Introduction

The son of a statesman. The shadow of a war. The weight of unspoken truths. 

Craig McNamara grew up surrounded by power—Sunday lunches at the White House, brushing shoulders with presidents and generals. Yet, beneath the dreamy surface of this life lied an unsettling truth: the man he called “Dad,” his father, Robert McNamara—the US Secretary of Defense, was a key architect of the Vietnam War. He knew the Vietnam War was unwinnable but still pressed on. What does it mean when your father’s decisions send thousands of men to die? How do you reconcile love for the man who raised you with anger for the man who misled a nation?

As Craig grew, he wasn’t only searching for answers about the war; he was confronting the silence that had always lingered between father and son. He was caught between the comfort of family and the gravity of history. He spent years grappling with one question—why did his father lie?

The book “Because Our Fathers Lied” is a story of conflict—between a man and his father, between past and present, and between what was said and what was buried. Find out with us: will the answers Craig finds bring peace, or only deepen the wounds left by a father’s silence?

Summary

Craig McNamara’s journey isn’t about finding all the answers—it’s about coming to terms with his father’s complex legacy. His father’s ambition and silence left scars, but they also shaped Craig’s path, pushing him toward farming and self-discovery. Through protests, travels, and quiet moments, Craig learned that healing often comes through acceptance, not resolution. His story reminds us that while we may never fully escape our past, we can learn to live with it and even find meaning in carrying it forward.

Living in the shadow of history

Growing up as Robert McNamara’s son was both thrilling and lonely. Thrilling because being the son of the U.S. Secretary of Defense during the Vietnam War, he  “had a front-row seat to history.” Lonely, because he was often left out of his father’s life.At fifteen, he was sent off to St. Paul’s, a  strict New England boarding school. His skills on the football field earned him the nickname “Missile McNamara,” but academics were a different story—he struggled.One winter evening, Craig...