Kennedy’s Legacy
JFK dramatically increased American military presence in Vietnam before his assassination. Kennedy raised the number of advisors from 900 to over 16,000 during his shortened presidency. He authorized covert operations against North Vietnam and expanded aid to South Vietnamese forces. The young president publicly described Vietnam as a crucial battlefield in the struggle against communism. This rhetoric made it politically difficult for him to withdraw even as conditions deteriorated. His successor, Lyndon Johnson, inherited these escalating commitments with little room to change course.
