Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

• The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution authorized President Lyndon Johnson to take necessary measures against North Vietnam to prevent further aggression.
• The resolution was passed on August 7, 1964, by the U.S. Congress after an alleged attack on two U.S. naval destroyers.
• The resolution can be attributed as launching America’s full-scale involvement in the Vietnam War.
• By 1964, Vietnam was embroiled in a decades-long civil war.
• The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was the beginning of the United States’ formal involvement in the Vietnam War.
• The aim of the US was to stop the spread of communism.
• The resolution passed unanimously in the U.S. House of Representatives.
• It passed with only two opposing votes in the U.S. Senate.
• The resolution followed two alleged separate attacks on two U.S. Navy destroyers:
  • U.S.S. Maddox
  • U.S.S. Turner Joy
• The attacks allegedly occurred on August 2 and August 4, 1964.
• The destroyers were stationed in the Gulf of Tonkin, which separates Vietnam from the Chinese island of Hainan.
• The destroyers were there to support South Vietnamese military raids on the North Vietnamese coast.
• Both Maddox and Turner Joy reported being fired upon by North Vietnamese patrol boats, but doubts later emerged surrounding the second attack.
• President Lyndon B. Johnson insisted Congress pass the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.
• It was on the understanding that he would seek their approval before launching a full-scale war in Vietnam.

Vietnam War

• In 1954, after the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam was divided into northern and southern halves during the Geneva Conference.
• Elections were planned to unify the country under a single government.
• The communists in the North were favored to win the elections.
• The United States was committed to containing communism during the Cold War.
• The U.S. supported South Vietnamese leader Ngo Dinh Diem when he refused to hold elections.
• By 1959, communist guerrillas known as the Viet Cong and the Viet Minh launched an insurgency in Diem's country.
• This insurgency marked the beginning of the Second Indochina War.

Erosion of Diem's Support

• Diem's support eroded due to his unpopular domestic agriculture policies.
• By 1963, his power was tenuous, and he was overthrown and assassinated by his own generals.
• President John F. Kennedy's administration had already sent military advisors to support homegrown forces.
• Johnson, Kennedy's successor, increased U.S. military presence after Kennedy was assassinated.
• U.S. forces were engaged in bombing campaigns on the border of Vietnam and Laos to disrupt supply transport to North Vietnamese troops.
• They supported the South Vietnamese in raids of Viet Cong strongholds.
• In the summer of 1964, the South Vietnamese began commando raids along the North Vietnamese coast with U.S. naval support.
• Lieutenant General William Westmoreland shifted the focus from commando raids to shoreline bombardments using mortars and rockets.
• The presence of Maddox and Turner Joy was to conduct reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering missions.

U.S.S. Maddox

• On August 2, 1964, the crew of Maddox received intelligence suggesting three North Vietnamese patrol boats were dispatched to attack it.
• Captain John J. Herrick initially ordered Maddox to head out to sea to avoid confrontation, but later reversed his orders.
• Three North Vietnamese patrol boats approached, and Herrick ordered the ship's guns to be ready, calling in air support from the U.S.S. Ticonderoga.
• Maddox and the fighter jets fended off the attack, destroying one boat and heavily damaging two others.

Gulf of Tonkin Incident

• President Johnson ordered Turner Joy to join Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin after the initial attack.
• Intelligence suggested another North Vietnamese attack was imminent on August 4.
• With poor visibility and storms approaching, Captain Herrick ordered the destroyers to take evasive measures.
• Maddox reported spotting unidentified vessels and engaged in high-speed maneuvers.
• Maddox reported multiple torpedo attacks and automatic weapons fire.
• The destroyers returned fire.
• Navy Commander James Stockdale cast doubt on the attack, stating they were shooting at phantom targets with nothing but black water and firepower.
• Captain Herrick later questioned the crew's version of events, attributing actions to "overeager sonar operators" and crew member error.

America Engages Vietnam

• Captain Herrick's initial reports and U.S. intelligence sources in Southeast Asia indicated the attack occurred.
• President Johnson and his administration monitored events and informed the public of the attack, announcing his intention to retaliate.
• Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution on August 7.
• The president signed it into law three days later.
• Plans to increase U.S. military involvement in Vietnam began.
• On February 13, 1965, the United States launched Operation Rolling Thunder.
• Rolling Thunder was a large-scale bombing campaign of North Vietnamese targets that lasted for over two years.
• The president authorized the deployment of ground combat troops to fight the Viet Cong.

Was the Gulf of Tonkin Incident Faked?

• Classified documents released in 2005 and 2006 suggest the attack in the Gulf of Tonkin may have been fabricated.
• There is no evidence that President Johnson or then-Defense Secretary Robert McNamara intentionally misled Congress or the American people.
• The war was unpopular, and anti-war protests began after the Gulf of Tonkin incident.
• President Johnson opted not to seek reelection in 1968 due to backlash.
• Richard M. Nixon promised to end the war, but faced political consequences.
• By the end of the war in 1975, nearly 60,000 U.S. servicemen had died.
• 250,000 South Vietnamese troops, 1.1 million Viet Cong and North Vietnamese fighters, and over two million civilians had also died.