"BODY COUNT"

I had thought that the use of body counts in the Vietnam War was due to McNamara but according to McMaster, it was LBJ himself (page 248):

On March 15 [1965] the president called the JCS to the White House for consultation. ... He told his military officers that he wanted them to employ any means necessary to "kill more Viet Cong." He expected a weekly report totaling the Viet Cong dead. ²⁰

Here are the references McMaster provides:

20. Gravel, The Pentagon Papers, vol. 3, p. 406; Wallace Greene, memorandum for the Record, 19 March 1965, Greene papers; Gibbons, The U.S. Government and the Vietnam War, vol. 3, pp. 165-66; Wheeler Diary, 15 March 1965, Wheeler Papers.

This is from the Pentagon Papers citation:

15 Mar 65 JCS met w/Pres.

President urged the JCS to come up with measures to "kill more VC"; he approved most of Gen Johnson's recommendations.