The Jackie Kennedy created Camelot myth seems to still resonate with some who were impressionable children when they saw JFK on TV. With all that we know about JFK since 1963, how anyone can still prop this guy up as some sort of shinning beacon among U.S. Presidents is disconcerting.
"Our security and strength, in the last analysis, directly depend on the security and strength of others, and that is why our military and economic assistance plays such a key role in enabling those who live on the periphery of the Communist world to maintain their independence of choice. Our assistance to these nations can be painful, risky, and costly, as is true in Southeast Asia today. But we dare not weary of the task. For our assistance makes possible the stationing of 3.5 million allied troops along the Communist frontier at one-tenth the cost of maintaining a comparable number of American soldiers. A successful Communist breakthrough in these area, necessitating direct United States intervention, would cost us several times as much as our entire foreign aid program, and might cost us heavily in American lives as well."
JFK Trade Mart Speech, November 22, 1963
Killed before giving this speech.
As demonstrated in his own words, or sentiments (since Sorensen wrote most of JFK's utterances), JFK had no intention of getting out of Vietnam, the Oliver Stone nonsense not withstanding.