Gulf of Tokin Incident

- The gulf of Tokin lies off the west coast of North

Vietnam.
- On the 2nd of August 1964 and US destroyer Maddox
was patrolling the gulf and was attacked by
torpedoes from three patrol boats of the north
Vietnamese Navy.
As the torpedo boats continued their high-speed
approach, Maddox was ordered to fire warning
shots if they closed inside 10,000 yards. When the
boats reached that point, Maddox fired three
warning shots, but the torpedo boats continued
inbound at high speed.
- Intheexchangeoffire,neitherAmericannorNorthVietnamese
shipsinflictedsignificantdamage.However,planesfromthe
aircraftcarriersunk one of the North Vietnamese boats
and the other two were badly damaged.
Two days later, August 4, Maddox returned to the
area, supported by the destroyer Turner Joy (DD951). This time the U.S. ships detected electronic
signals and acoustic indications of a likely second
North Vietnamese naval attack, and they requested
U.S. air support.
A joint resolution of Congress dated August 7, 1964,
gave the president authority to increase U.S.
involvement in the war between North and South
Vietnam

Vietcong
US support/JFK
Washington and funded 80% of the French war
effort
President Eisenhower would not harm American
forced directly
Diem and South Vietnam would have shrugged
d to survive without American military and aid.
JFK
Kennedy pledged to continue the policy of
supporting nations against the threat of
communism
At the end of his time in office he had more than
1600 advises in south Vietnam training the army
The idea was to increase support for the south
Vietnamese government in the villages
Regardless of his weapons and money The VC
were winning the support of the village
The VC where seen to be the Vietnamese
fighting for Vietnamese independence.
The US military response was to the
deteriorating position in South Vietnam was to
apply more military force.
Diem/ Strategic Hamlet.
By the early 1960s diem was unpopular amongst the
peasants
The strategic hamlets were done by isolating the
Vietcong from the South Vietnam villages.
They moved the South Vietnamese villages way from
the Vietcong them fortified them with guns and
barbwire.

 This was done the a third of the countries population.

This was very unpopular especially with the
peasants.
They felt alienated with being resettled.
The main problems can for the bad execution of
these problems.
Only 20% of the complete hamlets met the standards
of the American in readiness and security
When Diem and his brother died the hamlet program
stoped.
Buddhists crisis.
On 8th of may 1963 the civil guards something
about a flying flag
They killed 9 and wounded another 14
Diem response was to crust he resistant
The Buddhist resindse in 11 June 1963 quang
duc set himself on fire.
The photograph became famous, once Kennedy
was shown back out of supporting Vietnam.
7 suicides in total
The USA called with negations with the Buddhist
but failed
The royal family o Vietnam was indifferent to the
suicide and the wife called for more.
LBJ
LBJ was the vice president at the time of JFK
assignation.
LBJ was concerned with reform the America
economy and jobs market.
LBJ was president when us troops were sent in
to Vietnam, in 1960s
At the same time he put large amount of money
in jobs education and housing in America.
LBJ refused to escalate US involvement in
bombing Vietnam.

Retired after his term, didnt run again, and died

20 year later.