<p>John F. Kennedy in his presidential inauguration speech in January 1961 declared, "We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship" to assure the survival of liberty. Those were inspiring words, but they could not stand up to the harsh realities of the Cold War. Years after the Kennedy assassination, it would become evident to President Richard Nixon that Americans had no stomach for continuing to pay the price of Vietnam. South Vietnam would fall to communist tyranny.</p>