VIII. U.S. Reaction To Events in the Gulf of Tonkin, August 1–10


285. Memorandum of a Telephone Conversation Between the Secretary of State in Washington and the Representative at the United Nations (Stevenson) in

Source: Department of State, Rusk Files: Lot 72 D 192, Telephone Conversations. No classification marking. Transcribed by Proctor.


287. Telegram From the Embassy in Vietnam to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Saigon Embassy Files: Lot 68 F 8. Top Secret; Flash; Exdis; Pierce Arrow. Received at 11:58 p.m., August 4. Drafted by Taylor. Also sent to the Department of Defense and repeated to CINCPAC, CIA, and the White House.


288. Telegram From the Department of State to the Mission at the United Nations

Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Confidential. Drafted by Cleveland.


289. Telegram From the Embassy in Vietnam to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Secret Immediate; Exdis; Pierce Arrow. Also sent to the Department of Defense and repeated to CINCPAC, CIA, and the White House. Received at 6:09 a.m.


290. Memorandum for the Record of the White House Staff Meeting

Source: National Defense University, Taylor Papers, T–202–69. Secret; Eyes Only. Drafted by William Y. Smith.


291. Record of the Secretary of State’s Staff Meeting

Source: Department of State, Secretary’s Staff Meetings: Lot 66 D 147. Secret. Drafted by Richard T. Davies, Deputy Executive Secretary.


293. Memorandum of a Telephone Conversation Between the Secretary of State and the Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs (Bundy)

Source: Department of State, Rusk Files: Lot 72 D 192, Telephone Conversations. No classification marking. Transcribed by June M. Robinson of the Operations Staff.


294. Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs (Cleveland) to the Secretary of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S/UN. Confidential. Drafted and initialed by Cleveland and sent to Rusk through S/S.


295. Letter From Chairman Khrushchev to President Johnson

Source: Department of State, Presidential Correspondence: Lot 77 D 163. No classification marking. The Russian text of the signed original, which was handed to Ambassador Kohler at 9 p.m. on August 5 is ibid. Presumably this translation was made in the Embassy in Moscow.


296. Memorandum From the Director of the Policy Planning Council (Rostow) to the Secretary of State

Source: Department of State, S/P Files: Lot 70 D 199, Vietnam. Secret. Initialed by Rostow and sent to Rusk through S/S. The source text bears the handwritten notation “Secretary Saw.” Also published in Declassified Documents, 1979, 92C.


298. Memorandum of a Conversation, White House

Source: Department of State, President’s Memoranda of Conversation: Lot 66 D 149. Confidential. Drafted by Cleveland and approved in the White House on August 17. U Thant held a similar conversation with Rusk at 1:15 p.m. during a working luncheon at the Department of State. (Ibid., Secretary’s Memoranda of Conversation: Lot 65 D 330)


299. Memorandum of a Telephone Conversation Between the Secretary of State and the Director of Central Intelligence (McCone)

Source: Department of State, Rusk Files: Lot 72 D 192, Telephone Conversations. No classification marking. Transcribed by Proctor.


300. Telegram From the Embassy in Vietnam to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Top Secret; Exdis. Also sent to the Department of Defense and the White House. According to another copy, this telegram was drafted by Sullivan and signed for Taylor by Johnson. (Ibid., Saigon Embassy Files: Lot 68 F 8)


302. Letter From President Johnson to Chairman Khrushchev

Source: Department of State, Presidential Correspondence: Lot 77 D 163. No classification marking. Also published in Declassified Documents, 1978, 315B.


303. Telegram From the Commander, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (Westmoreland) to the Commander in Chief, Pacific (Sharp)

Source: Washington National Records Center, RG 319, HQDA Message Center, Reel 11888. Top Secret. Repeated to the Embassy in Saigon and to the JCS.


304. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Canada

Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Top Secret; Immediate; Exdis. Drafted by William Bundy and cleared in draft with McNamara, Ball, and McGeorge Bundy. Also sent to Saigon. The message and a McNaughton draft of it, dated August 7, are printed in Pentagon Papers: Gravel Edition, vol. III, pp. 519–522.


305. Telegram From the Embassy in Vietnam to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 33–6 US–VIET N. Secret; Priority; Limdis. Repeated to Bangkok, Vientiane, and CINCPAC. Also printed in Pentagon Papers: Gravel Edition, vol. 111, pp. 522–524.


306. Telegram From the Embassy in Vietnam to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 27 VIET S. Secret; Priority; Exdis. Received at 10:07 a.m. and passed to the White House, the Department of Defense, and CIA later that day. A summary of the telegram is printed in Pentagon Papers: Gravel Edition, vol. III, pp. 530–533.


307. Memorandum for the Record of a Meeting, Cabinet Room, White House

Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Aides Files, McGeorge Bundy, Meetings on Southeast Asia, Vol. 1. Top Secret. Drafted by McGeorge Bundy.