Timeline of the Vietnam War: 1964-1965

Vietnam War Timeline - The Gulf of Tonkin Incident and Escalation: In 1964, the United States government was looking for a pretext to escalate U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. A U.S. destroyer, the U.S.S. Maddox, was gathering intelligence off the North Vietnamese coast when it was fired upon (no damage done). The Pentagon reported the incident as an unprovoked attack, and fabricated a second attack two days later. In response, Congress authorized the deployment of combat troops to Vietnam.