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The Gulf of Tonkin: The Incident That Started It All and Why It Never Happened

On August 5th 1964, America intensified an undeclared war. The Washington Post announced, “American Planes Hit North Vietnam After Second Attack on Our Destroyers; Move Taken to Halt New Aggression” (Cohen & Solomon, 1994). Now, more than forty years later, it is apparent that any attack on the USS Maddox was not unprovoked, but a legitimate response to coordinated war efforts between Laotians, South Vietnamese, and America. A textual analysis of the Gulf of Tonkin incident, as reported by governmental and independent sources, reveals a massive cover up about American involvement in Vietnam rather than a direct attack on any United States vessel. Information suggests a massive cover-up topped with a political spin to gain the American public's support for American troops entering the Vietnam Conflict, and the question becomes: should this have taken place?

A textual analysis of the Gulf of Tonkin incident involves the plot, characters, and absence of key information. The sequence of events during August 1964 in the Gulf of Tonkin are as follows. The USS Maddox was attacked by three North Vietnamese torpedo boats on August 2nd 1964. The destroyer was hit by one heavy machine gun shell “Gulf of Tonkin Resolution”). This was the “First Attack” as verified by the official statement of the White House. The official White House statement goes on to say that on August 4th 1964, high-speed Vietnamese vessels were bearing down on the USS Maddox and USS Turner Joy. The two destroyers then destroyed the Vietnamese ships. This was the “Second Attack.” The Johnson administration then ordered retaliation in the form of air strikes on North Vietnamese military installations. This was followed closely by the passing of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which granted a blank military check to Johnson to resolve the Vietnamese crisis.

Each of the main characters have their own intentions and allegiances concerning the Vietnam War. The main characters, as we know them, are the USS Maddox, USS Turner Joy, the North Vietnamese torpedo boats, along with those in command of the American forces at the time: Admiral U.S. Grant Sharp, General David Burchinal, and Commander in Chief President Johnson. There are also various political persons involved in the affair, mainly Secretary of State Robert McNamara. Military loyalties run deep. The Maddox and Turner Joy would only have allegiance to the United States and always intend to fulfill the orders given to them. Admiral Sharp, commander of the Pacific fleet, and General Burchinal, member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are also devoted to their country and devoted to stopping the spread of communism. The political entities of the President and the Secretary of State, however, can be questioned concerning their motives. The desire of any presidential administration is to be popular among the people and Congress so their agenda can be put into action. The Gulf of Tonkin incident can be a catalyst to help the Johnson administration to accomplish this goal, and the Gulf of Tonkin resolution was the legislation needed.

Absence of conclusive information confirming the presence of North Vietnamese vessels near the USS Maddox and USS Turner Joy on the afternoon of August 4th 1964 lends shadows of doubt over the “second attack.” Transcripts between Admiral U.S. Grant Sharp,commander of the Pacific fleet, and General David Burchinal, member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on the afternoon of August 4th reveal the confusion surrounding the “attack.” It is unclear how many torpedoes were launched, how many enemy ships there are, and little information is actually confirmed during the conversation. During the conversation Admiral Sharp specifically states, “I'm not so sure about this number of engaged” (Selverstone & Coleman, NMCC Tape VN0110). The pacific command never comes up with an actual number of North Vietnamese ships involved on August 4th. Admiral Sharp also mentions, “they're having trouble with illumination” and “As far as we can tell there are only three North Vietnamese boats, but that doesn't count up to that many torpedoes, I don't think” (Selverstone & Coleman, NMCC Tape VN0110). The confusion surrounding the events of August 4th reveal no conclusive evidence as to whether there were any ships attacking the USS Maddox or USS Turner Joy.

Also absent from any reports released during the situation was how the Johnson administration was already enhancing the military of South Vietnam. America armed their navy with Norwegian-built patrol boats, and trained commando units to infiltrate and destroy North Vietnamese targets. This build up of the South Vietnamese armed forces, named OPLAN 34-A, had conducted armed assaults on North Vietnamese targets on August 2nd, the night of the “First Attack.” Secretary of State, Robert McNamara, told President Johnson about the assaults on August 2nd, and then revealed how the North Vietnamese would have thought about the USS Maddox being in the area: “And following 24 hours after that i.e. the armed assaults with this destroyer i.e. USS Maddox in the same area undoubtedly led them to connect the two events” (Selverstone & Coleman, WH6408.03 PNO 10). President Johnson also admits in a taped conversation, “We were within their 12-mile territorial waters limit, and that's a matter that hasn't been settled. But there have been some covert operations in that area...So I imagine they aka North Vietnamese wanted to put a stop to it” (Selverstone & Coleman, WH6408.03 PNO 9). It would be reasonable for the North Vietnamese to connect the US Navy and the covert operations that were conducted against them.

Before asking about the ethics of the Gulf of Tonkin incident, there must be a consideration of why the Johnson administration would deceive the American People and spin the entire situation. They did this to actively engage in a preemptive defense of America, to enhance the powers of the Commander in Chief, and to rally American support for the unpopular South Vietnamese government.

To form a preemptive defense of America, Johnson continued the containment doctrine foreign policy that had begun immediately after the Cold War. The Containment Doctrine stated the United States would avoid an all-out war against the USSR, but the America would commit to preventing the expansion of existing communist governments and to stopping new communist governments from forming. The Korean War can be used as an example of this policy. The United States armed forces did not defeat Communist North Korea, but merely defended South Korea against invasion and then created the “demilitarized zone,” effectively ending the war in a stalemate. A corollary of the containment doctrine was the “Domino Theory,” which stated that if one government fell to communism, the surrounding governments would fall to communist regimes. This idea was carried into the Vietnam War, where an unpopular government in South Vietnam was able to gain the assistance of a phobic United States, which was afraid of the communism government in North Vietnam.

The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was a favorable outcome of the Vietnam conflict for the Johnson administration. It states, “That the Congress approves and supports the determination of the President, as Commander in Chief, to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression” (“The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution”). Because the Vietnam War was never officially declared by Congress, Johnson, and later Nixon, would have complete control over the Armed Forces in Vietnam. Secretary McNamara remarked to President Johnson, “There was just near-unanimous support for not only everything you've done—but near unanimous support for everything you may do in the future. And generally a blank-check authorization for further action” (Selverstone & Coleman, WH6408.08 PNO 22).

The Johnson administration also desired to connect the Vietnam conflict to the containment policy so as to gain support for the war. The containment policy states that all communist governments are supported by the Soviet Union, and does not allow for diverse ideas within the worldview of Communism. In 1964, the Soviet Union was a threat to the United States. Therefore, connecting Vietnam and the Soviet Union promotes support among the American populace. If the conflict would have been ended quickly, the Vietnam war would only be a paragraph in the history books, rather than a chapter or two. It was because of the escalating casualties, the apparent lack of progress, and negative media reporting that diffused the support of the American people.

The ethical question of the Gulf of Tonkin situation is: Should the Johnson administration have deceived the American people? They instinctual answer is “no.” The Gulf of Tonkin incident was deception of the American population,however, it was because of the desire to actively defend the American people, that caused the Johnson administration to spin the actual events of August 2nd and August 4th 1964. The Johnson administration believed they were acting in America's best interest especially since the containment doctrine was the prevalent agenda of the United States at the time. The United States government should be able to give non-classified information freely to the populous, however, many times such information is twisted or used against the government. The Johnson administration did what it believed needed to be done, and only history would tell whether it was a correct course of action or not.

The Gulf of Tonkin incident began the “hot” war of Vietnam. Before that, however, the United States government helped the South Vietnamese government with the intention of preventing the spread of communism. Each character has their own intentions and loyalties. The events were chaotic and uncertainty plagued decisions made. And while Americans do not support any political spin on any situation, deception and politics are facts of the world today. There are always two sides to every story, and in world events, there are usually many more. As American citizens, it is a duty and privilege to take part in our government. It is also our duty to support the government when needed and hold government officials accountable for their words and actions. We, the People, consented to our government. The government did not consent to having us as people.