Tonkin - The Attack that Made the US Join the Vietnam War

The US is supporting its ally, South Vietnam, but it is not an active belligerent in the Vietnam War. Destroyer USS Maddox conducts a patrol in the Gulf of Tonkin, and enters disputed waters near North Vietnam. Torpedo boats are deployed against her, and an engagement takes place which will bring the United States into years of hard fought conflict in Vietnam.

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[TheOperationsRoom]

A minority of people have commented before watching the whole video. There were two incidents involving USS Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin. This animation depicts the first incident on 2nd August 1964, which both sides agree happened as described. There was a second "incident" two days later on the 4th August which, as described towards the end of the video (6:20), didn't actually happen, and is argued to have been fabricated to push an agenda of escalation. A minority are confusing the two.

[davebartosh]

Interesting topic, and helps clarify a confusing moment in history. Keep 'em coming! Always enjoy your content.

[nutsbutdum]

Fun fact: Rear Admiral George Stephen Morrison commanded U.S. naval forces during the Gulf of Tonkin incident. He was the father of Jim Morrison.

[monarch]

This is perfect because I have a history essay due in 2 days and the Gulf of Tonkin Incident is a key point in it.

[NoJokesB]

My Japanese grandma who survived B29 raids in Osaka and Kobe would say “it’s easy to start a war but so difficult to end it.”

[hfar_in_the_sky]

This actually clarifies a lot of things. Often this incident is depicted as "And then North Vietnamese torpedo boats came out of nowhere and attacked the Maddox who drove them off."

But this helps show the logic behind each party involved. The North Vietnamese were in a tense state because of recent raids AND seeing a US destroyer just within territorial waters could be seen as a prelude to invasion or a raid. So it makes sense that in a state of high tension they would send ships out to intercept and sink a possible hostile ship. The Madox meanwhile is not actually part of a larger invasion force at this time but also has no interest in, you know, being torpedoed.

But once the two ship groups engaged, the die was cast and the rest is history as they say

[sergeantwillyt]

USS Liberty Incident would be an interesting video to see from you

[bigblue]

As I understand it one of the triggers which caused the North Vietnamese to attack the Maddox was the fact that the CIA were sending agents into North Vietnam and they may have believed that the Maddox was involved in dropping these agents off.

Because of their lack of knowledge as to how the North worked all of the agents sent in by the CIA's were captured very quickly. The minute they stepped into even the smallest hamlet there was someone there asking who they were, were they were from and what they were doing there.

[KillerOrca]

I've been aboard the Turner Joy. She's berthed and under veteran care at Bremerton, Washington, just down the marina from the Naval Yard there.
She's a beautiful ship. You can FEEL the history coming off her when your aboard.

[kurtjohnson]

I'd be interested in seeing another video like this about an incident that also involved Turner Joy. Summer of '82 when four US warships - including Turner Joy and my boat, Benjamin Stoddert - were fired on by Vietnamese "fishing boats" with 50 cals. To this day, I only know part of what happened that night. I'd love to learn more.

[thetalesofdaneandco]

Battle of Khe Sanh would be cool to see, but I know that was pure chaos and could be a lot of work.

[OBJ]

I knew because no upload last Saturday that today I’d be given a masterpiece. Thank you guys.

[connorkilgour]

The USS Turner Joy mentioned in this video is now a museum in Bremerton, Washington state

[gregparrott]

Given this brief, hostile exchange was used as the premise for the U.S. to official enter Vietnam, this has to be the most succinct, impactful 7 minute video I've ever seen.

[anthonyhayes]

Splendid breakdown of the events, I was always told two vessels engaged Maddox and that one sank. Ya learn something new every day I suppose

[rascal]

I was 17 when this happened and remember it well. Five years later I was in the 82nd Airborne.

[jonny-b]

When you draw the roads on the maps do you use old maps or modern day ones to lay those out? Something I've always been curious about is how much we've developed the world's land in the last half century.

[JunaidKhan-pqji]

I came to The Operations Room for videos of surgeries but I wasn't disappointed with what I found.

[Herbstmann]

Sometimes, just sometimes, the Youtube algorithm actually does it‘s job and recommends great channels like this one.

[dyzoly]

The clearest explanation of the Tonkin incident, so far!