Tonkin Gulf Resolution

• in 1964, North Vietnamese troops opened fire on US ships in the Gulf of Tonkin
• US congress passed the Tonkin Gulf resolution, which gave the President the power to do whatever was necessary
• in 1965, the US started Operation Rolling Thunder: a massive bombing campaign against North Vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh trail
• in 1965, 3500 US marines came ashore at Da Nang