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...