US military presence in Southeast Asia, and specifically Vietnam, had been increasing ominously throughout the early ’60s. In March 1965 Lyndon B. Johnson ordered the deployment of combat units for the first time, and the same month saw the start of ‘Operation Rolling Thunder’ — an air campaign against tactical targets in North Vietnam. Another significant escalation came just four months later — on July 28th — when, speaking in a black-and-white televised address from the east wing of the White House, President Johnson committed a further 50,000 US troops to the conflict, taking the total to 125,000. Demands would be met by conscription, with monthly draft calls rising from 17,000 to 35,000. (Click to continue reading)