VW5: The Gulf of Tonkin Incident and the Entry of American Ground Forces

Key Battles of American History

History

4.7 • 861 Ratings

🗓️ 2 July 2025

⏱️ 57 minutes

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Summary

In August, 1964, three North Vietnamese gunboats attacked an American destroyer. This incident was followed by a perceived (but imaginary) second attack. These attacks, although one was not real, led to the US Congress passing the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which authorized the president to take “all necessary measures to repel armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression.” Johnson then authorized Operation Rolling Thunder, a massive and ongoing bombing of North Vietnam. He also decided to send the first American ground troops to South Vietnam.

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0:00.0	The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration in the United States.
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0:22.4	these heroes and what their stories tell us about the nature of bravery. Listen to Medal of Honor
0:28.2	wherever you get your podcast. War has played a key role in the history of the United States, from the nation's founding
0:41.0	right down to the present. War made the U.S. independent, kept it together, increased its
0:46.6	size, and established it as a global superpower. Understanding America's wars is essential for
0:52.2	understanding American history. Welcome to Key Battles of American History, a podcast in which we discuss American history
0:59.1	through the lens of the most important battles of America's wars.
1:02.9	Here is your host, James Early.
1:19.6	Hello and welcome back to Key Battles of the Vietnam War, a 10,000-foot survey of the war that defined a generation.
1:22.7	I'm your host, James Early, as always.
1:26.9	And as always, I am joined by my co-host, Sean McIver. Sean, how are you this fine evening?
1:29.8	I'm doing well.
1:31.2	Good.
1:31.6	Well, we are going to see some major turning points in the second Indochina war, also
1:39.1	known as to us, at least as to Americans, as the Vietnam War.
1:42.9	Major changes.
1:45.9	But I'll keep you guys in suspense just a little bit longer about what exactly those changes are. Instead, let's begin,
1:50.9	as we always do, by recapping the last episode. So in our last episode, we discussed the
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