“It’s a total myth Kennedy caused Viet Nam.
He advocated advisors only.”
So goes the myth, djf.
My dad’s office partner was the Pentagon’s small arms expert in that day. He returned from a tour in Vietnam in ‘62 and said that “they may not be calling it a war but we are using up ammunition just like it is one.” That was well before Johnson and there was plenty of fighting going on that involved American personnel.
And then Kennedy found the President of South Vietnam hard to control and wanted him gone. The result was the assassination of President Diem and his family in early November 1963. This left Vietnam rudderless and unable to fight. Johnson inherited that mess and was the one who eventually sent in American ground combat troops but it was Kennedy’s foolish elimination of President Diem that set that all in motion.
Well, all I can say is I’m glad my number came up 345.
And I can say this, I will not blame VietNam on Kennedy,