Gulf of Tonkin Incident

Why did the United States find it so difficult to ends its involvement in the Vietnam War? In this essay, I will outline and explore the reasoning behind the United States involvement and withdrawal from Vietnam and why the decision to withdraw from the war, was one of great complexity. The Vietnam War was a civil war fought between the communist’s states of North Vietnam and the capitalist South. The North Vietnamese wanted to join with the south as one united communist country. Whilst the…

Vietnam, a war based on lies. The Cold War’s increasing belief that the spread of the communist power would mean the end of freedom. "Reality is grim and painful. But it is only a remote echo of the anguish toward which a policy founded on illusion is surely taking us.” -John F. Kennedy. The American takeover of the newly born South Vietnam that hurt the people more than it helped, taking on a series of destruction and devastation rather than assisting and strengthening. The 11 year war that…

no-fire zones went in to effect. He claimed, “People did not agree that we had kids over there getting killed but could not fire upon someone to protect themselves”. His understanding as to why the conflict started was the Gulf of Tonkin incident, also known as the USS Maddox incident in 1964. It began with an American ship that was fired upon by the North Vietnamese which was a French colony at the time. North and South Vietnam split after they got their freedom from the French. North Vietnam…

America has endured many challenges over its lifespan, but what did Americans living through those conflicts of the past think during the time? David Martin was kind enough to share his thoughts and experiences through such trials. He survived the Vietnam War, the Kent State shootings, and the Cold War, wrote the security doctrine for the Air Force, worked on making the country safer following 9/11, not to mention his countless other experiences he was unable to elaborate on. To truly understand…

communist revolutions were taking place all around the world. The US was committing resources to an unwinnable war, and even Americans disapproved of their own government’s actions. The US poured men into Vietnam, following the Gulf of Tonkin incident. The Gulf of Tonkin incident was an attack on US warships by NVA ships, which led to the widespread involvement of the United States in Vietnam. This singlehandedly changed the policy at the time from diplomatic to a much more aggressive and…

our country’, somewhat constraining his choice. The escalated interest in 1965 can be drawn back to the gulf of Tonkin incident, whereby Hallin states that although journalists had ‘a great deal of information contradicting the official account’, this information was not reported. From this, the Americans wanted a retaliation to the perceived attacks, however as McMaster argues, ‘the gulf of Tonkin resolution gave the president a carte blanche for escalating the war’. Suggesting that in fact…

The Causes of the Vietnam War Callum Pastuszak The Vietnam War was one of the bloodiest conflicts post WWII, it is important to understand how it started and learn from our mistakes so nothing like this happens again. It was a war that revolutionised warfare for ever with the first widespread use of Grulla warfare and introduce many new tactics and weapons. It involved some 2.2 Million soldiers and $150 billion ($950 billion in todays USD). It is a war that should be used to learn off…

The Vietnam War started in 1959, causing 58,119 american deaths (Hickman). In “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, O’Brien describes how the rookie soldiers feel through the hard times of the war. All the soldiers are frightened, but refuse to show their inner fear. It is not until Ted Lavender, a new recruit to the group who actually shows his uneasiness, separates to use the restroom and gets shot. The squad consists of Jimmy Cross, the 24 year old lieutenant who is in…

communism from Vietnam and American leaders felt that it was the "duty" of America, as the policemen of the world, to step in and stop the communists from further advances. As far as US ground troops going to Vietnam in 1965, Johnson used the Gulf of Tonkin incident as justification for commuting combat troops to fight the North Vietnamese.…

Krishna Gupta History 1302-63013 Music as History Theme- Antiwar movement against Vietnam War, 1960s-1970s Vietnam War, the second Indochina war, began on November 1, 1995 and ended on April 30, 1975. The war was fought between the North Vietnam and the government of the South Vietnam. South Vietnamese army was supported by America, South Korea, Australia, Thailand and other non-communist allies while North Vietnamese army were supported by China, Soviet Union and other communist allies. As per…