A 50-Year Memory: Tonkin Gulf Resolution

It gave Lyndon Johnson the power to fight in Vietnam. It was based on a supposed aggression by the North Vietnamese in the Gulf of Tonkin. The House of Representatives voted unanimously to support it. In the Senate two voted against it- Wayne Morse (D-OR) and Ernest Gruening (D-AK). They were, of course, seen as unpatriotic. The result was, of course, the Vietnam War.

It was all a lie- or at least a big prevarication. We were probably the aggressor- or at least a provocateur. The resolution had been sitting around on desks in the White House for several months waiting for the right moment.

Early August 1964 was the time.

Over the next decade it tore our country apart.

A very sad day to remember.