Tonkin Gulf Incident
The Tonkin Gulf Incident was an alleged attack that brought the United States into the Vietnam War. The attack was fabricated by the leaders on board the USS Maddox and the USS Turner Joy for reasons still unknown to the public. Many believe it was a political attempt to gain support for entering the war, but no one can be perfectly sure. Here is a brief background and summary of the events.
President John F. Kennedy was President during the beginning campaigns of the Vietnam War in 1960. His policy during the war was to maintain limited involvement and his plan was to eventually remove troops from the field and bring them home. His actions were praised tremendously with the American public, but it was not to be. President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson took over. Johnson’s plans, however, would be to remain in the war currently and fight it out until its bitter end. This eventually changed but after the Tonkin Gulf, the government was ready to be fully involved.
By 1964 the Vietnam War, which began in 1959, had been raging on for close to five years and the United States had just begun reinforcing South Vietnamese forces with patrol boats and military training. Their level of activity in the Pacific Ocean had grown over the past few years, and 1964 was no exception. In the middle of 1964 two carriers, the USS Ticonderoga and the USS Constellation, and their groups were stationed in the Pacific Ocean ready for action.
In early August of 1964 the USS Maddox was conducting extreme intelligence operations against North Vietnam while stationed off the coast in the Gulf of Tonkin. On August 2, after being bombarded for over a month, three Vietnamese boats were sent to scare the American force away. This, however, did not happen and only two of the three Vietnamese boats survived the retaliation.
President John F. Kennedy was President during the beginning campaigns of the Vietnam War in 1960. His policy during the war was to maintain limited involvement and his plan was to eventually remove troops from the field and bring them home. His actions were praised tremendously with the American public, but it was not to be. President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson took over. Johnson’s plans, however, would be to remain in the war currently and fight it out until its bitter end. This eventually changed but after the Tonkin Gulf, the government was ready to be fully involved.
By 1964 the Vietnam War, which began in 1959, had been raging on for close to five years and the United States had just begun reinforcing South Vietnamese forces with patrol boats and military training. Their level of activity in the Pacific Ocean had grown over the past few years, and 1964 was no exception. In the middle of 1964 two carriers, the USS Ticonderoga and the USS Constellation, and their groups were stationed in the Pacific Ocean ready for action.
In early August of 1964 the USS Maddox was conducting extreme intelligence operations against North Vietnam while stationed off the coast in the Gulf of Tonkin. On August 2, after being bombarded for over a month, three Vietnamese boats were sent to scare the American force away. This, however, did not happen and only two of the three Vietnamese boats survived the retaliation.
Two days later on August 4, 1964, the USS Maddox was allegedly attacked a second time. The winds were rough the entire day and visibility was extremely low. (Presently, there is information from the National Security Agency and other supporting agencies that deny any attack on this night, but history remembers the Navy boats issuing a signal of being attacked.) Congress immediately convened and signed the Tonkin Resolution four days later on August 8, a document that granted the President power to make choices freely concerning the maintenance of freedom and security in the Vietnam War.
This whole ordeal has been questioned profusely throughout the years. From questions of integrity to schematics of the United States’ boats to reenactments of the battles, every facet of the incident has been analyzed. The motive behind the fabrication is not publicly known, but many critics have offered their sides of the story. Perhaps America will never truly know what the motive for the attack was, other than catapulting the United States into the Vietnam War. Nevertheless, the facts still remain and the deed was punished – punished with the lives of thousands of American soldiers in Vietnam.
This whole ordeal has been questioned profusely throughout the years. From questions of integrity to schematics of the United States’ boats to reenactments of the battles, every facet of the incident has been analyzed. The motive behind the fabrication is not publicly known, but many critics have offered their sides of the story. Perhaps America will never truly know what the motive for the attack was, other than catapulting the United States into the Vietnam War. Nevertheless, the facts still remain and the deed was punished – punished with the lives of thousands of American soldiers in Vietnam.
Below is a satellite map centered on the Tonkin Gulf. The "J hook" body of water north of the city Hue and east of Laos is the Tonkin Gulf where many of the assaults during the Vietnam War took place. You can also use the tools on the map to search the rest of the globe. Give it a try!