The last US battle in Southeast Asia
May 12, 2005 6:44 AM Subscribe
Thirty years ago today, on May 12, 1975, less than two weeks after the fall of Saigon, the U.S. flagged container ship Mayaguez was seized by the Cambodian Khmer Rouge who took the crew hostage. Late that night the ship was located, anchored off a tiny island called Koh Tang in the Gulf of Siam. U.S. President Gerald Ford ordered the aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea, the guided missile destroyer USS Henry B. Wilson and the frigate USS Holt to the area of
seizure. He also ordered a battalion of Marines to assault the island and rescue the crew.
The rescue was bungled. 41 US servicemen were killed. The crew of 39 was released.
Ford did the right thing.
posted by orthogonality at 6:57 AM on May 12, 2005
posted by orthogonality at 6:57 AM on May 12, 2005
i agree orthogonality. ford actually showed amazing restraint. the tragedy of vietnam were still too fresh. i remember my parents fretting that this would draw america in a war with cambodia (which considering what the khmer rouge did, might not have been a bad idea.)
i shudder to think what bush would do if something similar happened today.... wait a minute... something similar did happen under dear leader's first term. and the swaggering cowboy didn't do ANYTHING.
posted by three blind mice at 7:10 AM on May 12, 2005
i shudder to think what bush would do if something similar happened today.... wait a minute... something similar did happen under dear leader's first term. and the swaggering cowboy didn't do ANYTHING.
posted by three blind mice at 7:10 AM on May 12, 2005
Because attacking China is a great analogy to to attacking Cambodia.
posted by iamck at 8:14 AM on May 12, 2005
posted by iamck at 8:14 AM on May 12, 2005
OK, I don't get it. Ford launches an unnecessary attack that produces only casualties and humiliation, and he's shown "amazing restraint." Bush eschews the use of force in favor of diplomacy and patience, and he's a "swaggering cowboy." Are you being sarcastic?
posted by coelecanth at 8:15 AM on May 12, 2005
posted by coelecanth at 8:15 AM on May 12, 2005
coelecanth, ford can't be blamed for tactical failures in the field. the marines who assaulted koh tang were told to expect light resistance from a few dozen rebels, they were met with heavy resistance from a few hundred well-armed and well-trained khmer rouge.
if i remember correctly, a lot of people were calling for ford to send the B-52s to flatten cambodia. by organizing a rescuse mission, instead of preparing for war, i think he showed a lot of restraint. i don't know if history gives him credit for this.
imack, yes it's not a fair comparison, but it is striking to me the image GWB has today compared to the weakling who entered the oval office. what you call "diplomacy and patience" i call spineless inaction.
it resulted in one of the most humuliating episodes of recent american history. the chinese held a crew of 24 US servicemen for almost two weeks while the plane full of highly sensitive military secrets was dismantled by the chinese. the chinese even sent a bill to washington for "hosting" the crew and the aircraft.
clumsy jerry ford, who was not elected, and who entered office under the worst of conditions, took decisive and restrained action.
posted by three blind mice at 9:07 AM on May 12, 2005
if i remember correctly, a lot of people were calling for ford to send the B-52s to flatten cambodia. by organizing a rescuse mission, instead of preparing for war, i think he showed a lot of restraint. i don't know if history gives him credit for this.
imack, yes it's not a fair comparison, but it is striking to me the image GWB has today compared to the weakling who entered the oval office. what you call "diplomacy and patience" i call spineless inaction.
it resulted in one of the most humuliating episodes of recent american history. the chinese held a crew of 24 US servicemen for almost two weeks while the plane full of highly sensitive military secrets was dismantled by the chinese. the chinese even sent a bill to washington for "hosting" the crew and the aircraft.
clumsy jerry ford, who was not elected, and who entered office under the worst of conditions, took decisive and restrained action.
posted by three blind mice at 9:07 AM on May 12, 2005
imack, yes it's not a fair comparison, but it is striking to me the image GWB has today compared to the weakling who entered the oval office. what you call "diplomacy and patience" i call spineless inaction.
While I agree with your characterization of Ford here, what would you have done differently if you were in Bush's place?
posted by me & my monkey at 12:52 PM on May 12, 2005
While I agree with your characterization of Ford here, what would you have done differently if you were in Bush's place?
posted by me & my monkey at 12:52 PM on May 12, 2005
imack, yes it's not a fair comparison, but it is striking to me the image GWB has today compared to the weakling who entered the oval office. what you call "diplomacy and patience" i call spineless inaction.
WTF is wrong with you? You wanted bush to attack china?! The service people were released without incident. And not only that, but they were released in two weeks. You apperantly think bush should have plowed through military action in less then two weeks.
Ugh, un-beliveable. Just un-beliveable. If you really think the US could have gotten away with a violent rescue attempt, you have no idea what the current geo-political situation is like.
ugh, how stupid.
posted by delmoi at 1:29 PM on May 12, 2005
WTF is wrong with you? You wanted bush to attack china?! The service people were released without incident. And not only that, but they were released in two weeks. You apperantly think bush should have plowed through military action in less then two weeks.
Ugh, un-beliveable. Just un-beliveable. If you really think the US could have gotten away with a violent rescue attempt, you have no idea what the current geo-political situation is like.
ugh, how stupid.
posted by delmoi at 1:29 PM on May 12, 2005
what would you have done differently if you were in Bush's place?
Exactly. Now, if Gore had been in charge then, the righties would have strung him up by his balls on general principle, but if you can't posit a better course of action you have no grounds for criticism.
posted by Heywood Mogroot at 2:53 PM on May 12, 2005
Exactly. Now, if Gore had been in charge then, the righties would have strung him up by his balls on general principle, but if you can't posit a better course of action you have no grounds for criticism.
posted by Heywood Mogroot at 2:53 PM on May 12, 2005
Just to digress from the political flaming for a second, I was in Udorn, Thailand when this went down, working in a US communications center. We monitored most of the (then) classified traffic concerning the operation, and the thing I remember most was the confusion. In retrospect, the op was laid on hastily, with flawed intelligence, and poor communications setup. You have to remember that comms then were nowhere near what we enjoy today. For a while, I think we there in the commcenter were the only people who knew that the crew had been released *before* the second wave of the assault on Koh Tang.
The political fallout included a worsening of relations between the U.S. and Thai governments, since the Marines involved were staged from a Untited States airbase after the Thai government had refused permission to do so, being concerned with the repercussions of an attack on Cambodia launched from Thai soil.
One of the immediate effects was that Thailand ordered the US to begin removing its troops from the country. I was one of the first so ordered to leave, about 10 days later.
posted by pjern at 8:32 PM on May 12, 2005
The political fallout included a worsening of relations between the U.S. and Thai governments, since the Marines involved were staged from a Untited States airbase after the Thai government had refused permission to do so, being concerned with the repercussions of an attack on Cambodia launched from Thai soil.
One of the immediate effects was that Thailand ordered the US to begin removing its troops from the country. I was one of the first so ordered to leave, about 10 days later.
posted by pjern at 8:32 PM on May 12, 2005
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On May 15th, the first wave of 179 Marines headed for the island aboard eight Air Force "Jolly Green Giant" CH53A helicopters. The marines were met by heavy opposition. By the end of the 14-hour operation, most of the Marines were extracted from the island safely, with 50 wounded. 14 US Marines, including Andres Garcia, were killed. Prompted by a retaliatory strike on mainland targets by A-6s based on the USS Coral Sea, the Khmer Rouge released the Mayaguez’s crew, sending them out in a Thai fishing boat. 18 men missing, are still listed among the missing from the Vietnam war.
In 1988, the communist government of Kampuchea (Cambodia) announced that it wished to return the remains of several dozen Americans to the United States. Om March 20, 2000 the Garcia family received a call from the Marines. "Basically, they called and said his remains have been found and are going to be returned for burial."
posted by three blind mice at 6:46 AM on May 12, 2005