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Osotogary
05-12-03, 11:18 AM
..The Mayaquez incident and the end of the Vietnam War.
This is the title of a book that I just recently read by Ralph Wetterhahn, a former US Air Force Pilot who did combat tours in Vietnam with the Air Force and Navy, completing 180 missions.

When the last American helicopter flew off the island (Koh Tang), three Marines still bravely guarding the flank of the American postion were left behind. There names being Lance Corporal Joseph N. Hargrove, Private First Class Gary L. Hall and Private Danny G. Marshall.

"In the end, the majority of our troops and the entire crew of the Mayaquez got out. However, of the forty-one that gave there lives during the Mayaquez Incident, only twenty-three of the deceased were sent home for burial in 1975. The remains of nine lost on Koh Tang were returned to next of kin in 2000. For nine others, including the three who were captured, even that dignity has been delayed. Hargrove, Hall, and Marshall have become the Private Ryans of the Vietnam War, except unlike in the fictional WW II movie, no one came back to save them."

The author spent six years investigating and researching this incident. This book is not an easy read and it will probably make you shake your head with disgust but the lessons learned from this book, if applied, will certainly benefit todays Armed Forces. I think that it is a good and an honest read.

May all those who perished rest in peace.

Gary