Francis John McNamara was born in Brooklyn,
New York in 1915. After earning an undergraduate degree at St. John's
University in 1938 (English) and an M.A. at Niagara University (1939,
English), he joined the U.S. Army where he served in World War II
in Asia, attaining the rank of Major. After the war, he worked for
the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA)
in the Jehol and Hupeh provinces of China.
When he returned to the United States in 1948, he went to work as
a researcher for American Business Consultants, Inc., in New York
City, a security firm and publisher of the anticommunist newsletter
Counterattack. In January of 1950 he became editor of Counterattack
where he remained until May of 1954. He then moved to Washington,
D.C., to head the National Security Program of the Veterans of Foreign
Wars (VFW). In 1958 he left the VFW to serve as a research analyst
and consultant to the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC).
In 1961 he became director of research at HUAC, and in 1962, its staff
director. In 1970 he went to work for the Subversive Activities Control
Board (SACB) where he served as executive secretary. In 1981 he became
executive director of the Nathan Hale Foundation. He served as vice-chairman
of the Security and Intelligence Foundation from 1987-90 and is a
senior fellow at the Center for Intelligence Studies in Arlington,
Virginia. McNamara lives with his wife Katherine in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
The Francis J. McNamara Collection is representative of McNamara’s
lifelong career in the field of anticommunism. Items in the collection
reflect his work with American Business Consultants (1948-1954), the
Veterans of Foreign Wars (1954-1958), HUAC (1958-1969), SACB (1970-1973),
and later consulting and editing work. Types of materials include
news clipping files, governmental reports, manuscript notes, journals
and newsletters, correspondence, pamphlets and books. Materials in
the collection span the entire political and social spectrum, providing
original documents for research, whatever the scholar’s approach to
history. The collection spans the years 1947 through 1991. Total volume
of the collection is 70 cubic feet or 105 linear feet.
For additional information on the Francis J. McNamara
Collection in Special Collections & Archives, please consult the
Special Collections & Archives staff. The Special Collections
& Archives staff is always willing to assist researchers. Special
Collections & Archives has a reading room, providing a quiet haven
for serious research. Most materials may be photocopied, either by
the researcher or by staff, depending on the nature of the item. Telephone
or mail requests for photocopies and photographs are handled for a
fee on a prepaid basis. Tours can be arranged for small groups, and
speakers are available upon request. Some materials may also be requested
for use in exhibitions.
Special Collections & Archives preserves and
makes available to all students, faculty, and researchers many kinds
of original historical and scholarly materials. Major subject areas
for research include Northern Virginia, Planned Communities, Performing
Arts, Photography, Maps, the Civil War, and George Mason University.
Formats in Special Collections & Archives include manuscripts,
rare books, playbills, musical scores, audio and video tapes, architectural
drawings, photographs, and slides. Among the most important collections
of primary source materials are those of notable Northern Virginia
political figures.
