Incident Daniel Ellsberg, who was on duty in the Pentagon the night of 4 August, receiving messages from , reported that she was on a DESOTO mission near Northern Vietnamese territorial waters.Polmar, Norman "The U. S. Navy Electronic Warfare (Part 1)" United States Naval Institute Proceedings October 1979 p.138 On 31 July 1964, Maddox had begun her mission in the Gulf of Tonkin. Captain George Stephen Morrison was in command of local American forces from his flagship . Maddox was under orders not to approach closer than eight miles (13 km) from North Vietnam's coast and four miles (6 km) from Hon Nieu island. When a MACV-SOG commando raid was being carried out against Hon Nieu, the ship was away from the attacked area.
Incident Daniel Ellsberg, who was on duty in the Pentagon the night of 4 August, receiving messages from , reported that she was on a DESOTO mission near Northern Vietnamese territorial waters.Polmar, Norman "The U. S. Navy Electronic Warfare (Part 1)" United States Naval Institute Proceedings O.ctober 1979 p.138 On 31 July 1964, Maddox had begun her mission in the Gulf of Tonkin. Captain George Stephen Morrison was in command of local American forces from his flagship . Maddox was under orders not to approach closer than eight miles (13 km) from North Vietnam's coast and four miles (6 km) from Hon Nieu island When a MACV-SOG commando raid was being carried out against Hon Nieu, the ship was away from the attacked area.