Two aircraft carriers arrive off the Vietnamese coast prompted by a North Vietnamese offensive in Laos. On this night, South Vietnamese commandos attack two small North Vietnamese islands in the Gulf of Tonkin. The U.S. destroyer Maddox, an electronic spy ship, is 123 miles south with orders to electronically simulate an air attack to draw North Vietnamese boats away from the commandos. The captain of the U.S.S. Maddox reports that his vessel has been fired on and that an attack is imminent. Though he later says that no attack took place, six hours after the initial report, a retaliation against North Vietnam is ordered by President Johnson.
American jets bomb two naval bases, and destroy a major oil facility.
Two U.S. planes are downed in the attack. The U.S. congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, giving President Johnson the power to take whatever actions he sees necessary to defend southeast Asia. President Johnson signs the Resolution October 1964 China, North Vietnam's neighbor and ally, successfully tests an atomic bomb. Five B-57 bombers are destroyed, and 15 are damaged.