President John F. Kennedy, on May 11, 1961, ordered a significant increase in United States military presence in South Vietnam. This decision marked a pivotal escalation in U.S. involvement in Vietnam, signifying a deepening of the American commitment to the anti-communist cause in Southeast Asia. Kennedy’s orders led to the deployment of thousands of American troops and set the stage for the extensive military engagements that would characterize the Vietnam War throughout the 1960s and early 1970s.
