Actually, Eisenhower started our intrusion into S.E. Asia.
When Kennedy was sworn there were roughly 8,500 U.S. soldiers on the ground and one carrier group flying sorties for ground cover.
Kennedy was not informed during the transition briefings and was not told until his first security briefing after he was sworn.
It would not surprise me if Trump has gone through a similar experience given the other "dirty tricks" going on. Originally Posted by LexusLover
The U.S. was also in S.E. Asia during WWII, under FDR and then Truman, but it was LBJ that acted on JFK's initiative and fully invested the U.S. in Vietnam: Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.