on by the
             United Sates and so, three Vietnamese torpedo boats fired on the
             U.S. destroyer, " Maddox " on August 2nd, 1964. The " Maddox " had
             been in the Gulf of Tonkin ( international waters ), thirty miles off
             the coast of Vietnam. On August 3rd, 1964, Johnson gave the right " to
             attack with the objective of destroying attacking forces " ( Pimlott
             1982, 36 ). Retaliation air attacks began on August 3rd. Their aim was
             to destroy North Vietnam's gunboat capability. As two more United
             States destroyers were supposedly sunk, more air and sea forces were
             sent ( Wicker August 5, 1964, 1 ). Up until now, the U.S. had
             refrained from direct combat. This is when the United States formally
             entered the Vietman War. The U.S. did this for two reasons. We wished
             to maintain the independence of South Vietnam and we had to prove to
             allied nations that we would help them res
             ...