* During World War II FDR said that he believed Vietnam should be set on the path for independance, but Churchill rejected that idea. However even under FDR the Americans ended up supporting the French Indo-China. Ho Chi Minh made appeals and sent them to Presisent Truman asking for the US to help Vietnam gain independance from France. The US however just simply ignored his requests for help (1940's). In 1945 Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnamese independance, that is when French and Vietnamese conflict began. By 1954 the US was tired of dealing with the French so the Americans supported Ngo Dinh Diem into being the president of South Vietnam. The US supported Diem in the hopes that it would stop the spread of communism, but it actually caused communism to grow more rapidly and made people believe that violence was the only way. Because of this in 1963 the CIA gave $40,000 to South Vietnamese generals to overthrow Diem. Then finally, in 1965 the US joined the war to fight against the will of the vietnamese people and to support minority Vietnam interests that tied to American interests.
rationalrevolution.net/war/american_involvement_in_vietnam.htm
On June 11, 1963 Thich Quang Due, a 66 year old monk set himself on fire in protest to the oppression of the Diem administration. Diem's response was,"Let them burn, and we shall clap our hands."  | During the US involvement in the Vietnam war: 3,403,100 Americans served 58,169 Americans were killed 5,773,190 total casulties (enemy and allied) 2,122,224 total killed (enemy and allied) |
