Our guest today is author and retired Navy radar specialist John F. Calder. His book Fire for Effect chronicles his one-year tour of duty during the critical early days of the Vietnam War aboard two US. destroyers the USS McDermott the USS Stoddard ­– whose main mission was to provide gunfire on shore in support of the 3rd U.S. Marine Division – deployed to Da Nang.

Calder’s account centers on the events of early August 1964, when North Vietnamese torpedo boats allegedly attacked American destroyers in international waters. The USS Stoddard played a direct role in the military response that followed these incidents, firing some of the first American shots in what would become a lengthy and controversial conflict.

Calder recounts the sequence of events with precision, explaining the tactical decisions made by commanders and the operational realities faced by sailors in a tense and uncertain situation. Most importantly, he provides firsthand evidence to prove how the pivotal Gulf of Tonkin incident, that triggered the famed 1964 congressional resolution that authorized the U.S. to take military action in Vietnam, could not have happened as described by authorities at the time.

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