Posted on Jun 16, 2016
Kennedy agrees to send instructors to train troops - Jun 16, 1961 - HISTORY.com
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Following a meeting between President John F. Kennedy and South Vietnam envoy Nguyen Dinh Thuan, an agreement is reached for direct training and combat supervision of Vietnamese troops by U.S. instructors. South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem had earlier asked Kennedy to send additional U.S. troops to train the South Vietnamese Army. U.S. advisers had been serving in Vietnam since 1955 as part of the U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Group. There would be only 900 U.S. military personnel in South Vietnam at the end of 1961, but in accordance with President Kennedy’s pledge to provide American military assistance to South Vietnam, the number of U.S. personnel rose to 3,200 by the end of 1962. The number would climb until it reached 16,000 by the time of President Kennedy’s assassination in November 1963.
@SMSgt Minister Gerald A. Thomas , Capt Christopher Mueller , CPT (Join to see) , COL Mikel J. Burroughs , Sgt Joe LaBranche , SSgt (Join to see), TSgt Hunter Logan Capt Seid Waddell SrA Christopher Wright LTC Stephen F. PO2 Ed C. PO2 Mark Saffell MSG Tom Earley PVT James Strait Alan K. @po1 william "chip" PO1 William "Chip" Nagel @SGT John McConnell SGT John " Mac " McConnell
@SMSgt Minister Gerald A. Thomas , Capt Christopher Mueller , CPT (Join to see) , COL Mikel J. Burroughs , Sgt Joe LaBranche , SSgt (Join to see), TSgt Hunter Logan Capt Seid Waddell SrA Christopher Wright LTC Stephen F. PO2 Ed C. PO2 Mark Saffell MSG Tom Earley PVT James Strait Alan K. @po1 william "chip" PO1 William "Chip" Nagel @SGT John McConnell SGT John " Mac " McConnell
Kennedy agrees to send instructors to train troops - Jun 16, 1961 - HISTORY.com
Posted from history.comPosted in these groups: 
American History
Vietnam War
American History Vietnam War
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 6
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At the time I was an Camp Pendleton Marine, an E3 enjoying the 'peacetime Corps' in a soft Base job. Didn't read the papers, listen to radio, watch TV or have any idea what was going on in the world. Going to Pacific Beach on weekends and the E club during the week. Had no idea what was just over the horizon in the very near future. It was an unreal calm before the storm.
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Sgt Tom Cunnally
In April 1961 we had the Bay of Pigs landings & a few weeks later the first Mercury Space flights & we had to fight for a seat in the Day Room to watch these events on TV so ended up at the Slop Chute instead to watch them
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I recall that date very well. But it was not widely known back then. I always had the sense that Kennedy wanted to keep the early days in Vietnam off of the newspapers' front pages in 1960 - 1963..
I was also told by a young woman about her dad; a 1st Sgt who I knew did some heroic deeds but was only presented with a Navy Letter of Commendation when everyone there thought he deserved a Navy Cross or Silver Star. Kennedy did not want to have news coverage of anyone being highly decorated at that time in the war.
I was also told by a young woman about her dad; a 1st Sgt who I knew did some heroic deeds but was only presented with a Navy Letter of Commendation when everyone there thought he deserved a Navy Cross or Silver Star. Kennedy did not want to have news coverage of anyone being highly decorated at that time in the war.
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Thanks SP5 Mark Kuzinski for reminding us when POTUS JFK decided to prove his concept of Special Forces in a real world setting in the relatively unknown nation of South Vietnam.
Training foreign soldiers was the province of the newly created Special Forces units.
Training foreign soldiers was the province of the newly created Special Forces units.
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Sgt Tom Cunnally
They were all very good troops, & really enjoyed the time we spent training together at Camp Lejeune.
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