Vietnam War Beginnings
In the small country of Vietnam a war breaks out against the French who had colonized Vietnam. Vietnam would start fighting the French in 1946 right after WWII under the leader of Ho Chi Minh who would ally with the Soviet Union. Ultimately the US makes the decision to help the french quell the rebellion in order to prevent another country from falling into communism because if one country fell to communism what is to stop another falling and then another. In 1954 Vietnam would sign a ceasefire with France so as to allow French troops to exit the country. Along with this the country would be split in half for the meantime along the 17th parallel and in 1956 an election would be held.
However, when 1956 rolled around Diem the current leader of South Vietnam did not allow the election and this would be the start of the Vietnam war. so in 1961 Kennedy would start sending "advisers" to South Vietnam to train ARVN troops to fight the Viet Cong. By the end of 1961 there was 1364 advisers in South Vietnam but would increase to 10,000 in 1962 and 15000 in 1963.
Diem however wasn't very popular and when trying to destroy all the communists but often couldn't tell the difference. In 1963 a coup funded by the CIA was held and overthrew and killed Diem. This would ultimately send the political stability in the south down the drain. After Diem would come multiple military leaders that weren't any better and by 1964 there were over 21,000 advisers from the US. Goldwater presses government to end the war by any means necessary, even nuclear weapons. LBJ responds to the increased pressure, “We are not going to send American boys nine or ten thousand miles away from home to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves.”