- Milwaukee, Wisconsin, plunged to -26 degrees on Jan. 17, their coldest temperature in 111 years. - Montgomery, Alabama (-2), Jackson, Mississippi (-5), and Atlanta (-5) each plunged below zero. - Snow at rush hour on Jan. 11 slickened streets, stranding motorists in Atlanta.
The American public was incensed, and Johnson requested from Congress the authority to take âall necessary stepsâ to protect U.S. interests in Vietnam. Congress complied and passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in August 1964.
This incident caused Congress to authorize President Johnson to use all forces he deemed necessary to deal with the Vietnam situation. While not really a declaration of war, it was used by Johnson as authority to send major US forces into S. Vietnam and was the start of the major build up in 1965.