”Go Ahead from Eisenhower” (detail), photograph, 1956, Collection of U.S. House of Representatives

LAIRD, Melvin Robert, a Representative from Wisconsin; born in Omaha, Douglas County, Nebr., September 1, 1922; attended the public schools; B.A., Carleton College, Northfield, Minn., 1942; enlisted in the United States Navy in May 1942 and served in the Pacific; awarded the Purple Heart; member of the State senate 1946-1952; delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1948, 1952, 1956, and 1960; elected as a Republican to the Eighty-third Congress; reelected to the eight succeeding Congresses and served from January 3, 1953, until his resignation January 21, 1969, to become Secretary of Defense and served in that capacity until January 29, 1973 (January 3, 1953-January 21, 1969); domestic adviser to President Nixon, 1973-1974; senior counsellor for national and international affairs, Reader’s Digest Association, 1974 to present; is a resident of Washington, D.C.