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[[File:Maddox.JPEG|250px|thumbnail|left|USS Maddox]]

On November 22, 1963, John Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as president later that day. A myriad of issues confronted the new president, not the least of which was the ongoing crisis in Vietnam. Earlier in 1963, the US-backed president of South Vietnam, Diem, and his brother were assassinated as well. This led the North Vietnamese to increase their efforts in the south. 1964 promised to be a volatile year in an already charged arena.