The Last Battle of the Vietnam War: The Mayaguez incident

During the rescue attempt military intelligence figured the island had maybe 40 armed fisherman and a few Khmer soldiers guarding the captured crew members of the ship Mayaguez but in reality there were over 200 dug in Khmer soldiers with heavy weapons waiting for a possible Vietnamese attack. The Khmer filled the American helicopters full of holes and several were shot down and furthermore the crew of the Mayaguez was not on the island as they had been released and were on a Thai fishing trawler heading for a port in Thailand.

Before the invasion of the island the Marine Major who went to get some maps of the island was not on the SI list. The Air Force Captain told the major, " Sorry sir you are not on the list to get these maps ".. After explaining to the Captain that the maps were essential as he was going to be assaulting the island shortly ! The Air Force Captain finally agreed that there must be a break down in communication so he released the aeiral maps. The Air Force Captain lost his security clearance and was basically drummed out of the service for using common sense instead of SOP.. Typical...I have seen others lose their security clearance for much less..


There were 3 Marines who were preforming a rear guard operation and trying to suppress enemy fire while the helicopters extracted the remaining Marines. They were left behind and promptly executed when captured. The Video says 48 American troops were killed but at the time I was told 54 has been killed if my memory from a long time ago is intact ??


youtu.be...

Were the remains of the KIAs ever returned to the US?

originally posted by: starviego
Were the remains of the KIAs ever returned to the US?

It was only much later that the USA was informed the 3 who had been captured had been executed. I never heard of their remains being found or returned,, However I was far removed from knowing one way or the other by then.

If I were to bet the bodies were dumped into the ocean for fish food. I doubt the Khmer would expend the energy to bury any American they killed especially with an ocean within arms length.

I am so glad the Vietnamese finally went in an got ride of Pol Pot and his demented evil regime.

I have this vague memory that the operation was successful. apparently not.

our people deserved better leadership.

communism really ruins everything it touches. what a messed up part of the world. I hope things are better now.

a reply to: 727Sky


Here is an unusual fact.

The Last Battle Of The English Civil War was actually fought in Maryland.

The Battle of the Severn was a skirmish fought on March 25, 1655, on the Severn River at Horn Point, across Spa Creek from Annapolis, Maryland, in what at that time was referred to as the Puritan settlement of "Providence", and what is now the neighborhood of Eastport.

It was an extension of the conflicts that formed the English Civil War,[2] pitting the forces of Puritan settlers against forces aligned with Lord Baltimore, then Lord Proprietor of the colony of Maryland. It has been suggested by Radmila May that this was the "last battle of the English Civil War."[3]

en.wikipedia.org...

Sorry to thread drift, but i thought that maybe interesting regarding " Last Battles "

a reply to: 727Sky
Here is Kissinger's account of the opening of the incident, from his point of view. As Secretary of State, he was having the usual morning meeting with his senior staff. One of them, when it was his turn to speak, reported that an American merchant ship had been captured by the Cambodians;
"He was unable to enlighten me when I asked incredulously 'How can that be?''- addresssed as much to the event as to the fact that I should be learning of it in such an offhand fashion. The hapless Zurhellen, having himself been informed only two minutes before the meeting, replied truthfully 'It's beyond me.' Zurhellen was then subjected to a barrage of questions from an increasingly testy Secretary of State- from 'how long did the report of the capture sit on various desks before it reached the top levels?' to "what are we doing about it?'"

He has one relevant exrtra detail on the Koh Tang attack; "Because we believed the Mayaguez crewmen to be there, no preparatory bombardment had taken place".

All from "Years of Renewal", ch18.