Robert Kennedy, who saw an opportunity for the U.S., called Bowles "a gutless bastard" to his face.[180]

Peace Corps

Establishment of the Peace Corps
1:23
John F. Kennedy's announcement
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In one of his first presidential acts, Kennedy asked Congress to create the Peace Corps. His brother-in-law, Sargent Shriver, was its first director.[181] Through this program, Americans volunteered to help developing nations in fields like education, farming, health care, and construction. The organization grew to 5,000 members by March 1963 and 10,000 the year after.[182] Since 1961, over 200,000 Americans have joined the Peace Corps, representing 139 countries.[183][184]

Southeast Asia
Main articles: Laotian Civil War, Taylor-Rostow Report, 1963 South Vietnamese coup, Arrest and assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem, Reaction to the 1963 South Vietnamese coup, Cable 243, Buddhist crisis, Thích Quảng Đức, Xá Lợi Pagoda raids, Krulak Mendenhall mission, and McNamara Taylor mission
As a U.S. Congressman in 1951, Kennedy became fascinated with Vietnam after visiting the area as part of a big fact-finding mission to Asia and the Middle East, even stressing in a subsequent radio address that he strongly favored "check[ing] the southern drive of communism.