The official line put forth at the time was that North Vietnamese torpedo boats launched an "unprovoked attack" against a U.S. Destroyer.
The Destroyer was only just on a "routine patrol" in the Tonkin Gulf.
It was then stated that North Vietnamese PT boats, followed up with a "deliberate attack" on a pair of U.S. ships two days later.
However, this was far from the truth of what really happened.
The ships were in fact not on some routine patrol.
The U.S. destroyer "Maddox" had been engaged in aggressive intelligence-gathering maneuvers.
This was done in coordinated attacks on North Vietnam by the South Vietnamese navy and Laotian air force.
Those assaults were part of a campaign the United States had been pursuing since early 1964.
Aug. 4: Pentagon proclaimed a second attack by North Vietnamese PT boats had taken place in the Tonkin Gulf.
President Johnson went on national TV that evening to announce an escalation in the war.
Johnson ordered U.S. bombers to "retaliate" for a North Vietnamese torpedo attack that never happened.
This lead to a war in which more then 1 million Vietnamese and 58,000 Americans would die.
Later, released tapes of White House phone conversations indicate the attack never happened.
Vietnam War
The Tunnels of Cu Chi
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