A Brief Background To The Vietnam War And The Gulf Of Tonkin Resolution
After World War II, Much of Southeast Asia was under French control. In Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh, a communist, led an independence movement. Because he was communist and supported by the Soviet Union, the United States backed the French with supplies and military equipment. The U.S. did not commit any troops to Vietnam at this time. The French fought Ho Chi Minh and his followers from 1946 to 1954. In that year, the French lost a decisive battle at Dien Bien Phu, which convinced them to pull out of Vietnam. The 1954 Geneva Peace Accords divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel, making a communist dominated North and a U.S. supported South. Activities of pro-communist guerrillas, Viet Cong, in South Vietnam led to greater U.S. intervention.
By 1964, the United States faced crucial decisions about its role in Vietnam. In spite of increased U.S. assistance to South Vietnam, the military and political situation was deteriorating. Efforts to support a stable civilian government were failing. One coup d’etat after another weakened the government and the war effort. The Viet Cong had increased its control in both cities and rural areas by late 1963. American troop commitment had increased from 16,000 to 21,000. Although still technically “advisors”, there had been a total of 245 Americans killed.
In December 1963, President Johnson appointed a “Vietnam Working Group” with the task of devising a strategy for the conduct of the war. Planning by the Working Group led to military plan 34a. This plan called for covert operations against North Vietnam. 34a operations included U-2 reconnaissance flights, harassing air flights over North Vietnamese cities, and more significantly, South Vietnamese commando raids on North Vietnamese railways, bridges, and coastal defenses. Accompanying the commando raids were United States destroyer patrols in the Gulf of Tonkin. The goal was to demonstrate a “get tough” policy by the U.S. and to disrupt supplies flowing to the Viet Cong from North Vietnam.
The exact events that occurred the nights of August 2nd and 4th, 1964 have never been completely revealed. According to most accounts, on the night of August 2, the destroyer Maddox was on patrol along the North Vietnamese coast two days after a 34a guerilla attack on North Vietnamese shore installations. The Maddox was attacked by three North Vietnamese PT boats (small craft armed with torpedoes and small arms). Three torpedoes were fired at the Maddox. All three missed. In response, the Maddox made a direct hit on one PT boat while aircraft from the USS Ticonderoga damaged the other two PT boats and drove them toward shore.
Two days later, on August 4, several hours after another 34a attack, the Maddox reported several separate radar contacts with unidentified surface vessels. The Maddox’s sister ship, Turner Joy, did not detect either ship or torpedo sonar noises. However, both ships reported taking torpedo and small arms fire. For approximately three hours the two ships fired at undetermined targets. Fighter aircraft from the USS Ticonderoga were launched to supply additional firepower. In Washington, D.C., after the first attack on August 2, President Johnson and his advisors were baffled as to why the tiny North Vietnamese Navy would attack the U.S. Navy. The Presidents’ response was limited. Essentially, U.S. commanders were ordered to defend their vessels and sink any ship that attacked them.
Matters were much different after the second “attack” on August 4. News of the “attack” was received at about 9:00 a.m. At a noon luncheon, President Johnson met with Secretary of State, Dean Rusk; Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara; National Security Advisory, McGeorge Bundy; and CIA Director, John McCone to discuss the next move. It was decided Hanoi must be punished for the attacks. Retaliatory air raids against targets in North Vietnam were planned. THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME U.S. PLANES AND PILOTS WERE TO BE USED IN A DIRECT ATTACK UPON NORTH VIETNAM. During the afternoon, as targets in North Vietnam were being selected, phone calls to key congressmen were made informing them to meet at the White House at 6:45 p.m. for an important briefing.
Click on Video Below from CBS News program 60 Minutes in 1970.