McNamara's Ban

The Washington press corps has long since learned that Defense Secretary Robert McNamara regards reporters somewhat as a general looks on junior officers: they have a job to do, and they must have access to the top brass--but only through channels. Last fortnight, when McNamara marched into a grandstand to watch some Army war games at Wedgefield, S.C., reporters were forbidden to follow--and like good soldiers they obeyed.

But there is a maverick in every outfit; Reporter Roger Simmons of the Florence News nourished a newsman's distaste for military regulations and was unspoiled by Washington obeisance to protocol. Ignoring the ban, he climbed a barrier and assaulted the stands where McNamara was watching an airdrop of 4,000 paratroopers.

"I want you to come down and pose with one of our landowners," he ordered.

Caught off guard, McNamara docilely obeyed. Then he even hammed it up a bit for an impertinent photographer, as he never does at the Pentagon. After posing with the landowner, he stood still for a shot with a G.I. Later an aide lamely explained: "After all, McNamara knows we're holding the maneuvers on private property. So a landowner down here rates higher than a four-star general in the Pentagon."

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