Jim Topkoff - Member since 2015
I entered the Navy in May of 1962. After boot camp and RM”A” school, I served aboard the USS Towers DDG-9 during 1963 and 1964. In August of 1964 I received orders to report to NAVCOMMSTA Guam and served the balance of my enlistment as a communications specialist in the message center at the communications station.
On the night of August 2, 1964 I was the watch supervisor when the “Gulf of Tonkin incident” occurred with the USS Maddox DD 731 that reported it was fired upon by the Viet Cong. After a night of receiving “Flash” traffic from COMPACFLT to the White House and then return “Flash” traffic from then President Lyndon Johnson and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, the United States became fully involved in the Vietnam War.
Even though my official orders did not place me directly in Vietnam, I was honored to be a part of the hundreds of thousands of military personnel around the world who supported the efforts of those on the ground in Vietnam with pride and a sense of responsibility.
James L. Topkoff RM3 USN, 1962-1966
On the night of August 2, 1964 I was the watch supervisor when the “Gulf of Tonkin incident” occurred with the USS Maddox DD 731 that reported it was fired upon by the Viet Cong. After a night of receiving “Flash” traffic from COMPACFLT to the White House and then return “Flash” traffic from then President Lyndon Johnson and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, the United States became fully involved in the Vietnam War.
Even though my official orders did not place me directly in Vietnam, I was honored to be a part of the hundreds of thousands of military personnel around the world who supported the efforts of those on the ground in Vietnam with pride and a sense of responsibility.
James L. Topkoff RM3 USN, 1962-1966
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