In his final months in office, Kennedy also sent conflicting signals about the wisdom of continued U.S. military involvement in South Vietnam.

“I do not think he ever would have done what Lyndon Johnson did. I do not think he ever would have put in the massive numbers of troops that Johnson committed. Would he have gotten out? I do not know. But I just do not think he would have escalated that war the way Johnson did,” author Robert Dallek said.

John Kennedy’s time in office was brief, but his handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis and efforts toward world peace remain enduring parts of his presidential legacy.