gerald ford was the first president to send military advisers to south vietnam.
gerald ford was the first president to send military advisers to south vietnam.
which president was the first to send military advisers to south vietnam?
gerald ford
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the next few years saw the rise of a communist insurgency in south vietnam, and president diem looked increasingly to us military assistance to strengthen his position, albeit with certain reservations. attacks on us military advisers in vietnam became more frequent. on october 22, 1957, maag vietnam and usis installations in saigon were bombed, injuring us military advisers. in the summer of 1959, communist guerrillas staged an attack on a vietnamese military base in bien hoa, killing and wounding several maag personnel. during this time, american advisers were not put in high-ranking positions, and president diem was reluctant to allow american advisers into vietnamese tactical units. he was afraid that the united states would gain control or influence over his forces if americans got into the ranks of the army. the first signs that his position was beginning to shift came in 1960, when the number of official us military advisers in the country was increased from 327 to 685 at the request of the south vietnamese government. by 1961, communist guerrillas were becoming stronger and more active. this increased enemy contacts in size and intensity throughout south vietnam. at this point, diem was under pressure from us authorities to liberalize his regime and implement reforms. although key elements in the us administration were resisting his requests for increased military funding and army of the republic of vietnam (arvn) troop ceilings, maag vietnam played a significant role in advocating for a greater us presence in the country. throughout this period relations between the maag vietnam and diem were described as "excellent", even though the advisers were doubtful of his ability to hold off the insurgency.
military assistance advisory group