A Group of 4 Presidential Signing Pens

A total of four fountain pens by Esterbrook, 6 1/2 in.; 150 mm in length,  the barrels of black plastic, the stems of clear plastic, engraved in white ink "The President - The White House";  housed in a cardboard box,  which is annotated "From the signing 3-20-64."

Escalating the war in Vietnam. In his memoirs, Robert McNamara observed that in a memorandum dated 2 March 1964, the Joint Chiefs of Staff "reaffirmed their view of 'the overriding importance to the security interests of the United States of preventing the loss of South Vietnam.'" To achieve this objective they urged the destruction of military and industrial targets in North Vietnam, mining its harbors, and establishing a naval blockade (In Retrospect, p. 111). To this end, President Johnson signed a bill on 20 March 1964 authorizing appropriations for defense procurement and for research and development. In a public statement released that day, Johnson declared "The bill ... is the largest separate fund authorization ever enacted by Congress. It provides almost $17 billion for the activities of the Defense Department. This bill authorizes over 2,700 aircraft, 35,000 missiles, 53 new ships, and 7 ship conversions."