In its mission statement, the United States Department of Defense accepts responsibility “for providing the military forces needed to deter war and protect the security of our country.” In the 1958 to ‘60 era, the US had a small contingent of “advisors” in Vietnam. The only actual armed deployments were Marines to the Lebanon Crisis in 1958, military aid to “Papa Doc” in Haiti in ‘59, and Marine protection for US nationals following the Cuban revolution in ‘59 and ‘60.
