The Gulf of Tonkin incident happened August 2, 1964 on the waters of the Gulf of Tonkin. The USS Maddox, a U.S destroyer ship, was engaged by 3 North Vietnamese torpedo boats. Although there were no U.S casualties, all three North Vietnamese torpedo boats were damaged and four men were killed, six wounded. As a result of this incident, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which gave Lyndon B. Johnson the power to aid any Southeast Asian country being attacked by "communist aggression". This is what gave him the authority to go into Vietnam.
This is very important because this single incident is what gave Johnson the power to aid the Southern Vietnamese and involve the U.S in Vietnam. This is also important because it showed that the North Vietnamese were not afraid to take on the United States.
http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/vietnamwar/p/gulfoftonkin.htm
This incident pretty much started the war for the US. It is always amazing to me that giving the president that little amount of power caused for so much chaos and killing in the later years of the war.
ReplyDeleteI think it's sad that this started the US's bigger involvement in the war. I wish it hadn't. It's also sad that it give the president a reason to send more troops.
DeleteI think it's sad that this started the US's bigger involvement in the war. I wish it hadn't. It's also sad that it give the president a reason to send more troops.
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