The Secret Sentry (58 page)

11. CINCPAC,
1962 Command History
, p. 44, CINCPAC FOIA; CINCPAC,
1963 Command History
, pp. 56–57, CINCPAC FOIA; CINCPAC,
1964 Command History
, p. 367; “The Gulf of Tonkin Incident,”
Cryptolog,
February–March 1975: p. 8, November 2005 NSA Gulf of Tonkin Release; National Cryptologic School,
On Watch: Profiles from the National Security Agency’s Past
40 Years
(Fort Meade, MD: NSA/CSS, 1986), p. 43, NSA FOIA; Wyman H. Packard,
A Century
of U.S. Naval Intelligence
(Washington, DC: GPO, 1996), p. 114.

12. Memorandum for the record,
Chronology of Events Relating to DESOTO Patrol Incidents in the
Gulf of Tonkin on 2 and 4 August 1964
, August 10, 1964, p. 1, November 2005 NSA Gulf of Tonkin document release; CINCPAC,
1964 Command History
, pp. 367–68; U.S. Senate, Foreign Relations Committee,
The U.S. Government and the Vietnam War: Executive and Legislative
Roles and Relationships
, part 2,
1961–1964
, 98th Congress, 2nd session, 1984, p. 284.

13. Description of the
Maddox
from
Jane’s Fighting Ships 1955–1956
(New York: McGraw-Hill, 1956), p. 412. For the choice of the
Maddox
based on space on the 0-1 deck, see Don Tuthill, “Tonkin Gulf 1964,”
Naval Intelligence Professionals Quarterly
, vol. 4, no. 1 (Winter 1988): p. 19.

14. Hanyok, “Skunks, Bogies,” pp. 6–7; message, DIRNAVSECGRUPAC 012345Z Aug 64, DIRNAVSECGRUPAC to Distribution, “Gulf of
Tonkin Desoto Patrol,” August 1, 1964, November 2005 NSA Gulf of Tonkin document release; Moïse,
Tonkin Gulf
, p. 53. For Herrick and Ogier being generally briefed about OPLAN 34A, but not told about the dates and times of planned
raids, see Moïse,
Tonkin Gulf
, p. 60; Delmar C. Lang, Lt. Col., USAF,
Chronology
of Events of 2–5 August 1964 in the Gulf of Tonkin
, October 14, 1964, November 2005 NSA Gulf of Tonkin document release.

15. Norman Klar,
Confessions of a Code Breaker (Tales from Decrypt)
(privately published, 2004), p. 163.

16. Message, DIRNAVSECGRUPAC 180013Z Jul, DIRNAVSECGRUPAC to DIRNSA et al., “Aug Desoto Patrol,” July 18, 1964, November 2005
NSA Gulf of Tonkin document release; message, DIRNSA P214/0054, 2119122Z, DIRNSA to Distribution List, “Surface Surveillance
(Desoto Patrol),” July 21, 1964, November 2005 NSA Gulf of Tonkin document release; message, DIRNSA P214/0078, 241805Z, DIRNSA
to [deleted], July 24, 1964, November 2005 NSA Gulf of Tonkin document release. See also Moïse,
Tonkin Gulf
, pp. 52–55; Klar,
Confessions
, pp. 163–64; Captain Norman Klar, USN (Ret.), “How to Help Start a War,”
Naval History
, August 2002, p. 42.

17. Marolda and Fitzgerald,
United States Navy
, p. 410.

18. Unless otherwise stated, all times given in this chapter are in Gulf of Tonkin time, which the U.S. military referred
to as “Golf” or “G” time, and which is eleven hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time in Washington.

19. For details of the patrol boat attack on North Vietnam, see Marolda and Fitzgerald,
United States
Navy
, p. 409. For San Miguel intercept, see message, 310922Z, USN 27 to QUEBEC/QUEBEC, “DRV Naval Communications Reflect ‘Enemy’
Incursion, 31 July 1964,” July 31, 1964, November 2005 NSA Gulf of Tonkin document release.

20. Marolda and Fitzgerald,
United States Navy
, p. 411.

21. Marolda and Fitzgerald,
United States Navy
, p. 411. For North Vietnamese radar surveillance of the
Maddox
, see message, 010546Z, USN 27 to DIST QUEBEC/QUEBEC, “Possible Reflection Desoto Patrol Noted DRV Naval Communications,”
August 1, 1964, November 2005 NSA Gulf of Tonkin document release.

22. Message, 011924Z Aug 64, USN-27 to Dist Quebec/Mike, “DRV Navy May Attack Desoto Patrol,” August 1, 1964, November 2005
NSA Gulf of Tonkin document release; Hanyok, “Skunks, Bogies,” p. 13.

23. Message, 012152Z Aug 64, USN-27 to Dist Quebec/Mike, “DRV Navy May Attack Desoto Patrol,” August 1, 1964, November 2005
NSA Gulf of Tonkin document release. See also Marolda and Fitzgerald,
United States Navy
, pp. 411–12; Edwin E. Moïse, “Tonkin Gulf: Reconsidered,” in William B. Cogar,
New Interpretations in Naval History: Selected Papers from the Eighth Naval
History Symposium
(Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1989), pp. 305–06. For intercepts, see “The ‘Phantom Battle’ That Led to War,”
U.S. News & World Report
, July 23, 1984, p. 59.

24. CINCPAC,
1964 Command History
, p. 368; Marolda and Fitzgerald,
United States Navy
, pp. 412–13.

25. CINCPAC,
1964 Command History
, p. 368; Marolda and Fitzgerald,
United States Navy
, p. 414; Moïse,
Tonkin Gulf
, pp. 73–74.

26. Message, DIRNSA B205/981-64, 020302Z Aug 64, DIRNSA to COMSEVENTHFLEET, “Possible Planned Attack by DRV Navy on Desoto
Patrol,” August 2, 1964, p. 1, November 2005 NSA Gulf of Tonkin document release; memorandum, Hughes to the Secretary,
Incident Involving
Desoto Patrol
, August 2, 1964, November 2005 NSA Gulf of Tonkin document release; Hanyok, “Skunks, Bogies,” pp. 13–14.

27. Marolda and Fitzgerald,
United States Navy
, pp. 414–15; Moïse,
Tonkin Gulf
, p. 74.

28. The torpedo intercept can be found in message, 020635Z Aug 64, USN-414T to USN-27, August 2, 1964, November 2005 NSA Gulf
of Tonkin document release. For issuing of CRITIC message, see Johnson,
American Cryptology
, bk. 2., p. 516; Hanyok, “Skunks, Bogies,” p. 14.

29. Marolda and Fitzgerald,
United States Navy
, p. 414; “The ‘Phantom Battle,’ ”
U.S. News & World
Report
, pp. 59, 63; Moïse, “Tonkin Gulf: Reconsidered,” p. 306; Moïse,
Tonkin Gulf
, pp. 73–76.

30. Marolda and Fitzgerald,
United States Navy
, p. 415; “The ‘Phantom Battle,’ ”
U.S. News & World
Report
, p. 59.

31. National Cryptologic School,
On Watch: Profiles from the National Security Agency’s Past 40 Years
(Fort Meade, MD: NSA/CSS, 1986), p. 45. NSA FOIA.

32. Lyndon Baines Johnson,
The Vantage Point: Perspectives of the Presidency, 1963–1969
(New York: Holt, 1971), p. 113; Christopher Andrew,
For the President’s Eyes Only
(New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1995), pp. 317–18; “The ‘Phantom Battle,’ ”
U.S. News & World Report
, p. 60; U.S. Department of State,
Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968,
vol. 1,
Vietnam 1964
(Washington, DC: GPO, 1992), pp. 590–97.

33. Transcript of telephone call between Johnson and McNamara, August 3, 1964, 10:20 a.m., tape WH6408.03, Recordings of Telephone
Conversations— White House Series, Recordings and Transcripts of Conversations and Meetings, LBJL, Austin, TX; U.S. Department
of State,
Foreign
Relations
, vol. 1, pp. 598–99, 603; “The ‘Phantom Battle,’ ”
U.S. News & World Report
, pp. 60–61.

34. Message, DIRNSA 021268Z, DIRNSA to OSCAR VICTOR ALPHA, “SIGINT Readiness Bravo Lantern Established,” August 2, 1964, November
2005 NSA Gulf of Tonkin document release; Johnson,
American Cryptology
, bk. 2, p. 516; Hanyok, “Skunks, Bogies,” p. 18.

35. Hanyok, “Skunks, Bogies,” p. 19.

36. Moïse,
Tonkin Gulf
, p. 75.

37. Hanyok, “Skunks, Bogies,” p. 20; oral history,
Interview with Captain Frederick M. Frick
, January 8, 1996, p. 10, Oral History Project, Vietnam Archive, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX.

38. Johnson,
American Cryptology,
bk. 2, p. 518. See also U.S. Senate, Foreign Relations Committee,
The Gulf of Tonkin, the 1964 Incidents
, 90th Congress, 2nd session, 1968, pp. 67–68; CINCPAC,
1964 Command History
, p. 369; Marolda and Fitzgerald,
United States Navy
, p. 423;
Pentagon Papers
, Gravel ed., vol. 5, p. 325; Anthony Austin,
The President’s War
(New York: J. B. Lippincott Co., 1971), p. 277.

39. Marolda and Fitzgerald,
United States Navy
, pp. 423–24;
Pentagon Papers
, Gravel ed., vol. 5, p. 325; Moïse, “Tonkin Gulf: Reconsidered,” p. 308.

40. Johnson,
American Cryptology
, bk. 2, p. 518; “The ‘Phantom Battle,’ ”
U.S. News & World Report
, p. 61.

41. U.S. Senate, Foreign Relations Committee,
The Gulf of Tonkin, the 1964 Incidents,
90th Congress, 2nd session, 1968, pp. 33, 40.

42. National Cryptologic School,
On Watch
, p. 46.

43. Marolda and Fitzgerald,
United States Navy
, p. 426; National Cryptologic School,
On Watch
, pp. 46–47.

44. Johnson,
American Cryptology
, bk. 2, p. 518; Hanyok, “Skunks, Bogies,” p. 22.

45. U.S. Senate, Foreign Relations Committee,
The Gulf of Tonkin, the 1964 Incidents,
90th Congress, 2nd session, 1968, pp. 34–35; Moïse,
Tonkin Gulf
, p. 113; Marolda and Fitzgerald,
United
States Navy
, pp. 426–27;
Pentagon Papers
, Gravel ed., vol. 5, p. 325; John Galloway,
The Gulf of
Tonkin Resolution
(Rutherford, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1972), pp. 290–91.

46. Over the next three hours (seven forty-one to ten forty p.m.), three separate surface contacts were tracked by the radar
operators of the
Maddox
and the
Turner Joy.
Herrick concluded that the “skunks” had to be North Vietnamese torpedo boats, since the contacts were moving at speeds in
excess of thirty knots.

47. Johnson,
American Cryptology
, bk. 2, p. 520; Marolda and Fitzgerald,
United States Navy
, p. 437; “The ‘Phantom Battle,’ ”
U.S. News & World Report
, p. 61; Moïse, “Tonkin Gulf: Reconsidered,” p. 308.

48. Marolda and Fitzgerald,
United States Navy
, p. 437.

49. Marolda and Fitzgerald,
United States Navy
, p. 434; “The ‘Phantom Battle,’ ”
U.S. News & World
Report
, pp. 62–63.

50. Marolda and Fitzgerald,
United States Navy
, pp. 437–40;
Pentagon Papers
, Gravel ed., vol. 5, p. 326; “The ‘Phantom Battle,’ ”
U.S. News & World Report
, p. 63.

51. Marolda and Fitzgerald,
United States Navy
, p. 440;
Pentagon Papers
, Gravel ed., vol. 5, p. 327; U.S. Senate, Foreign Relations Committee,
The U.S. Government and the Vietnam War: Executive
and Legislative Roles and Relationships
, part 2,
1961–1964
, 98th Congress, 2nd session, 1984, pp. 290–91.

52. National Cryptologic School,
On Watch
, p. 49.

53. “The ‘Phantom Battle,’ ”
U.S. News & World Report
, pp. 62–63; National Cryptologic School,
On
Watch
, p. 48; U.S. Senate, Foreign Relations Committee,
The U.S. Government and the Vietnam
War: Executive and Legislative Roles and Relationships
, part 2,
1961–1964
, 98th Congress, 2nd session, 1984, pp. 291–92.

54. U.S. Senate, Foreign Relations Committee,
The U.S. Government and the Vietnam War: Executive
and Legislative Roles and Relationships
, part 2,
1961–1964
, 98th Congress, 2nd session, 1984, p. 292;
Pentagon Papers
, Gravel ed., vol. 5, p. 327.

55. Marolda and Fitzgerald,
United States Navy
, p. 441;
Pentagon Papers
, Gravel ed., vol. 5, p. 327; “The ‘Phantom Battle,’ ”
U.S. News & World Report
, p. 63.

56. U.S. Department of State,
Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968
, vol. 1,
Vietnam 1964
(Washington, DC: GPO, 1992), p. 609; U.S. Senate, Foreign Relations Committee,
The U.S.
Government and the Vietnam War: Executive and Legislative Roles and Relationships
, part 2,
1961–
1964
, 98th Congress, 2nd session, 1984, p. 292.

57. Electrical report, 2/O/VHN/T10-64, DIRNSA to OSCAR/VICTOR ALPHA,
DRV Naval Entity
Reports Losses and Claims Two Enemy Aircraft Shot Down
, August 4, 1964, 2242G, November 2005 NSA Gulf of Tonkin document release; Hanyok, “Skunks, Bogies,” p. 25.

58. Moïse, “Tonkin Gulf: Reconsidered,” p. 313.

59. Johnson,
American Cryptology
, bk. 2, p. 520.

60. Moïse,
Tonkin Gulf
, p. 197.

61. Oral history,
Interview with Dr. Ray S. Cline
, May 31, 1983, p. 33, LBJL, Austin, TX.

62. Hanyok, “Skunks, Bogies,” p. 32.

63. Confidential interviews.

64. Electrical report, 2/O/VHN/T10-64, DIRNSA to OSCAR/VICTOR ALPHA,
DRV Naval Entity
Reports Losses and Claims Two Enemy Aircraft Shot Down
, August 4, 1964, 2242G, November 2005 NSA Gulf of Tonkin document release; Hanyok, “Skunks, Bogies,” p. 33.

65. Hanyok, “Skunks, Bogies,” p. 34.

66. Ibid., pp. 34–35.

67. U.S. Senate, Foreign Relations Committee,
The U.S. Government and the Vietnam War: Executive
and Legislative Roles and Relationships
, part 2,
1961–1964
, 98th Congress, 2nd session, 1984, p. 292; “The ‘Phantom Battle,’ ”
U.S. News & World Report
, p. 63.

68. Transcript of conversation between Sharp and Burchinal, 5:23 PM EDT 4 August 1964, in
Gulf
of Tonkin Transcripts
, pp. 36–37, Document No. 751, DoD FOIA Reading Room, Pentagon, Washington, DC. See also Marolda and Fitzgerald,
United States Navy
, pp. 441–42;
Pentagon
Papers
, Gravel ed., vol. 5, p. 327; U.S. Senate, Foreign Relations Committee,
The U.S. Government
and the Vietnam War: Executive and Legislative Roles and Relationships
, part 2,
1961–1964
, 98th Congress, 2nd session, 1984, pp. 292, n42, 295–96.