THE 14-H0UR WAR: VALOR ON KOH TANG AND THE RECAPTURE OF THE SSMAYAGUEZ

摘要

Mayaguez - an odd name and the principal pawn in a game of power politics played out right at the end of the Vietnam War in the Gulf of Thailand. Late on 12 May 1975, just a month after the USA had evacuated its embassy in Phnom Penh and three weeks after the much- broadcast footage of its staff being lifted off the roof of the of the US Embassy in Saigon, Khmer Rouge forces intercepted the US-flagged SS Mayaguez off the Cambodian coast. Without diplomatic representation in the region the US Government was unable to seek an explanation for this action and, fearful of further humiliation, elected to regard the incident as an act of piracy.