President Eisenhower sent some 700 military personnel as well military and economic aid to the government of South Vietnam.
Kennedy became president. In May 1961, JFK authorized sending an additional 500 Special Forces troops and military advisors to assist the pro Western government of South Vietnam. By the end of 1962, there were approximately 11,000 military advisors in South Vietnam; that year, 53 military personnel had been killed.
On the 7th February, 1965 President Johnson ordered the escalation of armed forces in Vietnam, thereby plunging America into a full-scale military conflict. Historical judgements have coined a catalogue of suggestions for U.S. engrossment.
