US Warship Fired at Mysterious Target Near Indonesia, Millions Perished

A target that appeared on the radar screen of a United States warship turned out to be the beginning of one of the bloodiest wars in modern history. The target, believed to be an enemy vessel and torpedo, was later discovered to have likely been a radar misreading caused by bad weather. However, the incident had already been used as a pretext for the US to expand the war, which ultimately killed an estimated 2 to 3 million people. The event took place in August 1964 in the Gulf of Tonkin, Vietnam. At the time, Vietnam was divided into two, namely communist North Vietnam and pro-Western South Vietnam. Worried about the spread of communism in Southeast Asia, the US sent the destroyer USS Maddox to patrol the area. On 2 August 1964, the USS Maddox’s patrol was detected by North Vietnamese patrol boats. A brief exchange of fire occurred, but caused no casualties. Two days later, on the night of 4 August, the radar and sonar of the USS Maddox again picked up mysterious signals believed to be an enemy vessel and torpedoes moving towards the ship. As recounted in the book America, the Vietnam War, and the World (2003), without clear visual confirmation, the USS Maddox and its accompanying vessel immediately manoeuvred and opened fire on the targets only visible on the radar screen. Reports that a US warship was under attack were immediately sent to Washington. The administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson subsequently labelled the incident as North Vietnamese aggression in international waters. Shortly thereafter, the US government submitted the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution to Congress. On 7 August 1964, the resolution was passed, granting the president broad authority to use military force in Southeast Asia. From that point, the US escalated its military involvement in Vietnam, including launching massive bombing campaigns. According to Britannica, the conflict claimed the lives of approximately 2 to 3 million people. However, around 40 years later, declassified documents revealed that the second attack, which formed the basis for the war escalation, never actually happened. The signals caught on radar were suspected to have originated from bad weather and ocean waves. A secret report later made public stated, ‘There was no second attack on U.S. Navy ships in the Gulf of Tonkin in early August 1964. Furthermore, the evidence suggests a disturbing and deliberate effort by Secretary of Defense McNamara to distort the evidence and mislead Congress.’ Despite this, the narrative of an unprovoked attack was used to justify expanding the war. President Lyndon B. Johnson himself later acknowledged the mistake, reportedly saying, ‘Hell, those dumb sailors were just shooting at flying fish!’ The war only truly ended on 30 April 1975, after North Vietnam captured Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, forcing the US to admit defeat in the conflict triggered by the Gulf of Tonkin incident.