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2004-08-13 Home Front: Politix

The Truth About 'Christmas in Cambodia' From Someone Who Would Know

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Posted by Capt America 2004-08-13 1:59:09 AM|| || Front Page|| [2 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 What's significant is that this guy pointed out that the Khmer Rouge didn't start shooting at anyone until 1972.

Posted by Ptah 2004-08-13 7:55:52 PM|| [http://www.crusaderwarcollege.org] 2004-08-13 7:55:52 PM|| Front Page Top

#2 Perhaps he was shot at by the Khmer Mauve.

Posted by Shipman 2004-08-13 8:08:23 PM|| 2004-08-13 8:08:23 PM|| Front Page Top

#3 Hard to know when you're in a fetal position on the deck, no?

Posted by Frank G 2004-08-13 8:13:24 PM|| 2004-08-13 8:13:24 PM|| Front Page Top

#4 As U.S. forces in 1966 and 1967 progressively pushed the Vietnamese Communists farther and farther away from Vietnamese population centers, U.S. commanders sought permission for "hot pursuit" operations against Communist forces attacking from Cambodian territory. This always was denied, much to the military's frustration.

The Cambodians patrolled the crossing border points on the Bassac and Mekong Rivers and had fortifications above the frontier. In mid-1968, just before Adm. Zumwalt took over, a U.S. Army LCM landing craft sailing north on the Mekong River â loaded with lubricants, gas, rations, beer and a forklift, as well as a number of U.S. soldiers â missed the turn from the Mekong River to the Bassac River (the two main north-south rivers that flow through the Mekong Delta) in order to reach its destination on the southern portion of the Bassac. Apparently the troops were somewhat bemused from the heat and the beer consumed and sailed right up into Cambodia, where they were halted by a Cambodian patrol craft and taken to the frontier base and then up to Phnom Penh. Gen. Creighton Abrams, newly in command, was furious, and Adm. Zumwalt's predecessor was nonplussed, blurting out that it wasn't one of his boats.

Gen. Abrams snarled, "Yeah, it was one of mine and why did they do it?" We got the crew and LCM back eventually, but that was the only river incident involving the Cambodian border or Navy actions inside Cambodia to my recollection.

Posted by Wuzzalib 2004-08-13 8:45:12 PM|| 2004-08-13 8:45:12 PM|| Front Page Top

#5 Maybe only Kerry's swiftboat was chosen for the operation secretly because the spooks thought that a guy packing his own Super 8 and shooting without orders in formation was a good security risk.

Posted by Super Hose 2004-08-13 9:01:40 PM|| 2004-08-13 9:01:40 PM|| Front Page Top

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