Capture and Release of SS Mayaguez by Kmer Rouge forces in May 1975 (original) (raw)

Volunteers from USNS Greenville Victory [photos from Sealift]

The volunteers were briefed at 11 PM and at midnight were aboard an Air Force C-141 on their way to Utapao Air Base in Thailand where 1,100 Marines landed after flights from the Philippines and Okinawa. U.S. Air Force planes sank three Cambodian gunboats to prevent their taking Mayaguez crew to the mainland.

The Marines showed the MSC mariners photos of the Mayaguez and discussed plans to retake the ship. First Officer Harriman told the Marines they could have the ship under way within 2 to 6 hours after boarding -- if nothing was damaged.

In a three pronged attack:

• Marines were to overpower Cambodian soldiers believed to be aboard the Mayaguez, allowing the MSC crewmen to prepare and sail the ship to safety.
• Marines in helicopters were to make an amphibious assault on Kaoh Tang island.
• Navy aircraft from the carrier USS Coral Sea were to strike military targets in the mainland Kompong Som area.

Just before boarding the SS Mayaguez, USNS Greenville Victory First Officer Clinton Harriman (left) Second Engr. Michael Saltwick (right) discuss the boarding operation with USS Holt skipper Cmdr. Robert Peterson (center) [U.S. Navy photo from Sealift]

At 3 AM on May 15, the Marines, an Army linguist, 6 volunteer USAF bomb disposal experts, 6 sailors from USS Duluth, and the 6 MSC mariners boarded 3 helicopters bound for the USS Harold E. Holt, which was to provide a boarding platform for the assault. The CH-53s were too big for the Holt's helicopter pad, so the men in one helicopter clambered down rope ladders; others went down the cargo ramp as the helicopters touched down only their rear wheels.

USS Harold E. Holt alongside the SS Mayaguez [U.S. Navy photo from Sealift]

Boarding the SS Mayaguez
Air Force planes dropped tear gas on the Mayaguez in advance of the boarding. USS Holt maneuvered alongside and 48 Marines stormed over the side like swashbuckling pirates. They found no one aboard.

About 8 AM the MSC mariners, wearing gas masks, boarded the Mayaguez . Within 5 minutes, they had the emergency diesel generator running. At 8:20 AM the Marines raised the American flag

.
Marines wearing gas masks board the SS Mayaguez [U.S. Navy photo from Sealift]

Marines raised the American flag [U.S. Navy photo from Sealift]

The volunteers hauled out tow lines and cut the anchor chain with an acetylene torch. At 10:45 AM, USS Holt began her tow, while MSC engineers worked to get steam up.

Release of the Mayaguez crew
About that time, a Thai fishing boat approached the USS Wilson which was off Kaoh Tang island supporting the amphibious assault. Aboard the boat, which was captured by the Cambodians a few days earlier, was a Thai crew and the 39 men of the Mayaguez. They had been set free by their captors after being moved earlier in the day to Kompong Som in a small Cambodian gunboat. They had then been moved again to tiny Kach Island and had been freed there.

At noon, all Mayaguez crewmen were back aboard their own ship. The volunteers continued to assist until 7:30 PM, when they climbed into an Army tug boat and then were flown to the MSC office in Sattahip.

Marine Assault on Kaoh Tang Meanwhile, on the northern tip of Kaoh Tang, the marine assault force arriving at 6 AM on the east and west beaches met heavy fire. Khmer Rouge held their fire until the CH-53 helicopters were close in. Machine guns, mortars, and rocket propelled grenade launchers devastated the helicopters. At 7:30 AM only 109 of the planned 180 marines were on the island in 3 separate locations, with Khmer Rouge infantry entrenched in bunkers in the 1000 feet of jungle between them. A-7D Corsairs provided cover, but the Mayaguez crew was thought to be in a building directly by the gun emplacements.

At 11:30 AM, 100 more marines landed. The plan called for 250 marines in the second wave, but by then there were only 4 helicopters available. Then word came of the safe arrival of the Mayaguez crew on the USS Wilson and the marines planned their withdrawal. Khmer reinforcements coming in from the south were stopped by 15,000 pound BLU-82 bombs.

After the last helicopter left around 8 PM, a head count showed 3 marines were left behind on the island. In 1999, Department of Defense investigators found evidence to indicate one of the Marines was killed a few days later while trying to steal food from the Khmer Rouge. The other two were captured within a few days, executed, and buried on Kaoh Tang island.

The final U.S. tally for the assault: