DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER JOHN F. KENNEDY Kennedy tripled the amount of US aid to Vietnam and increased the number of US military advisors there; his administration supported the overthrow of South Vietnam's Ngo Dinh Diem.
LYNDON B. JOHNSON Despite campaign promises to the contrary, he steadily increased US involvement in Vietnam, and his popularity plummeted. On March 31, 1968, Johnson publicly announced that he had reduced bombing campaigns in North Vietnam.
RICHARD M. NIXON Nixon carried out a "Vietnamization" policy, whereby many US troops were withdrawn from
Vietnam and replaced by members of the South Vietnamese army. Nonetheless, US troops remained on the ground, and the Nixon administration continued to provide supplies and air support for the Vietnamese, and expanded the war into Laos and Cambodia. The last US troops left Vietnam during Nixon's second term.
GERALD FORD As president, Ford oversaw the US's final withdrawal from Vietnam and the evacuation of thousands of Vietnamese citizens. On May 7, 1975 Ford delivered a speech announcing the official end of the Vietnam Era.
JIMMY CARTER On the day after his inauguration as president, January 21, 1977, Jimmy Carter issued a pardon to nearly all those who evaded the draft in order to avoid going to Vietnam. A controversial move, Carter made it in hopes of closing the still-lingering wounds left over from the war.
RONALD REAGAN Elected US President in 1980, Reagan acted as honorary next-of-kin to the
Unknown Soldier of the Vietnam War in ceremonies held at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, DC on
Memorial Day, 1984. At the service, Reagan pledged his support to efforts aimed at finding those still listed as
missing-in-action. Information retrieved from the PBS website
(1953-1961)
Eisenhower commanded Allied forces in Western Europe during World War II. Following the war, he served as supreme commander of NATO forces before being elected US President. He held the White House from 1953-61, during which time he provided military aid to the French in Indochina, but refused to commit US troops there.
(1961-1963)
(1963-1969)
(1969-1974)
(1974-1977)
(1977-1981)
(1981-1989)
The American Experience/Vietnam Online
