through a difficult and dangerous time in our history,<u+201d> they said. <u+201c>our country is better for his service both at the pentagon and in congress.<u+201d> write to paul sonne at paul.sonne@wsj.com
melvin laird, defense secretary who oversaw u.s. exit from vietnam, dies at 94  - wsj
paul sonne