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August 2, 1964: North Vietnamese patrol boats attacked and shot at the US destroyer Maddox that was stationed off the coast of North Vietnam. North Vietnamese warships purportedly shot and attacked the US warships, the U.S.S. Maddox and the U.S.S. C. Turner Joy, on two different occasions both in the Gulf of Tonkin.
August 4, 1964: Maddox and Turner Joy sail through same waters fired at in for protection of free travel in international waters. Sonar operators panick, ships fire near eachother, panic and think enemy fire happens -- captain Herrick doubtful, wants investigation. Aircraft carrier commander Stockdale states definitively that attack did not happen.
August 7, 1964: In retaliation to the Gulf of Tonkin incident, president Lyndon B. Johnson was given permission by the US congress to protect and defend the US forces stationed in Southeast Asia, power to wage war without congress assent (Gulf of Tonkin Resolution)
August 7, 1964: Stockdale ordered to attack North Vietnam with bombers, despite knowing and saying "We were about to launch a war under false pretenses, in the face of on-the-scene military commanders' advice to the contrary." Then bombs an oil depot.

Important people:
- Lyndon B Johnson (president)
- Robert McNamara (secretary of defense, perjured to congress)
- Commander James Stockdale (aircraft carrier commander, realized shooting at nothing)
- Captain Herrick (commander of Maddox, had doubts about attack)

Work Cited
https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2008/february/truth-about-tonkin

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John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas during a political trip. He was killed by Lee Harvey Oswald. He was a US veteran who called himself a "marxist." For this reason, people thought he was associated with the USSR.

During Kennedy's presidency, he supported South Vietnam financially and militarily. He did not want a full scale invasion nor a withdrawal. Historians suggest that Kennedy had not made up his mind about the conflict in Vietnam.

Sources:
https://americandiplomacy.web.unc.edu/2020/11/without-dallas-john-f-kennedy-and-the-vietnam-war/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidency_of_John_F._Kennedy#

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Cause and effect:
USSR's missile in Cuba and America's missile in Turkey. USA was afraid of the continuous spread of Communism.

In October 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, US and Soviet officials engaged in a tense 13-day political and military standoff over the deployment of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles on Cuba, just 90 miles from US beaches. In a TV address on October 22, 1962, President John F. Kennedy (1917-63) notified Americans about the presence of the missiles, explained his decision to enact a naval blockade around Cuba and made it clear the U.S. was prepared to use military force if necessary to neutralize this perceived threat to national security. Many individuals believed the world was on the verge of nuclear war after hearing this news.

How is it connected to Vietnam War:
They are both connected to the containment theory. The USA was trying to stop the spread of communism to more countries.

Citation:
History.com Editors. “Cuban Missile Crisis.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 4 Jan. 2010, https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/cuban-missile-crisis.

Magazine, Smithsonian. “Learning from the Missile Crisis.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 1 Oct. 2002, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/learning-from-the-missile-crisis-68901679/.

古巴导弹危机 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书 (wikipedia.org)

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July 1954: election
October 1955- November 1963: rule
November 1963: assassination

Ngo Dinh Diem was the President of the US-backed southern Vietnamese government.

He was asked to join the communist north by Uncle Ho, but rejected and was exiled.

He returned as a prime minister to Emperor Bao Dai in the South, but betrayed him and became president of South Vietnam.

Having Diem as president only improved communist control, however, because his Catholacism only ousted him from the Buddhists in the south, as well as the military tactics he used against the insurgency were heavy-handed and ineffective only to deepened his government’s unpopularity and isolation.

US encouraged the assassinators to go through with their plans to overthrow Diem, they then used this as an excuse to become more involved in Vietnam (so that they could help stabilize the government there)

Works Cited
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngo_Dinh_Diem
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ngo-Dinh-Diem
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/ngo-dinh-diem-assassinated-in-south-vietnam