Last Wednesday was the morning after the election and the results were in the thoughts of the members of our Piedmont Recreation Department’s Walking on Wednesdays group. We decided to clear our minds on this sunny, breezy day with a walk, and consider the connection of one of Piedmont High’s most prominent alumni to the Presidency. Robert McNamara was President Kennedy’s secretary of defense. Along the way to McNamara’s childhood home at 1036 Annerley we could walk some less visited streets, a hidden path, a not hidden path, and a back alley.
There was a strong turnout of 47 walkers and four K-9 best friends at the Exedra.
Our first destination was the hidden path between 216 and 220 Wildwood Avenue. It goes down to a back alley between Winsor Avenue, Ranleigh Way, and Harvard Road. We went down Highland and Wildwood Avenues in a long column to the lower section of Wildwood. We found the path, went down its steps, and emerged at the top of a long alley behind the homes. Along the alley, we appreciated the lovely flower art that Bessy Lim has surprisingly created out of aluminum cans. We stopped at a former garage that is now a wonderful ADU. Leigh Sorensen announced it was part of her house and invited everyone to look inside, which we did and enjoyed.
After the home inspection, we noticed our numbers were smaller. Eric Behrens got a call from his wife, Joyce Hicks, asking where the group was. Some walkers at the back of our long parade had missed the alley turn and were already on Annerley. A reunion at McNamara’s house was planned.
We took a short walk down Harvard before crossing into Oakland and coming to Lakeshore Avenue. We went up it in search of Portsmouth Walk, a path that uniquely has its own Oakland street sign. However, just beyond the path is Martin Levy’s garage door that has a mural of a stable with his then young son and a “black beauty” horse painted on it. Martin told us to look for his “Death’s Door” back gate along Portsmouth Walk. Around it are Martin’s cactuses, broken ceramics, and other fun decorations. At the top of the walk is Annerley Road and a few houses down is Robert McNamara’s childhood home. We posed in front for a group photo and heard his story.
McNamara graduated from Piedmont High School in Piedmont, California in 1933 He was one of the school’s brightest pupils, but the Depression left his family little money for his further education. However, he discovered tuition at the University of California, Berkeley, would cost only $52 a year, and he graduated in 1937 with a B.A. in economics with minors in mathematics and philosophy. He got a master's degree from Harvard Business School and became an accountant with Price Waterhouse, but in 1940 Harvard invited him to join its faculty as assistant professor of accounting. That year, he married his teenage sweetheart, Margaret Craig. She was an accomplished cook, and Robert's favorite dish was her beef bourguignon.
During World War II poor eyesight kept McNamara from military service, but he volunteered to train air force staff in the statistical control of the nation's vast program to provide aircraft, munitions, and crews. After the war, he joined nine of his military colleagues in a team offering management expertise to companies. Henry Ford II hired these so-called "whiz kids" and they successfully reorganized Ford Motor. McNamara rose steadily and became the first non-member of the Ford family to become the company's president. At that time John F Kennedy was elected President and McNamara was offered his choice of posts in the new administration, either Secretary of Treasury or Defense. He chose defense.
McNamara became increasingly embroiled in the Vietnam War, stemming from Kennedy's belief that America's reputation would be undermined if it seemed unwilling to protect a small Asian nation from communism. By the time of Kennedy's assassination in 1963 he brought 10,000 American "advisers" to South Vietnam, and America became mired deeply in the conflict. The anti-war movement swelled, and protesters began to dub the conflict "McNamara's war."
However, McNamara became disenchanted with the war and in November 1967 he expressed his reservations in a confidential memorandum to President Johnson. "I never received a reply," he recalled later. Four weeks later President Johnson announced McNamara's election as president of the World Bank and his departure from the Defense Department. McNamara later said, “I do not know … whether I quit or was fired." He later acknowledged that his belief that a communist victory in Vietnam would lead to the successive collapse of all surrounding governments was "limited and shallow." The McNamara experience gave us hope that America can make a mistake, come to realize it, and still survive.
The morning had passed quickly, and it was time to head back. We reversed our steps, went up Annerley to Harvard Road and Prospect Avenue, and through Piedmont Park to the Exedra.