Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, August 5, 1994                   TAG: 9408050084
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: HANOI, VIETNAM                                 LENGTH: Medium

VIETNAM MARKS DAY

Thirty years ago this week, U.S. aircraft attacked North Vietnam in the Tonkin Gulf incident, setting the stage for an American military buildup and the most divisive foreign war in U.S. history.

Relations between Vietnam and the United States now are at their best since the conflict ended in 1975, and Hanoi's quiet marking of the anniversary is evidence of its eagerness to restore full diplomatic ties with its former foe.

U.S. planes bombed North Vietnamese naval bases and an oil depot on Aug. 5, 1964, to retaliate for what the Pentagon said at the time were torpedo boat attacks against two American destroyers in North Vietnam's Tonkin Gulf.

Two U.S. aircraft were shot down. One U.S. pilot was killed and another became the first of nearly 600 American flyers to be captured by the communists during the war.

President Lyndon Johnson submitted a resolution to Congress later the same day asking for expanded war powers in Southeast Asia. Congress overwhelmingly passed what became known as the Tonkin Gulf resolution on Aug. 7.

Coverage of the anniversary by official Vietnamese newspapers on Thursday was subdued compared to the extensive wordage of past years. This year, only two papers - Nhan Dan (The Masses) and Quan Doi Nhan Dan (People's Army) - covered it at all, and they buried the stories on their inside pages.

The attack was synonymous with armed provocation and signaled the start of an aggressive war against North Vietnam, the army daily said. It added that North Vietnamese gunners shot down eight U.S. planes, not two.

Vietnam's relations with the United States have improved steadily in recent months. President Clinton lifted the 19-year U.S. embargo against Vietnam in February, and the two nations are due to open diplomatic missions any day. The missions are an important step toward the ultimate exchange of ambassadors.