The Gulf of Tonkin: The Night With No Attack That Expanded a War
On August 4, 1964, reports of a second attack on U.S. ships led to a resolution that expanded the Vietnam War. Later official Navy history confirmed that the attack did not occur.
Read in Vietnamese →On the night of August 4, 1964, the U.S. destroyers USS Maddox and USS Turner Joy moved through the Gulf of Tonkin off North Vietnam. Darkness, rain, rough water, radar returns, sonar reports, and radio traffic created confusion. Sailors reported unknown boats, possible torpedoes, and gunfire. Washington received the message that American ships were under attack for the second time in three days. President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered air strikes, and Congress soon passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. That document gave the president broad authority to use military force in Southeast Asia without a formal declaration of war.
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