|
| combatant2 = | commander1 = Randall W. Austin | commander2 = Em Son | strength1 = ~220 marines plus air and naval support | strength2 = 85–100 | casualties1 = 15 killed in action 3 missing in action and presumed dead 23 killed en-route in helicopter failure 50 wounded 3 CH-53 helicopters destroyed | casualties2 = 13–25 killed in action on Koh Tang, unknown killed on swift boats and Cambodian mainland 15 wounded in action 4 Swift Boats sunk | campaignbox = }} The ''Mayaguez'' incident took place between the Kingdom of Cambodia and the United States from May 12–15, 1975, less than a month after the Khmer Rouge took control of the capital Phnom Penh ousting the U.S. backed Khmer Republic. It was the last official battle of the Vietnam War. The names of the Americans killed, as well as those of three U.S. Marines who were left behind on the island of Koh Tang after the battle and were subsequently executed by the Khmer Rouge, are the last names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The merchant ship's crew, whose seizure at sea had prompted the U.S. attack, had been released in good health, unknown to the U.S. Marines or the U.S. command of the operation before they attacked. Nevertheless, the Marines boarded and recaptured the ship anchored offshore a Cambodian island, finding it empty. It was the only known engagement between U.S. ground forces and the Khmer Rouge. ==Khmer Rouge seize the ''Mayaguez''== The crisis began on the afternoon of May 12, 1975, as the American container ship , owned by Sea-Land Service Inc., passed nearby Poulo Wai island en route to Sattahip, Thailand, in waters claimed as 12 nautical miles of territorial waters by Cambodia. The U.S. did not recognize 12 nautical miles territorial waters claims at that time, recognizing only 3 nautical miles, and characterised the location as international sea lanes on the high seas.〔 U.S. military reports state that the seizure took place 6 nautical miles off the island,〔 but crew members brought evidence in a later legal action that ''Mayaguez'' had sailed about two nautical miles off Poulo Wai and was not flying a flag.〔 At 14:18, a Khmer Rouge naval forces "Swift Boat" was sighted approaching the ''Mayaguez''.〔 The Khmer Rouge fired across the bow of the ''Mayaguez'' and when Captain Charles T. Miller ordered the engine room to slow down to maneuvering speed to avoid the machine-gun fire, the Khmer Rouge then fired a rocket-propelled grenade across the bow of the ship. Captain Miller ordered the transmission of an SOS and then stopped the ship.〔 Seven Khmer Rouge soldiers boarded the ''Mayaguez'' and their leader, Battalion Commander Sa Mean, pointed at a map indicating that the ship should proceed to the east of Poulo Wai.〔 One of the crew members broadcast a Mayday which was picked up by an Australian vessel.〔 The ''Mayaguez'' arrived off Poulo Wai at approximately 16:00 and a further 20 Khmer Rouge boarded the vessel. Sa Mean indicated that the ''Mayaguez'' should proceed to Ream on the Cambodian mainland, but Captain Miller showed that the ship's radar was not working and mimed the ship hitting rocks and sinking. Sa Mean radioed his superiors and was apparently instructed to stay at Poulo Wai, dropping anchor at 16:55.〔 The ''Mayaguez'' was carrying 107 containers of routine cargo, 77 containers of government and military cargo, and 90 empty containers, all insured for $5 million.〔 The Khmer Rouge never inspected the containers, and exact contents have not been disclosed, but the ''Mayaguez'' had loaded containers from the U.S. Embassy in Saigon nine days before the fall of Saigon. The captain had a U.S. government envelope only to be opened in special circumstances, which he destroyed.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mayaguez incident」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|