The US Vietnam experience started slowly after WWII, with Truman going along with those who wanted to restore the French Colony. After all, the tensions between the US and Japan were mainly the result of the US resisting a Japanese take-over of the colonies of countries involved in the war in Europe. Those were mainly French and Dutch, but Burma was involved, too, and that was British.

Eisenhower took over the war, supplying the French with all weapons, meeting the entire payroll, and even giving them uniforms. Kennedy inserted US troops, and was the last person who could have gotten us out of there. And there are those who know speculate he would have had he lived.

Once Johnson got the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, there was no way out without declaring defeat.

And, you're right. Kennedy was the guy who got US troops in there in an "advisory" role. A friend of mine says he got his Silver Star and Purple Heart in the same 1/10 of a second when an RPG hit an APC next to him, killing the fellow alongside him. He's very short, and would head out into the field with ARVN in late '61 and early '62. They could only shoot if shot at, and were always shot at, sometimes not first, according to him.

And for a few years the military regarded Vietnam as "not much of a war, but the only war we have". No one had ever made general in the Air Force, for instance, without seeing combat and throughout the war at least the pilots were all eager volunteers. For others, after it got serious the lifers were the only eager ones.

After Nixon started the withdrawals, everyone knew it was lost and no one wanted to die there anymore, at all. Makes sense. The "defending freedom" from world communism idea had flopped, Americans over there knew that most locals sentiment was with the North and an end to the fighting. Allies still died, but only to protect their buddies, not for the system.

As far as North Vietnam being a Soviet satellite state, consider this. The US bombed the North with impunity, though doing everything possible to avoid hitting Soviet ships in port. The only response from the Soviet Union was diplomatic.

What do you think the response would have been if the US bombed East Berlin, or Warsaw, or Sophia? Would have been a mess, as they truly were Soviet satellites.

Arf