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Inadvertently Left Behind...............

Three Marines were left behind on Koh Tang. They are
Joseph N. Hargrove, Gary L. Hall, and Danny G. Marshall.
In the amlost 27 years since that battle, we wonder if anyone
has ever explained to the Hargrove, Hall, and Marshall families
how these men were "inadvertently left behind." Or, why it was
"to late" to go back for them. Imagine what these men thought as
they waitied for rescue and their thoughts when they finally realized
no one was coming for them.

REMARKS: 750515 MAYAGUEZ INCIDENT LOSS
SYNOPSIS: When U.S. troops were pulled out of Southeast Asia in
early 1975, Vietnamese communist troops began capturing one city after
another, with Hue, Da Nang and Ban Me Thuot im March, Euan Loc in
April, and finally on April 30, Saigon. In Cambodia, communist
Khmer Rouge had captured the capital city of Phnom Penh on April 17.
The last Americans were evacuated from Saigon During "Option IV", with
U.S. Abassador Martin departing on April 29. The war, according to
President Ford, "was finished."

2Lt. Richard Van de Geer, assigned to the 21st Special Ops Squadron at
NKP, had participated in the evacuation of Saigon, where helicopter pilots
were required to fly from the decks of the 7th Fleet carriers stationed
some 500 miles offshore, fly over armed enemy-held territory, collect
American and allied personnel and return to the carriers via the same
hazardous route, heavily loaded with passengers. Van de Geer wrote to a
friend, "We pulled out close to 2,000 people. We couldn't pull out any more
because it was beyond human endurance to go any more...."

At 11:21 a.m. on May 12, the U.S. merchant ship S.S. MAYAGUEZ was seized
by the Khmer Rouge in the Gulf of Siam about 60 miles from the Cambodian
coastline and eight miles from Poulo Wai Island. The ship, owned by
Sea-Land Corporation, was en route to Sattahip, Thailand from Hong Kong,
carrying a non-arms cargo for military bases in Thailand.

Capt. Charles T. Miller, a veteran of more than 40 years at sea, was on
the bridge. He had steered the ship within the boundaries of international
waters, but the Cambodians had recently claimed territorial waters 90 miles
frm the coast of Cambodia. The thrity-nine seamen aboard the MAYAGUEZ
were taken prisoner.

President Ford ordered the aircraft carrier USS CORAL SEA, the guided
missle destroyer USS HENRY B. WILSON and the USS HOLT to the area of
seizure. By night, a U. S. reconnaissance aircraft located the MAYAGUEZ
at anchor off Poulo WaI Island. Plans were made to rescue the crew. A
battalion landing team of 1,100 Marines was ordered flown from bases in
Okinawa and the Philippines to assemble at Utapoa, Thailand in preparation
for the assault. The first casualties of the effort to free the MAYAGUEZ
are recorded on May 13 when a helicopter carrying Air Force security team
personnel crashed en route to Utapoa, killing all 23 aboard.

Early in the moring of May 13, the MAYAGUEZ was ordered to head for Koh
Tang island. Its crew was loaded aboard a Thai fishing boat and taken first
to Koh Tang, then to the mainland city of Kompong Song, then to Rong
San Lem island. U.S. intelligence had observed a cove with considerable
activity on the island of Koh Tank, a small five-mile long island about
35 miles off the coast of Cambodia southwest of the city of Sihanoukville
(Kampong Saom), and believed that some of the crew might be held there.
They also knew of the Thai fishing boat, and had observed what appeared
to be caucasians aboard it, but it could not be determined if some or
all of the crew was aboard.

The USS HOLT was ordered to seize and secure the MAYAGUES, still anchored
off Koh Tang. Marines were to land on the island and rescue any of the
crew. Navy jets from the USS CORAL SEA were to make four strikes on
military installments on the Cambodian mainland.

On May 15, the first wave of 179 Marines headed for the island aboard
eight Air Force "Jolly Green Giant" helicopters. Three Air Force heli-
copters unloaded Marines from the 1st Battalion, 4th Marines onto the
landing pad of the USS HOLT and then headed back to Utapoa to pick up the
second wave of Marines. Planes dropped tear gas on the MAYAGUEZ, and the
USS HOLT pulled up along side the vessel and the Marines stormed aboard.
The MAYAGUEZ was deserted.

Simultaneously, the Marines of the 2/9 were making their landing on two
other areas of the island. The eastern landing zone was on the cove side
where the Cambodian compound was located. The western landing zone was a
narrow spit of beach about 500 feet behind the compound on the other side
of the island. The Marines hoped to surround the compound.

As the first troops began to unload on both beaches, the Cambodians
opened fire. On the western beach, one helicopter was hit and flew off
crippled, to ditch in the ocean about 1 mile away. The pilot had just
disembarked his passengers, and he was rescued at sea.

Meanwhile, the eastern landing zone had become a disaster. The first two
helicopters landing were met by emeny fire. Ground commander, (now) Col.
Randall W. Austin had been told to expect between 20 to 40 Khmer Rouge
soldiers on the island. Instead, between 150 and 200 were encountered.
First Lt. John Shramm's helicopter tore apart and crashed into the surf
after the rotor system was hit. All aboard made a dash for the tree
line on the beach.

One CH53A helicopter was flown by U.S. Air Force Major Howard Corson and
2Lt. Richard Van de Geer and carrying 23 U.S. Marines and 2 U.S. Navy
corpsmen, all from the 2nd Battalion, 9th Mrines. As the helicopter
approached the island, it was caught in a cross fire and hit by a rocket.
The severely damaged helicopter crashed into the sea just off the coast
of the island and exploded. To avoid enemy fire, survivors were forced to
swim out to sea for rescue. Twelve aboard, including Maj. Corson, were
rescued. Those missing from the helicopter were 2Lt. Richard Van de Geer,
PFC Daniel A. Benedett, PFC Lynn Blessing, PFC Walter Boyd, Lcpl. Gegory
S. Copenhaver, Lcpl. Andres Garcia, PFC James J. Jacques, PFC James R.
Maxwell, PFC Richard W. Rivenburgh, PFC Antonio R. Sandoval, PFC Kelton
R. Turner, all U.S. Marines. Also missing were HM1 Bernard Gause, Jr. and
HM Ronald J. Manning, the two corpsmen.

Other helicopters were more successful in landing their passengers. One
CH53A, however was not. SSgt. Elwood E. Rumbaugh's aircraft was near the
coastline when it was shot down. Rumbaugh is the ony missing man from the
aircraft. The passengers were safely extractred. (It is not known whether
the passengers went down with the aircraft or whether they were rescued
from the island.)

By midmorning, when the Cambodians on the mainlnad began receiving reports
of the assult, they ordered the crew of the MAYAGUEZ on the Thai boat, and
then left. The MAYAGUEZ crew was recovered by the USS WILSON before the
second wave of Marines was deployed, but the second wave was ordered
to attack anyway.

Late in the afternoon, the assult force had consolidated its position on
the western landing zone and the eastern landing zone was evacuated at
6:00 p.m. By the end of the 14-hour operation, most of the Marines were
extracted from the island safely, with 50 wounded. Lcpl. Ashton Loney had
been killed by enemy fire, but his body couldnot be recovered.