North Vietnamese gunboats allegedly fire on USS Maddox 50 years ago this afternoon (Aug 2 1964)


Video: 'Vietnam: A Television History - LBJ Goes to War [3/11]' (Aug. 2, 1964, at 10:29)

(Sunday, August 2, 1964, afternoon local time; during the Vietnam War, part of the Indochina Wars and the Cold War) — The destroyer USS Maddox suffered light damage today during a skirmish with North Vietnamese patrol torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonkin.

This and an alleged second incident two days later led to congressional approval of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution that propelled America deep into war.