THE U.S. was rapidly assembling one of history's most powerful naval armadas in the Gulf of Tonkin. It was shipping M48 tanks into Danang, landing tank-destroying, guided-missile helicopters from West Germany, reopening a bomber base in Thailand. Fresh fighter-bombers winged into the theater, bringing to 1,000 the number of U.S. planes poised to strike North Viet Nam. The gathering force had been ordered into place by a U.S. President who seemed determined either to blunt the Communist offensive that threatened to overpower such key South Vietnamese cities as Hué and Kontum,...
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