Veterans of Last Battle of Vietnam Remember Koh Tang

Koh Tang: Survivors of last Vietnam battle go back to honor missing comrades
Stars and Stripes
Matthew M Burke
June 28, 2015

KOH TANG, Cambodia — Forty years ago, scores of inexperienced U.S. servicemembers waged a largely forgotten battle in a largely unknown place to rescue a mysterious ship from an unfamiliar enemy.

Forty-one American servicemembers were killed in the operation, including three Marines who were left behind, ending the dark chapter of U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia — one that many seemed more than willing to forget.

In May, veterans of the battle of Koh Tang, also known as the “Mayaguez Incident” or the last battle of the Vietnam War, returned to the small, jungle-blanketed Cambodian island in the Gulf of Thailand for the anniversary of the ill-fated mission.

They disregarded persistent health problems, braved the unrelenting demons that have plagued their thoughts since 1975, and carried a message to the U.S. government and the American public at large: We will never forget.
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Return to Koh Tang: Veterans of Mayaguez Operation Return for the 40th Anniversary
Jun 24, 2015

On May 12, 2015 veterans and members of their families returned to Koh Tang, a small island off the Cambodian coast to commemorate what is considered by many to be the last battle of the Vietnam War.

Produced by Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes