How many U.S. Presidents were involved in the Vietnam War?

Five US Presidents were involved in the Vietnam War. The include Harry S. Truman, the 33rd US President; Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th US President; John F. Kennedy, 35th US President; Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th US President; and Richard M. Nixon, 37th US President. All of these presidents besides Richard Nixon deepened US involvement in the decades-long conflict.

As a result of the Vietnam (Second Indochina) War (1954–75), Viet Cong and the regular People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) unified the country. In the conflict, the North and the Viet Cong—with logistical support from the Soviet Union—defeated the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, which sought to maintain South Vietnamese independence. Under the 33rd—36th US president, the US military provided support.

At the end of the fighting, the North did not abide by the terms of the 1973 Paris Agreement, which officially settled the war by calling for free elections in the South and peaceful reunification. Two years after the withdrawal of the last US forces in 1973, Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, fell to the communists. The South Vietnamese army surrendered in 1975. In 1976, the communist government united Vietnam. The government faced hard times. Many people had been crippled by weapons and substances such as napalm and Agent Orange. The Red Cross of Vietnam estimated that over 1 million people were disabled or had health problems. US presidents have challenged the figures.