The General Opens His Mouth

Tired and rumpled as any returning tourist, tactless Harry Vaughan stepped off a banana boat in New York last week after a vacation in Guatemala, and promptly put his foot in his mouth. The day was hot and so was he, but a reporter managed to tag him for a brief interview. The reporter wanted to know about his connections with James V. Hunt, the Washington "five percenter," who had said Vaughan was a close friend (TIME, July 4).

Presidential Military Aide Harry Vaughan, the White House court jester, made a terse, four-point reply: 1) he knew Hunt only casually, considered him a mere "file clerk who makes maybe $10,000 a year" (Vaughan's base pay as a major general: $8,800); 2) he knew there were "at least 300 people in Washington" in the same racket, selling their knowledge of Washington ways to businessmen who want government contracts; 3) he couldn't understand why people would "pick on a sergeant [i.e., Hunt, who was a wartime colonel] when at least two major generals are in the same racket"; 4) the entire subject was "silly."

A few hours later, Vaughan stepped off the train in Washington's sweltering Union Station. He tried to duck, but newsmen cornered him. One reporter asked Vaughan who paid for the Guatemala vacation. Vaughan flushed, drew back to strike the questioner, then changed his mind. "What the hell business is it of yours?" roared Vaughan, ". . . it cost me $2,000 to take my family on this vacation . . . it's nobody's goddamned business but mine and you can quote me!"

Flashbulbs popped. General Vaughan shook his fist under a photographer's nose and bellowed: "How would you like a punch in the nose?" The photographer suggested it would be a mistake--for Vaughan. "After all," snapped forthright Harry Vaughan, "I am the President's military aide. You guys will want favors at the White House some day . . ."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.