Gulf of Tonkin events: A note for the public record

Whereas naval units of the Communist regime in Vietnam, in violation of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and of international law, have deliberately and repeatedly attacked United States naval vessels, and

Whereas these attacks are part of a deliberate and systematic campaign of aggression and

Whereas the United States is assisting the peoples of southeast Asia to protect their freedom and has no territorial, military or political ambitions in that area

Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that the Congress approves and supports the determination of the President, as Commander in Chief, to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression.

The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution passed by Congress on August 7, 1964

The U.S. war in Vietnam essentially began in 1964 in response to what our government claimed was an unprovoked attack upon two naval ships, the destroyers Maddox and Turner Joy, while they were steaming peacefully on the high seas in the Gulf of Tonkin. Although there was a U.S. military presence in Vietnam prior to that, the Tonkin events led to congressional action which allowed President Lyndon Johnson (and, later, President Richard Nixon) to escalate our military presence enormously and to wage war not only in Vietnam but also covertly in Southeast Asia.

Among the many books written about the Vietnam War, half a dozen note a 1967 letter to the editor of a Connecticut newspaper which was instrumental in pressing the Johnson administration to tell the truth about how the war was started. The letter was mine. It became, in the words of one author, "a national sensation." This is an account of my role and its aftermath.

John White

I'm pretty sure that at this point, most people agree that LBJ (or his administration) was not truthful with the American public. And I know I've mentioned my dad's involvement in exposing the Gulf of Tonkin coverup in the past. Nonetheless, I wanted to mention it again... probably over the course of a few days this time, since capturing even only a very distilled version of the events takes more than a "few inches" of reading.

Tim White