The Gulf of Tonkin crisis began with a confirmed clash between USS Maddox and North Vietnamese torpedo boats on 2 August 1964. A second reported attack on 4 August was treated in Washington as another hostile action, although later examination found the evidence for that second engagement deeply uncertain.
President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered retaliatory strikes and asked Congress for authority to respond to attacks and support Southeast Asian allies. The resulting Gulf of Tonkin Resolution became an important legal and political basis for the subsequent expansion of United States military operations in Vietnam.
Lyndon Baines Johnson, John Herrick, Lyndon Johnson, Daniel Elseberg, Robert McNamara, Ernest Gruening, Wayne Morse
Washington, Gulf of Tonkin, Tonkin Gulf, Vietnam
Near-identical rows with the same date and place are consolidated for this page. The underlying database records remain unchanged and searchable on the main Vietnam War page.
Chronology is ordered by year, month and day where those fields are present.
USS Turner Joy & Maddox report they have been attacked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats. The Tonkin Gulf incident is used to escalate the war in Vietnam. Claims USS Maddox was attacked 30 miles offsore not 13 miles claimed by North Vietnam. A clash that triggers U.S. bombing against North Vietnam
On duty on the evening of the Gulf of Tonkin incident, reporting the incident to McNamara
Commands the USS Maddox during the first Gulf of Tonkin incident
Addresses the nation after reported attacks in the Gulf of Tonkin
Orders retaliatory air strikes against North Vietnamese targets after reports of attacks on U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin.
Receives congressional authorization to use military force in Vietnam
Enables Johnson to use armed force to help SEATO members to "defend their freedom". Congress authorizes "measures to repel any armed attack against forces of the US"
Defends administration policy during passage of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Votes against the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
This authority page consolidates World History Database records into a readable chronology. The database rows are research-index entries; important claims should be checked against primary documents and specialist histories.
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Compiled and edited by the World History Database from structured historical records. This page consolidates 11 matching rows into 9 chronology entries to reduce duplicate and near-duplicate display. Last reviewed 2026-10-06.