How the USS Maddox Started the Vietnam War

The USS Maddox’ likely incorrect report of an attack on August 4, 1964, paved the way for a dramatic escalation of the Vietnam War—changing the United States forever.

One of the most consequential moments in modern American history occurred from August 2-4, 1964, in the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of North Vietnam. A destroyer belonging to the United States Navy, the USS Maddox (DD-731) and its alleged experiences in that body of water over the course of those fateful days in August 1964 became the trigger point for America’s full-blown involvement in the disastrous Vietnam War. 

The Maddox possessed an advanced radar system and other electronic systems that made it a cutting-edge warship of its era. Assigned to a DESOTO patrol—a mission to gather electronic intelligence on North Vietnamese defenses—the Maddox was operating in international waters near the North Vietnamese coast. This was, by all accounts, a provocative move amid rising tensions.

North Vietnamese P-4 torpedo boats, perceiving the Maddox as a threat to their sovereignty, are believed to have attacked with torpedoes and machine-gun fire. The Maddox, supported by F-8 Crusader jets from the aircraft carrier USS Ticonderoga, repelled the assault, sinking one boat and damaging the others—with no injuries among its own crew, and receiving only a single bullet hole in damage to the ship. 

Two days later, on August 4, the Maddox was joined by the USS Turner Joy, at which point they reported a second attack under stormy conditions, based on radar and sonar contacts. But subsequent investigations, including declassified records, have cast doubt on whether this second incident occurred, suggesting it may have been a misinterpretation of weather effects or equipment errors by an understandably-twitchy Maddox crew. 

Robert S. McNamara, then U.S. Secretary of Defense, recounted the August 2 and August 4 incidents in the critically-acclaimed 2003 Errol Morris documentary Fog of War. In that documentary, McNamara explicitly stated his belief that the August 2 incident occurred as reported to the Pentagon—but the August 4 incident did not. 

Regardless of what happened on August 4, though, President Lyndon B. Johnson used the alleged incident to secure the eponymously named “Gulf of Tonkin Resolution” on August 7, 1964. This resolution granted President Johnson the broad authority to escalate the U.S. military involvement in Vietnam without a formal declaration of war. The Maddox, unwittingly, became the catalyst for a conflict that would claim millions of lives and reshape U.S. foreign policy forever.

Specifications of the USS Maddox

The story of the Maddox has a very different beginning. 

Belonging to the Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer, this 2,200-ton warship was commissioned in 1944 and served the U.S. Navy for more than 20 years. Laid down at the Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine on October 28, 1943, and launched and commissioned a year later, the ship was one of 58 Allen M. Sumner-class destroyers built during the Second World War. These destroyers were an evolution of the earlier Fletcher-class, designed to meet the demands of a multi-role warship capable of anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-aircraft defense, and overall surface combat.

The ship was named after U.S. Marine Captain William A.T. Maddox, who died in 1913.

Maddox was powered by two General Electric geared steam turbines, producing 60,000 shaft horsepower and a top speed of 36.5 knots. Its armament was formidable: six five-inch/38-caliber dual-purpose guns in three twin turrets, twelve 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns, eleven 20mm Oerlikon cannons, and a complement of torpedoes and depth charges. In fact, this armaments package made the Maddox as versatile workhorse of the fleet, capable of engaging threats above, on, and below the water’s surface. 

With a crew of over 300, it was a tightly run ship, reflecting the Navy’s emphasis on discipline and adaptability.

The History of the Maddox

While the Maddox was built to fight in the Second World War, it entered service too late to see extensive combat in that historic conflict. However, it did play an important supporting role in the Pacific Theater. 

After shakedown training off America’s eastern seaboard, it arrived in the Pacific in late 1944, escorting convoys and screening larger ships like aircraft carriers during the final push against Japan. The destroyer participated in the Iwo Jima campaign in early 1945, providing gunfire support and ASW patrols, and later joined operations off Okinawa. Though it earned two battle stars for its service, the Maddox’s WWII tenure was relatively brief, as Japan surrendered in August 1945.

The ship was placed in reserve in 1946, as the Navy downsized at the end of WW2. When the Cold War erupted, and the subsequent Korean War occurred, the Navy brought the Maddox back into action. Maddox was recommissioned in 1950 and served in the Korean War from 1950-53, conducting shore bombardments, escort duties, and patrols along the Korean coast. Its versatility shone through during these operations, earning it four additional battle stars and solidifying its reputation as a reliable destroyer.

But all these impressive feats by the destroyer are insignificant compared to that fateful brush with history at the Gulf of Tonkin. The 20-year service record of the USS Maddox is distilled into that day in which everything had to go just wrong—and it did. After the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, with the Vietnam War in full swing, the Maddox was deployed to conduct gunfire support and escort missions. Maddox earned more accolades for its service in the war—concluding its illustrious career with nine battle stars across three conflicts. 

The Ship’s Inauspicious End

By the late 1960s, however, the aging destroyer faced obsolescence as newer, missile-equipped ships, such as the Spruance-class emerged. The Navy decommissioned the Maddox on July 2, 1969. The warship was stricken from the Naval Register in 1972 and sold to Taiwan, where it served as the Po Yang (DD-1) until 1985. 

The warship endured an ignominious but all-too-common end that year when it was sold to a scrapyard. No fanfare or other grand gestures like official goodbyes were given to this legendary warship. The former Maddox was simply scrapped quietly, all that history going down with it. But, for a fleeting moment, this destroyer was at the epicenter of one of the greatest geopolitical storms in the twentieth century. Because of its outsized impact on modern U.S. military history, the Maddox should never be forgotten. 

About the Author: Brandon J. Weichert

Brandon J. Weichert, a Senior National Security Editor at The National Interest as well as a contributor at Popular Mechanics, who consults regularly with various government institutions and private organizations on geopolitical issues. Weichert’s writings have appeared in multiple publications, including the Washington Times, National Review, The American Spectator, MSN, the Asia Times, and countless others. His books include Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His newest book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine is available for purchase wherever books are sold. He can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.

Image: Wikimedia Commons.