 On 2 August 1964, one destroyer, the was involved in a naval skirmish with North Vietnamese Vietnam People's Navy torpedo boats within North Vietnamese waters.On 4 August 1964, the "Maddox" and another destroyer, the , initially claimed to have been attacked by the North Vietnamese torpedo boats in international waters on a stormy night, but shortly afterward reported there was probably no attack.Captain John J. Herrick of the "Maddox" reported that the "torpedo boats" were almost certainly just radar "blips" caused by the "freak weather effects" of the storm and the reports of an attack on his ship were due to an "overeager" radar operator who mistook the radar blips for torpedo boats.