1964

The Gulf of Tonkin Incident

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CONTENTS:

Assignment
Background
Chronology
Related Sites
Recommended Books
Related Events
 
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Assignment:

Did the Gulf of Tonkin Incident provide a convenient excuse for United States military involvement in Vietnam?  Was the incident overstated in order to gain support for military involvement?
 
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Background:

After World War II, south of the Seventeenth parallel, the government of South Vietnam relied on increasing support from the United States.  This semi-democratic regime represented the opposition to a communist government in the north.  In 1955, Ngo Dinh Diem organized the Republic of South Vietnam and appointed himself president.  By 1960, Ho Chi Minh, the communist leader of North Vietnam, had been able to successfully mobilize nationalist sentiment among the citizens (peasants) of South Vietnam.  These South Vietnamese guerilla forces (the Vietcong) launched attacks in opposition to Diem regime and reliance on Western support.  U.S. military advisors eventually arrived to further assist the South Vietnamese in their attempts to neutralize the North Vietnamese threat and Vietcong activity.
 
During the nights of 30 & 31 July 1964, two North Vietnamese islands were shelled (Hon Me and Hon Ngu).  On 31 July 1964, the U.S. Destroyer Maddox began a reconnaissance patrol off the coast of North Vietnam.  The mission included observing coastal defense operations, which were going to be active, as covert operations were being carried out.  On 2 August 1964 the Maddox was not far from Hon Me, one of the islands shelled two days earlier, when, shortly after 2:00 p.m., North Vietnamese torpedo boats came from the island, speeding toward the Maddox.  The Maddox fired three warning shots, but the torpedo boats continued to advance.  The Maddox then opened fire on the approaching boats with torpedoes being fired by both the N. Vietnamese and the U.S. ships.  The N. Vietnamese boats were damaged and returned to shore; one shell had hit the Maddox.
 
The immediate response of the United States was to send a stern message of warning to the North Vietnamese, advising them that unprovoked attacks would not be tolerated, but U.S.-sponsored military missions in the area continued.  On 4 August 1964 two U.S. destroyers were again in the middle of the Gulf of Tonkin.  Late that night, radar images on the C. Turner Joy indicated that they were being approached by speeding vessels.  Both the Maddoxand the C. Turner Joy fired repeatedly into the stormy night.
 
President Johnson, upon notification of the incident, decided that he needed to act with the support of Congress.  On 4 August EDT he had lunch with the National Security Council to discuss the situation in Vietnam.  He was given approval for a proposed air strike, which was carried out the next day.  The President announced the action on television as strategic North Vietnamese targets were destroyed including a petroleum storage unit in the town of Vinh.
 
The Senate had scheduled a hearing on the incident in order to consider a resolution in support of the President's actions, and on the afternoon of 7 August, Congress passed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution giving the president the authority to use any measure necessary to deal with aggression in Vietnam.  Congress passed the resolution with the understanding that it would be consulted if the war escalated and particularly if ground troops were to be used in South Vietnam.  President Johnson had repeatedly said that he had no intention of sending troops into Vietnam, believing that the South Vietnamese should fight their own war.  Additionally, Congress acted without knowledge of the bombing raids or that the Maddoxhad been less than twelve miles off the coast of North Vietnam.  The United States recognized a three mile limit--not the twelve-mile limit claimed by the North Vietnamese.
 
The Johnson administration had the authority it had sought to escalate military activity in Vietnam.  Johnson then subsequently used that authority without advising Congress as it has hoped.  The first U.S troops arrived in Vietnam in March of 1965, and U.S. involvement lasted until 1975.  After the 1975 evacuation of Saigon by U.S. troops, it quickly fell to communist forces.
 
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Chronology:

1954, President Eisenhower pledged support to South Vietnam's government led by Ngo Dinh Diem.
 
1955, With U.S. support, Ngo Dinh Diem organized the Republic of Vietnam as an independent nation, appointing himself president.
 
July 1959, First U.S. Military death in Vietnam.
 
1960, Viet Cong founded in South Vietnam.
 
1961, U.S. military buildup in Vietnam began.
 
30-31 July 1964, U.S. backed bombing raids on the North Vietnamese Islands of Hon Me and Hon Ngu.  U.S. destroyer Maddox began a reconnaissance mission along the coast of N. Vietnam.
 
2 August 1964, The Maddox was attacked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats in the Tonkin Gulf.  President Johnson sent a message warning N. Vietnam against any further unprovoked attacks.
 
3 August 1964, The Maddox returned to the Gulf of Tonkin with a second destroyer, the Turner Joy.
 
4 August 1964, Late night radar images indicated an attack by high speed images, so the Maddox and Turner Joy opened fire.
 
5 August 1964, Retaliatory air strikes carried out by aircraft from two US aircraft carriers, the Ticonderoga and the Constellation.
 
5 August 1964, President Johnson asked Congress to pass a resolution regarding military action against aggression.
 
7 August 1964, Congress approved the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.
 
10 August 10 1964, President Johnson signed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.
 
7 February 1965, Vietcong mortar attack on an American military barracks and airfield at Pleiku, killing 8 and wounding 108.
 
10 February 1965, U.S. retaliated with air strikes. Vietcong bombed U.S. barracks, killing nineteen.  U.S. ordered more retaliatory air strikes.
 
2 March 2 1965, First U.S. air strike, not for retaliation but to neutralize targets supporting Vietcong activity.
 
8 March 8 1965, First U.S. troops arrived in Vietnam, 3,500 Marines sent to guard U.S. air base at Danang.
 
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May 1965, U.S. troop strength increased to 34,000.  President Johnson offered peace to Vietnam and funding for a Mekong River Development Project in exchange for the end of N. Vietnamese aggression.  No reply.
 
June 1965, Generals Ky and Thieu seized control of the South Vietnamese government.
 
September 1965, General Thieu elected president of South Vietnam.
 
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Related Web sites:

WWW sites that detail the events in the Tonkin Gulf include: General information on Vietnam to assist you:

Other

 
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Recommended Books:

Detailed accounts of the Tonkin incident as it unfolded in Washington, D.C. can be found in The President's War, by Anthony Austin (New York Times Publishing Company, 1971).  The book includes information on the National Security Council meetings, Congressional hearings and persons involved.  The Tonkin Affair is also detailed in Truth is the First Casualty:  The Gulf of Tonkin Affair--Illusion and Reality by Joseph C. Goulden (1969).  This work includes statements from N. Vietnam in addition to the White House statements.
 
Some useful, general works about the Vietnam War include:
Marvin Gettlemen, Jane Franklin, Marilyn Young, and H. B. Franklin, eds. Vietnam and America:  The Most Comprehensive Documented History of the Vietnam War (1995).  This text includes excerpts from works by Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon, etc. and eyewitness accounts.  Introductions are included in every section.
Stanley Karnow, Vietnam:  A History (1994).  This book examines the history of conflict in Vietnam from the rise of nationalism in Vietnam in the 1930s to 1975.
General Bruce Palmer, Jr., The 25 Year War:  America's Military Role in Vietnam (1984).
William Dudley and David Bender, The Vietnam War:  Opposing Viewpoints (1984)
 
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This page is copyright © 2010, C.T. Evans and B. McGowan.
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