Edwin E. Moise worked as a professor of history at Clemson University. He is the author of “Tonkin Gulf and the Escalation of the Vietnam War” book. This book is primary about the controversial war that whether the Tonkin Gulf incident in August 4, 1964 really happen or not. For this book to be finished, it took him over ten years to work on it. Apparently, he has devoted a lot for this book, try to find the truth. Moise had to do interview with the witnesses whether face to face or through telephone. Moreover, to find out the truth about the incident, he had to get information from both North Vietnam soldiers and American who was there at the time which quite hard for him because of the language barrier. Through the book, Moise express his …show more content…
Secretary of Defense McNamara testified that the Maddox was at the area, Gulf of Tonkin, in August 2 because it had a mission of carrying out a routine patrol action designated as a Desoto Patrol. He claimed that it is normal because they always did this mission all over the world at all times. However, Moise stated that The Maddox approach to the coast closer than it supposed to be on July 31 and August 1. Even though, the North Vietnam took account for the incident, there are still some speculation and doubt about the incident such as the Vietnamese vessels actually attack the Maddox after they were being fired by the US destroyer. Many question of whether all of this was set up just for the US to have an excuse to attack North Vietnam. General Vo Nguyen Giap had mention that the Us sent the DeSoto patrol to the Tonkin Gulf just for provocation and hope to get an excuse for escalation of the …show more content…
In fact, while doing the research for this book, Moise cannot find any witnesses from North Vietnam because no Vietnamese was present in that area where the incident took place. The sources for the incident in August 4 was mostly based on American sources. On the other hand, in the Gulf of Tonkin area, another US destroyer, Turner Joy was ordered to join the Maddox. On the night of August 4, both destroyers, Turner Joy and Maddox notified that they were under attacked by North Vietnamese boats in Gulf of Tonkin. However, Moise pointed that the attack never occurred. Indeed, he claimed that on the night of the incident, the weather was bad, from drizzle to thunderstorms. In addition, most sailors or soldiers on the US destroyers, Turner Joy and Maddox had not much experience of the operations in Gulf of Tonkin, and scarcely anyone on the two destroyers had been exposed to the remarkable realism of the spurious radar images sometimes encountered there (Moise, 163). He also noted that because poor weather, it may make the radar showing “ghost” images and the sailors may mistake them as the North Vietnam torpedo boats. Within hours when the incident occurred, President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered first airstrike against North Vietnam. Many people had doubt about the incident whether the attack really occurred, however, the US already attack North Vietnam with airstrike. As the result,
Appy’s book is valuable to its readers in showing how Vietnam became the template for every American war since, from novelties like the invasion of Grenada to the seemingly never-ending conflicts post-9/11. But before all that, there was Vietnam, and, larger lessons aside, Appy’s book is a fascinating, insightful, infuriating and thought-provoking study of that conflict, from its earliest days
The Vietnam War: A Concise International History is a strong book that portrays a vivid picture of both sides of the war. By getting access to new information and using valid sources, Lawrence’s study deserves credibility. After reading this book, a new light and understanding of the Vietnam war exists.
Hynes, Samuel Lynn. "What Happened in Nam." The soldiers' tale: bearing witness to modern war. New York, N.Y., U.S.A.: A. Lane, 1997. 177-222. Print.
Only in the Vietnam War was the United States’ participation criticized. This is such a gigantic change from prior wars that it bears study as to why it happened, and better yet, should have it happened. This paper will discuss the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War, by asking the simple question, Should have the United States’ gotten involved in the first place? This paper will prove that, in fact, America should not have gotten involved in the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War took place between 1947- 1975.
On the eve of March 16th 1968 Captain Medina briefed his men on the mission into the region of Quang Ngai, specifically the town of My Lai.(Eckhardt) He gave the orders to go into the town of my lai and lay ground fire, meaning not to shoot at civilians but to shoot the ground or into the air to give a warning to civilians.(Eckhardt) The orders that he gave came from Lieutenant Colonel Frank Barker, who briefed Medina on the morning of the 16th and told him there would be no civilians in the town or vicinity of My Lai. Barker told Medina that Vietcong had retreated into the region of Quang Ngai, and especially into the town of My Lai....
Even with these contradictions, the results are obvious. The question that must be posed is whether these results make the American soldiers involved that day “guilty”. There is the fact that the environment of the Vietnam War made it very confusing for the soldiers to know exactly who the enemy was, as well as providing pent-up frustration due to the inability to engage in real combat with the enemy. If this is the case, though, why did some soldiers with the same frustrations refuse the orders and sit out on the action? Why did some cry while firing, and why then did one man go so far as to place himself between the Vietnamese and the firing soldiers?
On August 2, 1964 an incident happened between the USS Maddox and a North Vietnamese torpedo ships. While the Maddox was doing a casual sweep through of the Tonkin Gulf, the North Vietnamese ships began to follow. Captain Herrick ordered his men to shoot while he radioed an aircraft carrier for assistance. After feeling threated, the North Vietnamese ships each fired one torpedo. Two missed and the third failed to launch. The Maddox was barely touched, as for the Vietnamese ships, two were in bad shape and the other had sunk. Meanwhile, over in Washington D.C., President Lyndon B. Johnson was frantic about the situation he had been informed of. At first, President Johnson had no desire to hold any reprisal against North Vietnam. He proceeded to tell Russia that he had no interest in extending the conflict. However, he did warn that there would be consequences for their action. This conflict had our stationed soldiers on high al...
This book would be an excellent source for anyone wanting to understand this period of the entrance into the Vietnam War. It is a great look into the character of each of the participants. It also would benefit those who are studying and learning how to develop strategy and policy for future wars that the United States may involve itself in. Works Cited McMaster, H. R. Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnam. New York: HarperCollins, 1997.
It is understandable that some Americans strongly opposed the United States getting involved in the Vietnam War. It had not been a long time since the end of World War II and simply put, most Americans were tired of fighting. Mark Atwood Lawrence is one of the people who opposed our involvement in the Vietnam War. In his essay, “Vietnam: A Mistake of Western Alliance”, Lawrence argues that the Vietnam War was unnecessary and that it went against our democratic policies, but that there were a lot of things that influenced our involvement.
Kamps Jr., Charles T. The History of the Vietnam War. New York: The Military Press,
There were many events that lead up the Vietnam War, it started in 1945 with the hostilities between the French and Vietminh. “Geopolitical Strategy, economics, domestic US politics, and cultural arrogance shaped the growing American involvement in Vietnam” (Anderson 1). As a matter of fact, the Vietnam War was several wars, but it was not until 1962 that America had their first combat mission, however, Americans were killed during ambushes by the Vietnamese before the first combat mission. There is much controversy over the reasons for the Vietnam War, supported by the several different books and articles written about the war. “The most famous atrocity occurred in a tiny hamlet called My Lai in March 1968” (Detzer 127). History shows that the reaction of many Americans to the attack by US soldiers on the village of My Lai during the Vietnam War was opposition, and the actions of the US soldiers during the My Lai Massacre will be forever remembered as a significant part of the Vietnam War and American History.
The conflict in Vietnam for the United States started when President Dwight D. Eisenhower went along with the domino theory and sent in military advisors in South Vietnam to stop the communist movement from taking place in South Vietnam. The Vietnam conflict was between the communist’s and the United States. North Vietnam was led by Ho Chi Minh, and Ho Chi Minh led the Viet Cong, a guerilla group to help spread communism. The United States were supporters of the South Vietnam because they wanted them to maintain their government rather than falling to the domino theory of communism. After Eisenhower’s term ended John F. Kennedy became president and took control of the situation of Vietnam but on November 22, 1963, Kennedy was assassinated. Lyndon B. Johnson succeeded presidency and the problems of Vietnam were left to himself. In 1963, the Tonkin Gulf incident occurred where, the U.S.S Maddox was attacked by North Vietnamese naval ships on august 2 1964. Two days later an even more controversial attack happened where it was reported another ship was attacked again but has later been proven false. Johnson used these events to gain congressional approval to enter into Vietnam. However the Tonkin Gulf Incident was questioned to have even happened which makes the war undoubtedly questionable Immediately after the incident . Many troops were killed in Vietnam and the United States eventually lost the war and does not achieve their goal to stop communism. Despite the large amount of conflict in Vietnam that needed to be resolved, escalating the war was the wrong idea by Johnson, as the many consequences of the war for the United States outweighed the potential spread of communism.
Turse argues that what happened at My Lai was not a one occurring event but one event in a series of event that took place in Vietnam. In his monograph, he talks about the massacre at Trieu
In lesson seven called “Belief and seeing are often wrong” McNamara explains how the supposed attacks on the Maddox and Turner Joy on August 4th 1964 created a much larger issue for the United States than attacked ships. He explains that the confusion of the attacks off the shores of Vietnam and the uncertainty of why they were attacked led to the decision to attack Northern Vietnam forces. McNamara said of the event, “We were wrong, but we had in our minds a mindset that led to that action. And it carried such heavy costs. We see incorrectly or we see only half of the story at times.” The international relations theory that best supports this lesson is constructivism. The United States’ belief in an attack that did not actually happen led to a rebuttal that created even more issues for the United States. The decisions made were based on what the United States saw and reacted too. Their perspective was an attack from Northern Vietnamese forces and a counterattack was needed. Their reaction was based on
Vietnam was a struggle which, in all honesty, the United States should never have been involved in. North Vietnam was battling for ownership of South Vietnam, so that they would be a unified communist nation. To prevent the domino effect and the further spread of communism, the U.S. held on to the Truman Doctrine and stood behind the South Vietnamese leader, Diem.