John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963)

President John F. Kennedy decided to increase military aid to South Vietnam without committing U.S. combat troops.

Kennedy was concerned at the advances being made by the communist Viet
Cong, but did not want to become involved in a land war in Vietnam. He
hoped that the military aid would be sufficient to strengthen the Saigon
government and its armed forces against the Viet Cong. Ultimately it was
not, and Kennedy ended up sending additional support in the form of U.S.
military advisors and American helicopter units. By the time of his
assassination in 1963, there were 16,000 U.S. soldiers in South
Vietnam.

U.S. adviser training Montagnard’s at a fortified camp near Buon Me Thout in central Vietnam.