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I had my appendix removed unexpectedly on Christmas Eve, and while I was released from the hospital in time to enjoy most of Christmas Day with my family, this why there is no new episode this week. I hope everyone else's Christmas was better than mine!

Episode 145: The Mayaguez Incident - The Last American Casualties in Vietnam, Part V

     

As things were falling apart on nearby Koh Tang, 1/4 Marines from the frigate USS Harold E. Holt brings 1/4 Marines from the Philippines along side the stricken SS Mayaguez.

Believing the commercial ship to be held by an unknown number of armed Khmer hijackers, US aircraft engulfed the Mayaguez in tear gas before the Marines boarded.

By the time the Marines returned to the Holt, it was clear that only a few Khmer Rouge fighters had stayed on the ship and they abandoned the vessel when the tear gas was dropped.

The SS Mayaguez, retaken without a shot fired, was hooked up to the Holt and towed away from Koh Tang.

Episode 144: The Mayaguez Incident - The Last American Casualties of Vietnam

Bad intelligence plus bad timing equals a bad plan. Last week we saw the bad intelligence when no photos of the objective were available so the Marine making the plan flew over the site at 4500 feet with his personal 35mm camera. This week we see the bad timing I've been eluding to. The bad intelligence and bad timing come together for a disastrous first fifteen minutes of the battle for the Mayaguez and her crew.

Aside from losing three of the first four helicopters that tried to insert Marines onto the beaches of Koh Tang island (two of which can be seen in the first photo on east beach) the forth bird was so damaged that the pilot abandoned the mission, taking her 20 Marines back to Thailand. It was likely the right call as it didn't make it back to U-Tapao Royal Air Base in Thailand before it had to be abandoned.

Episode 143: The Mayaguez Incident - The Last American Casualties in Vietnam, Part III

US reconnaissance planes lost track of the Mayaguez crew when the trawler they were on arrived at the port of Kompong Som on mainland Cambodia. Because of that, US planners continued to plan for a rescue under the assumption that the crew was split between the Mayaguez itself and Koh Tang island and their estimate of how many Khmer soldier were on Koh Tang was off by 90%. Both of which led to a rescue plan that would not be well suited for the reality on the ground.

Oh, and the reconnaissance photos the Marines used to plan the operation was taken with one of their officer's personal 35-mm camera from 4500 feet above the island because apparently no other photos of Koh Tang existed in Thailand where the planning was taking place.  

Episode 142: The Mayaguez Incident - The Last American Casualties in Vietnam, Part II

The last image of the Knife 13 casualties just before they took off

As the first day of the Mayaguez Incident was coming to a close, US officials were gathering Marines from The Philippines and Okinawa for a potential rescue attempt. Seventh Air Force Commander, on the ground in Thailand, tried to include his airmen but that... well, that did not go well. One of the helicopters moving to the staging area crashed - call sign Knife 13 - killing all 23 people aboard, 5 crew and 18 passengers. Just last month a monument was dedicated to honor those killed at the Air Force Security Forces Museum at Joint Base San Antonio - Lackland in Texas

The Knife 13 Memorial dedicated October 10, 2024 at Joint Base San Antonio - Lackland, Texas

As the second day of the incident dawned in Southeast Asia, the air force did all in its power, the the use of fighters and attack aircraft, the prevent the Cambodians from transferring their prisoners to the mainland were President Ford felt it would be much more difficult to get them back unharmed.