DESOTO Patrol Begins
Ogier took USS Maddox into the Gulf of Tonkin on the opening leg of a DESOTO surveillance and signals-intelligence patrol off North Vietnam.
Role range: 1960-1975
Historical biography archive · Updated 2026-11-03
Herbert Ogier Biography and Timeline
Follow Herbert Ogier through 8 dated historical records for United States of America.
Herbert Ogier, historical timeline
A chronological timeline drawn from matching World History Database records.
8Distinct records
1 of 1Page
1964–1964Years on this page
1964
Maddox Counterfire
Ogier directed USS Maddox to engage the North Vietnamese craft with its naval guns, damaging the attackers and helping force them to break off the action.
Role range: 1960-1975
Maddox Damage Assessment
Ogier reported that USS Maddox had suffered no casualties and only minor damage after a North Vietnamese machine-gun round struck the destroyer during the engagement.
Role range: 1960-1975
Torpedo Boats Detected
Ogier's ship tracked three high-speed North Vietnamese P-4 torpedo boats closing on USS Maddox while the destroyer was operating in international waters.
Role range: 1960-1975
Torpedo Evasion
Ogier maneuvered USS Maddox away from the attacking boats and successfully evaded torpedoes that passed close to the destroyer's starboard side.
Role range: 1960-1975
Warning Shots Fired
After the approaching torpedo boats continued to close, Ogier ordered USS Maddox to fire warning rounds before engaging the attackers in self-defense.
Role range: 1960-1975
Fire on Suspected Contacts
Ogier's crew fired illumination and gunfire toward suspected surface contacts during the confused night action that was initially interpreted as a renewed torpedo-boat attack.
Role range: 1960-1975
Maddox Action Report
Ogier submitted the formal Maddox report on the 4 August action, recording the ship's radar and sonar contacts, evasive maneuvers, gunfire, and subsequent evaluation of the engagement.
Role range: 1960-1975
Records, sources and methodology
These dates and descriptions come from the historical_events database. Exact duplicate records have been collapsed. Names are grouped by the country, Name 2 and Name 1 fields; records with missing Name 2 cannot be reliably assigned to an individual biography. Check the underlying sources before formal citation.