LBJ Counting the Dead
Lyndon B. couldn't figure it out. Every day the advisers came to him with their facts and figures and laid them down on his desk. Army dead. Navy dead. Marine dead. Civilian dead. Diplomatic dead. MASH dead. Delta dead. Seabee dead. National Guard dead. But the numbers didn't compute. Someone was messing up somewhere. All the reporters and TV channels were breathing down LBJ's neck and he needed the proper information. He could help put a man on the Moon, but he couldn't count the body bags. Send satellite spinning, but he couldn't figure out how many crosses to go into the ground. A crack computer unit. The Geek Squad. Quick initiation. Serve your nation. Get your hair cut. My country, 'tis of thee, we've got technology. Only the 1 best and brightest came. From Stanford. MIT. University of Utah. U.C. Davis. His friends from PARC. The ones who were developing the dream of the ARPANET Kitted up and sent off.
Colum McCann, Let the Great World Spin: A Novel (2009-12-02)
Notes
The problem of counting the dead from Vietnam and needing computer scientists for the job.
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- Lyndon B. Person
- Vietnam Country
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- ARPANET Technology
- University of Utah Organization
- National Guard Organization
- Stanford City
- Army Organization
- MIT Organization
- U.C. Davis Person
- Delta Organization