Sept. 18, 1964 - Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara said today that a new “night-time incident” had been reported in the Gulf of Tonkin, scene of torpedo attacks on U.S. ships last month.
McNamara said the reports were “preliminary and fragmentary” hours after the first word reached Washington.
According to unconfirmed reports, an American ship had fired on vessels believed to be Communist patrol torpedo boats. There was heavy fog in the Gulf of Tonkin off North Vietnam, and firing was controlled by radar, according to the reports.
A statement by the North Vietnam foreign ministry said two U.S. destroyers were in action in the gulf near a place called Nghe An. The statement, broadcast by Red China’s New China News Agency, spoke of “heavy explosions and flashes of light and aircraft circling over the spot.”
The broadcast did not mention North Vietnamese units involved. They denied they had provoked the incident, as they did in last month’s Tonkin Gulf crisis.
The statement said that the memory of a similar incident on Aug. 4 was still fresh and added, “These actions of the U.S. government are extremely serious.”
McNamara said he would have nothing to say until more information was available. The White House said there also would be no immediate word from President Johnson.
Senator Barry Goldwater, the Republican Presidential nominee, said during a campaign stop at Charleston, W. Va., that he had heard “Lyndon’s in more trouble.”
“Something happened in the Gulf of Tonkin, and with this big communications system that that yo-yo McNamara has been bragging about, they’re waiting for an air mail letter just to find out what happened,” Goldwater said.
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