In the year of 1955, the Vietnam War had begun. The war struck out because of the spread of communism. The U.S believed that communism was spreading across the world so, they took action. In the article "The Choice: LBJ's Decision to go to War in Vietnam", it stated that "the American commitment to South Vietnam was one of Kennedy's legacies". This meant that America had to stick to their word and assist South Vietnam in the war. In short, the war was really broke out over the simple brief by the U.S, that communism was spreading.