Gulf of Tonkin incident

E25447

Cold War event event in the Vietnam War military confrontation naval incident

The Gulf of Tonkin incident was a 1964 naval confrontation between North Vietnam and the United States that led to a major escalation of U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War.

Jump to: Surface forms Statements Referenced by

Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form	Occurrences
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution passed on 1964-08-07	1

Statements (49)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Cold War event ⓘ event in the Vietnam War ⓘ military confrontation ⓘ naval incident ⓘ
authorizedBy	Lyndon B. Johnson ⓘ
hasAftermath	Operation Pierce Arrow air strikes on North Vietnam ⓘ
hasBelligerent	Democratic Republic of Vietnam Navy ⓘ United States Navy ⓘ
hasCasualties	North Vietnamese sailors killed ⓘ North Vietnamese sailors wounded ⓘ
hasCodeName	related to DESOTO patrol missions ⓘ
hasConsequence	beginning of large-scale U.S. ground troop deployment in Vietnam ⓘ escalation of U.S. military involvement in Vietnam ⓘ increased U.S. air strikes against North Vietnam ⓘ
hasControversy	allegations of misrepresentation of intelligence to U.S. Congress ⓘ dispute over reality of second reported attack on 1964-08-04 ⓘ
hasCountryInvolved	Democratic Republic of Vietnam ⓘ surface form: North Vietnam United States of America ⓘ surface form: United States
hasDate	1964-08-02 ⓘ 1964-08-04 ⓘ
hasDomain	military history ⓘ
hasHistoricalInterpretation	often cited as example of intelligence misuse in policymaking ⓘ viewed as a key turning point in U.S. escalation in Vietnam ⓘ
hasLegalEffect	gave U.S. President broad authority to use military force in Southeast Asia ⓘ
hasLocation	Gulf of Tonkin ⓘ South China Sea ⓘ
hasMediaCoverage	extensive U.S. press reporting in August 1964 ⓘ
hasNorthVietnameseShipType	torpedo boat ⓘ
hasOpposingForce	Democratic Republic of Vietnam Navy ⓘ surface form: People's Army of Vietnam naval units
hasPrecedingOperation	DESOTO patrol ⓘ U.S. signals intelligence operations off North Vietnam ⓘ
hasRegion	off the coast of North Vietnam ⓘ
hasResult	Gulf of Tonkin Resolution ⓘ
hasUSCasualties	minimal ⓘ
hasUSCommander	John J. Herrick ⓘ
hasUSCongressAction	Gulf of Tonkin incident self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: Gulf of Tonkin Resolution passed on 1964-08-07
hasUSPresident	Lyndon B. Johnson ⓘ
hasUSSecretaryOfDefense	Robert McNamara ⓘ
hasUSShipType	destroyer ⓘ
hasWeaponUsed	aircraft from USS Ticonderoga ⓘ naval guns ⓘ torpedoes ⓘ
hasYear	1964 ⓘ
involvesShip	North Vietnamese torpedo boats ⓘ USS Maddox (DD-731) ⓘ USS Turner Joy (DD-951) ⓘ
ledTo	Gulf of Tonkin Resolution ⓘ
partOf	Cold War ⓘ Vietnam War ⓘ

Referenced by (5)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Pentagon Papers → describedEvent → Gulf of Tonkin incident ⓘ

Gulf of Tonkin → eventLocation → Gulf of Tonkin incident ⓘ

Gulf of Tonkin → hasHistoricalSignificance → Gulf of Tonkin incident ⓘ

Gulf of Tonkin incident → hasUSCongressAction → Gulf of Tonkin incident self-linksurface differs ⓘ

this entity surface form: Gulf of Tonkin Resolution passed on 1964-08-07

Vietnam War → significantEvent → Gulf of Tonkin incident ⓘ