Eisenhower began aid, including military advisors in 1954. JFK sent green beanie outfits and increased to 13000 but was getting ready to cut back after Diem was murdered but then JFK was murdered; LBJ had a total of more than a half million troops in the Nam at one time in February 1968; Nixon cut a deal and brought them home in 1973, including the POWs such as John McCain.
And namvet calls one who knows his history about this names. namvet is simply reprehensible and a liar.
The entire French operation was paid for and supplied by the USA, using US weapons.
Giap makes it a point to mention that the white star on French equipment identified them with the USA in the minds of the people and they never forgot it.
The ceasefire agreement between the French and the Vietminn stipulated a vote on the north and south, the north violated teh agreement by sending large numbers of men into teh south to control a future vote, which Eisenhower decided to forgo as it had been rigged, deciding instead to arm and equip the RVN.
JFK escalted this policy to the point where he allowed Diem to be killed in a coup, the real turning point in the war as that strongman was the best man to fight the communists according to the communists themselves.
The South begand to fall apart without deim and was about to collapse in 1964, leading to LBJ staging attacks on US warships in the gulf of tonken which convinced Congress to send US combat forces to Vietnam in large numbers.
US Marines landed in Danang and began 'operation starlight' a clear and secure operation that destroyed an NVA regiment and saved the RVN from defeat. LBJ continued to pump forces into Vietnam but it soon became clear that US forces could win operationaly but could make no strategic headway and for 3 years the US fought a number of battls but made little headway to victory.
In the new year of 1968 the NLF launced a countrywide attack in an attempt to topple the RVN, and this failed badly as the ARVN forces stood and fought and the NLF took horrendous losses, but this victory was turned into a strategic defeat for America as bad press in the USA convinced the country that 'Tet' was a defeat.
These events caused LBJ to withdraw from politics and saw the election of Nixon on a promise to end the war with 'honor.' Nixon tried heavy bombing and made a disaterious public relations move by ordering US forces to cross into Cambodia to attempt to cut the Ho Che Mihn trail.
Nixon next decided to make a deal with the North for 'peace' and began the old Eisenhower strategy of arming and training the locals with a provision that if the north attacked the US would send aide and airpower.
The NLF attacked in easter of 1973 and once again the ARVN troops stood and fought, as massive US airpower broke up the North's armored attacks, few US tyroops remained on teh ground as most had been withdrawn in 1971.
The Communists bided their time and struck again in late 74 and this time a Democratic controlled congress rejected Gerald ford's request to send aide and airpower, and the South was finally over run in 1975, thanks to the renegging of the USA.