American Experience

Who's Who: United States		return to index
	Mike Mansfield			34 of 41

A U.S. senator from Montana and early supporter of South Vietnamese leader Ngo Dinh Diem, Mike Mansfield had a change of heart on the Vietnam issue after a visit to Southeast Asia in 1962. He reported to President John F. Kennedy that American money given to Diem's government was being squandered and that the U.S. should avoid further involvement in Vietnam. During the Johnson and Nixon administrations, Mansfield became a frequent and vocal critic of the Vietnam war. He retired from the Senate in 1976, and was appointed ambassador to Japan by Jimmy Carter, a role he retained during the Reagan administration. He retired in 1989.