Fearing the spread of communism, President Kennedy committed the
people of the United States of America to defending the
fledgling democratic government of South Vietnam. Despite its
arguably noble intentions, the war in Vietnam would prove the
greatest challenge to American democratic idealism since the
Civil War. During the ten years of America's commitment to the
Vietnam war, 55,000 servicemen would be killed or listed as
missing; the presidency would change hands three times; and the
American people would wage their own war at home against the
United States government. The conflict's roots took shape in
July 1954, when France was forced out of Vietnam after one
hundred years of colonial rule. In the peace process, the
country was partitioned into northern and southern sections,
with a U.S.-supported government in the south and a communist
republic in the north. On December 20, 1960, the northern
Communist Party formed the National Liberation Front (NLF), with
the ultimate goal of reunifying the country. I