The Gulf of Tonkin Incident empowered President Lyndon Johnson to take “all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression” from the communist North Vietnamese government. This resolution was passed by the U.S. Congress on August 7, 1964, following an alleged attack on two U.S. Navy destroyers operating off the coast of Vietnam.
This event was not only a significant milestone in U.S.-Vietnam relations but also marked the beginning of America’s full-scale intervention in the Vietnam War. With this resolution, the U.S. government gained the legal basis to expand its military presence, deploying hundreds of thousands of troops and millions of tons of bombs into the conflict, leading to decades-long historical consequences.
The Start of the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War began in 1954, shortly after French colonial forces were defeated by the Viet Minh in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu—the final clash of the First Indochina War. Under the Geneva Conference, Vietnam was divided into North and South, each governed by a separate regime.
The plan called for a nationwide election to unify the country under a single government. However, analysts at the time believed that the communist forces in the North, bolstered by strong rural support in the South, were almost certain to win such an election.
Amid the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, the United States committed to halting the spread of communism. By the late 1950s, the U.S. government decided to back South Vietnamese leader Ngo Dinh Diem when he refused to hold the unification election.
Nevertheless, communist forces maintained significant influence across many areas of South Vietnam. By 1959, communist guerrillas, known as the Viet Cong, along with the North Vietnamese army (Viet Minh), launched an insurgency against Diem’s regime. This is considered the start of the Second Indochina War, also known as the Vietnam War.
General William Westmoreland
At this point, U.S. forces were already engaged in bombing campaigns along the Vietnam-Laos border to disrupt supply routes for North Vietnamese troops. Simultaneously, the U.S. supported South Vietnam in conducting raids on Viet Cong bases in rural areas.
In the summer of 1964, with U.S. Navy assistance, South Vietnam began a series of coordinated raids along the North Vietnamese coast. By July, at the recommendation of Lieutenant General William Westmoreland, commander of the U.S. Military Assistance Command in Vietnam, the focus of these attacks shifted from land-based raids to coastal shelling using mortars and rockets.
These operations took place along the Gulf of Tonkin coast, with U.S. Navy destroyers, including the Maddox and Turner Joy, stationed nearby. These ships not only supported the attacks but also conducted reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering missions.
U.S.S. Maddox Destroyer
At dawn on August 2, 1964, the crew of the U.S.S. Maddox received intelligence reports indicating that three North Vietnamese patrol boats had been dispatched to attack the ship.
Initially, Captain John J. Herrick ordered the Maddox to move offshore to avoid confrontation. However, a few hours later, Herrick reversed his decision, directing the ship back into the Gulf of Tonkin.
Shortly afterward, three North Vietnamese patrol boats rapidly approached the Maddox. Amid rising tensions, Herrick ordered defensive guns prepared and ready to fire if the patrol boats came within 10,000 yards. He also requested support from the nearby U.S.S. Ticonderoga aircraft carrier.
The encounter unfolded quickly, with the Maddox and fighter jets from the Ticonderoga repelling the North Vietnamese attack. One of the three patrol boats was destroyed, while the other two sustained heavy damage and retreated.
The Gulf of Tonkin Incident and Controversy Over the August 4, 1964 Attack
The following day (August 3, 1964), to demonstrate U.S. resolve, President Johnson ordered the destroyer Turner Joy to join the Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin. On August 4, both the Maddox and Turner Joy received intelligence suggesting another imminent attack from North Vietnam.
Under poor visibility and approaching storm conditions, Captain Herrick ordered the ships to move farther offshore to avoid conflict. However, around 9 p.m. that day, the Maddox reported detecting unidentified vessels in the area. Over the next three hours, the Maddox and Turner Joy executed high-speed evasive maneuvers to avoid being attacked, though it remained unclear whether North Vietnamese ships were actually pursuing them.
Nonetheless, the Maddox reported multiple torpedo attacks and automatic gunfire. The two destroyers responded by firing numerous rounds of artillery at the “enemy.”
However, Navy Commander James Stockdale, who oversaw the Maddox’s protection during the August 2 incident and was on an aerial reconnaissance mission on August 4, doubted the attack’s authenticity. Stockdale remarked: “Our destroyers were just shooting at phantom targets… There were no boats there… Nothing but black water and American firepower.”
Captain Herrick later questioned his crew’s account, suggesting the August 4 actions resulted from “overzealous sonar operators” and errors by team members.
The U.S. Begins Full-Scale Military Intervention in Vietnam
Despite later doubts, Captain Herrick’s initial reports to military and government officials in Washington, D.C., on August 4 and 5, 1964, asserted that the Gulf of Tonkin attack had occurred. U.S. intelligence sources in Southeast Asia were said to have corroborated this information.
Due to the 12-hour time difference (Washington, D.C. being ahead of Vietnam), President Johnson and his administration monitored developments from the early morning of August 5. At 11:30 p.m. local time, President Johnson addressed the American public, announcing the attack and declaring his intent to retaliate.
On August 7, the U.S. Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which President Johnson officially signed into law three days later. Plans to escalate the U.S. military presence in Vietnam were immediately set in motion.
The consequences of these decisions became evident just months later. On February 13, 1965, the U.S. launched Operation Rolling Thunder, a massive bombing campaign targeting North Vietnam that lasted over two years. President Johnson also approved deploying ground combat troops to confront Viet Cong forces in South Vietnam’s rural areas.
Was the Gulf of Tonkin Incident a Staged Conspiracy?
Although declassified documents from 2005 and 2006 suggest that the Gulf of Tonkin Incident—the event triggering U.S. military intervention in the Vietnam War—may have been exaggerated or misrepresented to some extent, there is no evidence that President Lyndon B. Johnson or then-Defense Secretary Robert McNamara deliberately misled Congress or the American public.
However, the war quickly became unpopular in the U.S., with anti-war protests erupting shortly after the campaigns began, inspired by the Gulf of Tonkin Incident. Facing fierce opposition over his decision to escalate the war, President Johnson chose not to seek re-election in 1968.
His successor, Republican President Richard M. Nixon, campaigned on a promise to end the war. Yet, four years later, with the conflict showing no signs of abating, he too faced severe political repercussions.
By the war’s end in 1975, with a Northern offensive leading to the fall of the South Vietnamese government, nearly 60,000 U.S. soldiers had died. Additionally, approximately 250,000 South Vietnamese troops, 1.1 million Viet Cong and North Vietnamese fighters, and over two million civilians across Vietnam also lost their lives.
Conclusion
Through this article on the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, Thefactsofwar hopes you’ve gained insight into a pivotal turning point that led to U.S. military involvement in Vietnam. This event not only shaped international relations but also left profound lessons about politics, strategy, and the consequences of war. Diverse perspectives will help readers gain a more comprehensive understanding of this historical period.
Translated by: Minh Tuan
Source: history.com – Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
