GBH Openvault

Vietnam: A Television History; Simulated Tonkin Gulf Incident! At Sea

Part of The Vietnam Collection.

08/14/1964

1) MCU R. C. Barnhart (C. O. of USS Turner Joy, DD-951) scanning the horizon, with a pair of binoculars; telephone talker is standing next to him, wearing phones and helmet; open sea off to right. VG2) CU C. O. of USS Turner joy, scanning the horizon, thru his field glasses, from open bridge. VG3) CU LT. J. Palmer (Operation"s officer) looking thru sighting area on pelorus, giving bearings; Lieutenant. Palmer is wearing helment.4) LA CU Signalman sending message by signal light, from USS Turner Joy. VG5) MS Signalman sending up a hoist, from flagbag. G6) CU Lookout scanning the horizon, with his binoculars, sending a report over phones, as he points with his right hand, after putting down the binoculars; he again raises the binoculars, scans the horizon. G7) MCU Interior view of the space, showing men operating the tracking devices; two men are on the radar; third man is standing in BG, with phones. G8) CU Man on station, working radar tracking device. VG9) MS Flashes from gun fire on fantail of USS Turner Joy, during the night. VG10) CU C. O. of USS Turner Joy, speaking on ship’s intercom; C. O. is wearing a helmet, binoculars, and some sort of khaki life vest. VG11) CU Officers and men gathered around shart table in radar room, onboard USS Turner Joy, plotting a course. VG12) CU Man on radar scope; shipmate standing to his left, with phones, as is the man on radar scope. G13) CU Two officers and enlisted man on scope; small bit of a sweep is seen from distance; both officers and enlisted man are wearing phones, as markings are made on radar screen. G14) MS T. L. Billingsley (AO3) pulling a 1000 1b. bomb, from bomb elevator, on small bomb cart, after the bomb arrives at the flight deck on the elevator. G15) CU J. E. Danial unloading rockets from elevator, by a trailer, and pulling the rockets out of frame to left. G16) CU Looking down over bomb elevator; 250 1b. fragmentation bombs come up on elevator; handle is attached to small cart; three of the bombs are pulled off. G17) MS 1000 1b. bomb coming up on elevator to flight deck level; R. A. Eggan pulls the bomb from the elevator, onto flight deck. G18) MS A-1H spotted on flight deck of USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14); others seen spotted in BG; bombs are loaded on wings of the aircraft. G19) MS Ordnance-man hanging bombs on A-1H aircraft wing is a 250 1b. fragmentation bomb. G20) CU Gas crew fueling the wing pod on A-1H aircraft; hoses in FG. G21) MS Men pushing bomb carts over the flight deck, with bombs to be loaded aboard the aircraft. G22) MS Four pilots in flight gear, walking toward camera, over flight deck; island in far BG. G23) MS Two ordnance-men using the small bomb hoist, to hoist a 1000 1b. bomb under the under carriage of A-1H. VG24) LA MS LCDR. Brumbaugh boarding A-1H, climbing into cockpit. G25) LA MCU Lieutenant Commander. Brumbaugh in his cockpit; plane captain comes up onto wing, hands the pilot his hard hat helmet, assists pilot with his harness; plane captain is A. Kolesar (Adran). VG26) ECU Ordnance-man working underneath the aircraft; 1000 1b. bomb is seen hooked up under undercarriage to left.

Series

Vietnam: A Television History

Title

Simulated Tonkin Gulf Incident! At Sea

Series Description

This 13 part series covers the history of Vietnam from France's colonial control, through the 1945 revolution, to the 1975 U.S. evacuation from Saigon and the years beyond. The series' objective approach permits viewers to form their own conclusions about the war. 101--Roots of a War--Despite cordial relations between American intelligence officers and Communist leader Ho Chi Minh in the turbulent closing months of World War II, French and British hostility to the Vietnamese revolution laid the groundwork for a new war. 102--The First Vietnam War (1946-1954)--The French generals expected to defeat Ho's rag-tag Vietminh guerrillas easily, but after eight years of fighting and $2.5 billion in U.S. aid, the French lost a crucial battle at Dienbienphu--and with it, their Asian empire. 103--America's Mandarin (1954-1963)--To stop the spread of communism in Southeast Asia, America replaced France in South Vietnam--supporting autocratic President Ngo Dinyh Diem until his own generals turned against him in a coup that brought political chaos to Saigon. 104--LBJ Goes to War (1964-1965)--With Ho Chi Minh determined to reunite Vietnam, Lyndon Baines Johnson determined to prevent it, and South Vietnam on the verge of collapse, the stage was set for massive escalation of the undeclared Vietnam War. 105--America Takes Charge (1965-1967)--In two years, the Johnson Administration's troop build-up dispatched 1.5 million Americans to Vietnam to fight a war they found baffling, tedious, exciting, deadly and unforgettable. 106--America's Enemy (1954-1967)--The Vietnam War as seen from different perspectives: by Vietcong guerrillas and sympathizers; by North Vietnamese leaders; by rank and file; and by American held prisoner in Hanoi. 107--Tet (1968)--The massive enemy offensive at the Lunar New Year decimated the Vietcong and failed to topple the Saigon government, but led to the beginning of America's military withdrawal. 108--Vietnamizing the War (1968-1973)--President Nixon's program of troop pull-outs, stepped-up bombing and huge arms shipments to Saigon changed the war, and left GI's wondering which of them would be the last to die in Vietnam. 109--Cambodia and Laos--Despite technical neutrality, both of Vietnam's smaller neighbors were drawn into the war, suffered massive bombing, and in the case of Cambodia, endured a post-war holocaust of nightmare proportions. 110--Peace is at Hand (1968-1973)--While American and Vietnamese continued to clash in battle, diplomats in Paris argued about making peace, after more than four years reaching an accord that proved to be a preface to further bloodshed. 111--Homefront USA--Americans at home divide over a distant war, clashing in the streets as demonstrations lead to bloodshed, bitterness and increasing doubts about the outcome. 112--The End of the Tunnel (1973-1975)--Through troubled years of controversy and violence, U.S. casualties mounted, victory remained elusive and American opinion moved from general approval to general dissatisfaction with the Vietnam war. 113--Legacies--Vietnam is in the Soviet orbit, poorer than ever, at war on two fronts; America's legacy includes more than one half million Asian refugees, one half million Vietnam veterans and some questions that won't go away. Series release date: 9/1983

Duration

00:10:53

Asset Type

Stock footage

Media Type

Video

Subjects

Radar receiving apparatus

Navigation

Nationalism and communism

Department of the Navy. Ticonderoga (Aircraft carrier). (05/08/1944 - 01/09/1947)

National liberation movements

Radar

Department of Defense. Department of the Navy. Turner Joy (Destroyer). (08/03/1959 - 11/22/1982)

Communication

Sailors

Naval officers

Vietnam War, 1961-1975

Destroyers (Warships)

Communications, Military

Tonkin, Gulf of (Asia) gulf

Signal flags

Locations

Gulf of Tonkin, Asia

Genres

Documentary

Topics

War and Conflict

Creators

Ellison, Richard (Series Producer)

Publication Information

NARA

Rights Summary

Public Domain Rights Holder: NARA

Citation

Chicago: “Vietnam: A Television History; Simulated Tonkin Gulf Incident! At Sea,” 08/14/1964, GBH Archives, accessed November 21, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_854AFB697BF148508D6E7BB811128707.

MLA: “Vietnam: A Television History; Simulated Tonkin Gulf Incident! At Sea.” 08/14/1964. GBH Archives. Web. November 21, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_854AFB697BF148508D6E7BB811128707>.

APA: Vietnam: A Television History; Simulated Tonkin Gulf Incident! At Sea. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_854AFB697BF148508D6E7BB811128707