The Curious Chronology of the Mayaguez Incident

In April of 1975, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was quoted in the Washington Post as follows: "The U. S. must carry out some act somewhere in the world which shows its determination to continue to be a world power. " The following month came the "Mayaguez Incident. " The Mayaguez was an American cargo ship sailing from South Vietnam to Thailand in mid-May just three weeks after the defeat of the United States in Vietnam. When it came close to an island in Cambodia, where a revolutionary regime had just taken power, the ship was stopped by the Cambodians, taken to a port at a nearby island, and the crew removed to the mainland. President Ford demanded the release of the crew, and when thirty-six hours passed without their release (though it was not clear his demand had been received by the Cambodians), he began military operations. It was bizarre that the United States should use this situation to try to reestablish its reputation as the foremost military power in the world. As a columnist for the Boston Globe at this time, I wrote the following piece, which appeared in the May 23, 1975 issue.

It was a small incident, they say. Restraint was used. No B 52s. Only 15 or 18 of our men died, by gunfire or drowning. Add 23 killed in a hushed-up helicopter crash over Thailand. Only 50 wounded.