Basically came down to Vietnam starting to trade with China. China was being helped by USSR. So the US felt the USSR was spreading communism by using Ho Chi Minh to gain power in the north. The US funded the French to continue their fight in the Indochina war. Once the French were defeated, the country was split in 2, and the US felt it could not allow 'communism' to spread. They saw it was necessary to stop Ho Chi Minh and his communist rebels. The US backed Diem, the leader of the south, who was a tyrant himself, killing anyone who opposed him. He was so 'off the wall', the US orchestrated his assassination. Ho Chi Minh moved south with terrorist attacks on innocents, and the US used this as a motive to start an all out war.
So basically the US got involved because they are afraid of communism, and really had no right to be there. The was no initial attack on America.
I was just in Vietnam, and they view Ho Chi Minh as a hero, both in the north and the south. There is no real outward opposition to Americans. The war museums that I visited both showed the suffering from their side and the American losses as well. I thought that was handled pretty well. They have had war for many years, with China, French and the US. They are just happy to be in a peaceful state now and are still trying to rebuild for a better future.
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