ABSTRACT
The United States’ involvement in Vietnam dated back to the 1950s when it had supported the South Vietnam regime of President Ngo Dinh Diem as a Cold War imperative to prevent its takeover by communist North Vietnam under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh. Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson had all gradually committed more military personnel to bolster the South Vietnam regime. It was during President Johnson's second term in office from 1964 to 1968, however, that the first US combat soldiers were sent to Vietnam and a massive escalation of troops began. As the US became more heavily involved in and committed to the conflict, the Vietnam War, and growing public opposition to it, became one of the central issues of national concern.
