An article in the New York Times, covering the second instance, in which United States Naval vessels engaged with alleged North Vietnamese patrol boats. While the article mentions that the conditions in the operating environment made it difficult to ascertain whether or not North Vietnamese patrol boats were present in the area, President Johnson ordered airstrikes on North Vietnamese targets. Given that a similar incident occurred weeks prior, the United States was highly willing to increase its presence in Vietnam, due to the perceived communist aggression.
