On May 22, 1949, just before 2:00 a.m., America’s first Defense Secretary James Forrestal plunged to his death from a 16th floor window in the main tower of the Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland.
Forrestal had been admitted to the hospital against his will, diagnosed as suffering from “operational fatigue,” and kept in confinement in a room with security-screened windows for seven weeks while being treated with insulin-induced shock therapy and barbiturates.[1]
One of his visitors was then-Congressman Lyndon B. Johnson, who managed to gain entrance to his suite “against Forrestal’s wishes.”[2]
The New York Times reported Forrestal’s death as a suicide, though the belt, or sash, of his dressing gown was tied tightly around his neck—indicating murder.[3]
Hellbound and Down 