Vietnam
United States' involvement in Vietnam began during the Truman administration. On V-J Day 1945, Ho Chi Minh wrote a Declaration of Independence, modeling it after that of the US; at the time, Vietnam perceived its primary enemy to be the Chinese nationalist troops under Chiang Kai-shek. On September 23, the US voiced its support of French dominion over Vietnam in order to prevent Chinese aggression in the region, in line with its policy opposing the expansion of Communism worldwide.
On September 26, 1945, OSS officer Lieutenant Colonel A. Peter Dewey, working with the Viet Minh, was mistaken for a Frenchman and was shot, becoming the first U.S. casualty of the war. Dewey is not mentioned on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. because the Department of Defense has ruled that U.S. involvement in the war officially began on ecognized by Communist China and the Soviet Union. He controlled some remote territory along the Chinese border, while France controlled the remainder. The United States' "containment policy", its fierce opposition to Communist expansion, led the U.S. to continue to recognize French rule and the French client government. In 1950, Truman authorized $10 million in aid to the French, sending 123 non-combat troops to help with supplies. In 1951, the amount escalated to $150 million. By 1953, the amount had risen to $1 billion (one third of U.S. foreign aid and 80 percent of the French cost)[11].
en.wikipedia.org
US involvement was initially limited to military advisors sent in by President Kennedy. |
