United States Marine Corps in Vietnam

With the American—supported South Vietnamese government verging on collapse in early 1965, American President Lyndon Johnson decided to commit American conventional ground forces in the form of a United States Marine Corps (USMC) brigade of approximately 3,000 men on March 8, 1965. So began a massive and costly 10—year commitment. At its height in 1968, the USMC had 86,000 men in South Vietnam. Almost 500,000 Marines would eventually rotate in out of South Vietnam during their typical one—y...