– On August 4, 1964, President Johnson went on national television to tell about an unprovoked attack on American warships off the coast of North Vietnam. He announced that the U.S. had already launched retaliatory air raids on North Vietnam. Three days later, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which gave Johnson the authority “to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression”. It passed the Senate 98-2. The U.S. never declared war, but it got one. The public was not given the true story, however. Officially, on August 2, 1964, the USS Maddox (a destroyer) was minding its own business 30 miles off the coast of North Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin. It was attacked by North Vietnamese patrol boats which fired some torpedoes and machine guns. The Maddox evaded the torpedoes and fired back. Aircraft were called in to help and the enemy fled, with at least one badly damaged. The Maddox had one bullet hole. A day later, the Maddox was reinforced by the Turner Joy. This time they were 65 miles off the coast when they were “deliberately attacked” on August 4. The “battle” lasted three hours and several enemy boats were sunk or damaged. 22 torpedoes were fired, but none hit. Although the Johnson Administration jumped to the conclusion that the U.S. had been attacked a second time and must respond, there was skepticism. Captain John Herrick of the Maddox was doubtful. It was a dark, stormy night and the visibility was bad. There were actually no sightings of enemy warships. Nevertheless, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was passed unanimously in the House and with only two dissenting votes in the Senate. The resolution had been sitting on a shelf for a few months waiting for an incident to show Johnson standing up to communism. It would help him win the election of 1964 over the hawkish Barry Goldwater. Later, after the Pentagon Papers were published in 1971, the public found out that on August 2, the Maddox was actually less than 10 miles off the coast and thus not in international waters. Plus, it was not innocent, it was aiding raids by South Vietnamese gunboats on N.V. radar stations. And it was likely that it opened fire first. The second attack almost surely did not occur at all. The torpedoes were mistaken by young, inexperienced sonarmen. Johnson himself said: “Hell, those dumb sailors were just shooting flying fish.” The truth was too late as by then we were deeply into the war.
Uncle Lost pp. 617-619
https://www.history.com/news/the-gulf-of-tonkin-incident-50-years-ago
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