Gulf of Tonkin incident
"Morton" continued operations off the West Coast until August 1964, when she steamed to the South China Sea and patrolled off South Vietnam. On 11 September 1964, approximately one month after the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, the Director of the Naval Security Group, Pacific (DIRNAVSECGRUPAC) informed the Director of the National Security Agency of plans for an intercept team, SIGAD USN-467P, to be aboard the "Morton". The DESOTO patrol, part of Operation 34A, was conducted by the "USS Morton" and the approximately one month after the Gulf of Tonkin incident. She spent the next several months screening aircraft carriers after the Gulf of Tonkin Incident before returning to the West Coast 6 February 1965.