page_title: Mayaguez incident
section_title: Fishing boats interdicted
hierarchical_section_title: Mayaguez incident / U.S. rescue preparations / Fishing boats interdicted
caption_attribution_description: Aerial surveillancs showing two Khmer Rough gunboats during the initial seiziing of the SS Mayaguez
context_page_description: The Mayaguez incident took place between Kampuchea and the United States from 12–15 May 1975, less than a month after the Khmer Rouge took control of the capital Phnom Penh ousting the U.S.-backed Khmer Republic. After the Khmer Rouge seized the U.S. merchant vessel SS Mayaguez in a disputed maritime area the U.S. mounted a hastily-prepared rescue operation. U.S. Marines recaptured the ship and attacked the island of Koh Tang where it was believed that the crew were being held as hostages. Encountering stronger than expected defenses on Koh Tang, three United States Air Force helicopters were destroyed during the initial assault and the Marines fought a desperate day-long battle with the Khmer Rouge before being evacuated. The Mayaguez's crew were released unharmed by the Khmer Rouge shortly after the attack on Koh Tang began. It was the last battle of the Vietnam War and the names of the Americans killed, including three Marines left behind on Koh Tang after the battle and subsequently executed by the Khmer Rouge, are the last names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
context_section_description: U.S. Navy warships Coral Sea, Harold E. Holt and Henry B. Wilson were all scheduled to arrive on station by 15 May, but none of these ships carried any troops. USS Hancock carried a Marine contingent but could not arrive on station until 16 May, while USS Okinawa also carried Marines but could not arrive until 18 May.
  III Marine Amphibious Force (III MAF) assigned Task Force 79.9 with recovering Mayaguez and designated D Company 1/4 Marines in the Philippines as the unit that would actually retake Mayaguez, but General Burns wanted additional force and orders were sent to the 3rd Marine Division on Okinawa. 1st Battalion, 9th Marines (BLT 1/9) was then on alert as the primary "air contingency" reaction force, but most of BLT 1/9 were ending their tours of duty and were not subject to further extension of their tours except in the case of emergency. III MAF requested the extension of BLT 1/9's tour but this was refused. 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines (BLT 2/9) (commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Randall W. Austin) was then in a training exercise on Okinawa and it received orders on the night of 13 May to return to camp and prepare for departure by air at dawn on 14 May. On the morning of 14 May BLT 2/9 boarded USAF C-141s at Kadena Air Base to fly to Thailand. The 9th Marine Regiment had been the first U.S. ground combat force committed to the Vietnam War in 1965, but in May 1975 only a few of the officers and non-commissioned officers from BLT 2/9 had seen combat in Vietnam.
  
  Nine USAF HH-53C Jolly Green helicopters of the 40th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron and 10 CH-53 Knives of the 21st Special Operations Squadron stationed at Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Navy Base were available for the rescue operation. There were differences between the two types which would become relevant during the battle: the HH-53 was air-refuellable, had 450 US gallons (1,700 l; 370 imp gal) self-sealing fuel tip tanks, a tail minigun with armor plating, and two waist miniguns. The CH-53 was not air-refuellable, had 650 US gallons (2,500 l; 540 imp gal) non-self-sealing tip tanks and two waist miniguns. Thus, the HH-53's fuel tanks were less vulnerable to ground fire and with its refueling capability, could remain in the battle area indefinitely as long as it had access to an aerial tanker.
  On 13 May Burns and his Seventh Air Force staff developed a contingency plan to retake Mayaguez using an assault force composed of men of the USAF 56th Security Police Squadron. 75 volunteers from the 56th would be dropped onto the containers on the decks of Mayaguez on the morning of 14 May. In preparation for this assault five HH-53s and seven CH-53s were ordered to proceed to U-Tapao for staging. At approximately 21:15, one of the 21st SOS CH-53s (68-10933, call sign Knife 13) crashed en route to U Tapao, killing 18 security police and its five-man crew.
  President Ford chaired an NSC meeting at 10:22 EDT (21:22 Cambodia), where the Air Force rescue plan was cancelled due to the loss of Knife 13 and the fact that the containers on Mayaguez could not bear the weight of the helicopters while rappelling men down would expose them to gunfire. It was decided that it was necessary to wait for the Navy ships to arrive off Koh Tang and for the Marines to assemble in Thailand before a rescue attempt would be mounted. President Ford ordered the Air Force to stop any Cambodian boats moving between Koh Tang and the mainland.
  Early on the morning of 14 May, the Khmer Rouge loaded Mayaguez's crew onto one of the fishing boats and they left Koh Tang following two of the Swift Boats on a heading for Kampong Som. Two F-111s swept past the fishing boat, followed by a pair of F-4s and a pair of A-7s, which began firing in front of the Swift Boats and then directly at the Swift Boats, causing one of them to turn back to Koh Tang. The jets were then joined by an AC-130H Spectre gunship from the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing which proceeded to engage the second Swift Boat with its cannons. An A-7D then sprayed the Swift Boat with its 20 mm cannon, sinking it. The fighters then cam
caption: An aerial surveillance photo showing two Khmer Rouge Swift Boats during the initial seizing of the SS Mayaguez
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