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8/12/10 Here is something worth checking out. One of the best overviews of the Mayaguez Mission that I have seen by Wikipedia. Check it out. ______________________________________________________________________
Go to the Reunion Page to see all the pictures from the 2010 Branson Reunion
____________________________________________________________________ 5/21/2010 A note from Lt Col Randal Austin for the reunion. To the Marine, Air Force and Navy Warriors of the Mayaguez/ Koh Tang Team and our great friends at Sealand: As you gather in Branson to celebrate the 35th anniversary of our operation off Cambodia in May 1975, I send my personal best wishes and warmest regards. During this reunion you should bond with your comrades-in-arms and reflect with extreme pride on our success in executing an extremely difficult mission, a mission critical to the image of our country in those troubled times. We did so on the shortest of notice, far away from our home bases and with very limited resources. As Senator John McCain said in his speech dedicating the Mayaguez Memorial in Cambodia " when the time came for them to answer their country's call and fight on a field they did not know, they came. And on that small island they served well the country that sent them there." The battle colors of the Second Battalion, Ninth Marine Regiment bear a streamer for the Navy Unit Commendation, our nation's second highest unit award. One of the stars on that streamer represents our award for the Koh Tang operation. It is lasting testimony to the skilled and courageous roles that each of you played. But, I ask that we all also view our operation in a broader perspective. Other streamers on that battle color, and counterpart symbols in other units and organizations, reflect the long and glorious performance of our nation's military forces in the defense of our freedom. We are honored to have added a page to that illustrious history but understand that new chapters have been added since and that the book will forever remain unfinished. We were, and are, part of something that is very much larger and more powerful than ourselves or our units. It is a calling that binds our predecessors, us and our successors to the fabric of our great country. Best wishes to each of you. Enjoy the reunion and continue to take care of each other. Semper Fi, Randy Austin Colonel, U. S. Marine Corps (Ret) Commanding Officer, BLT 2/9, 1975 This note is from Col Austin Korean Defense Service Medal We are eligible for this, follow the info below to apply. As I interpret the criteria, members of
2/9 that deployed to Korea in the summer of 1975 are eligible. There is a
self certification process with form
PUSH FOR DOWNLOAD of self
certification form. You may also need
the Battalion Unit Diary
I recommend the following for the form Unit Assigned/TAD (While in Korea): 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division Base Location/Name of Exercise/Operation in Korea: Embarked aboard U.S. Navy ships off shore in ROK; ashore in tent camp at Pohang for extended training with ROK Marines; reembarked and amphibious landing near Pohang as part of joint/combined exercise that was predecessor to the Team Spirit series; reembarked for liberty port visit in Inchon before return to Okinawa. Dates in Area of Eligibility : late June 1975 to Early September 1975
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Mayaguez Fallen Heroes
Al Mahan has created the Mayaguez Fallen Heroes page ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
updated 4/27/10 Wise Advise from the family of one of our Fallen Hero's. Founders of the Ronnie Hughes Memorial Fund
Reunion Newsletter now available! Click Here to download CURRENT Newsletter. Check out older news letters
Scott Barron request ______________________________________ A New book about the Mayaguez Recovery Mission Here is a great read for you all!
AN ACT OF PIRACY by Gerald Reminick
_________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Your help is needed in locating those involved with the mission. Call Al Bailey at (301) 854-3452 or if you are looking for someone yourself, feel free to call Al anytime; hopefully we will have the contact information. _______________________________________________________________________
Available at the Koh Tang Store
Check out the new 8" patch.
3" available too!
It looks great on a
JOINT POW/MIA Accounting
Command (JPAC)
West Beach dig site To see many more pictures from this dig click here This is part of a email from Monte Marchant , Quartermaster of VFW 11575 post in Cambodia. Monte: I recently went with JPAC (Joint POW/MIA Accounting
Command) out to Koh Tang and have some
updates. Most importantly, there has been a recovery on the Island. There will
a repatriation ceremony on March 1st at the Phnom Penh airport. Mayaguez
Memorial Post members will be attending and participating in the
ceremony. We'll ensure we have adequate photo/video coverage to capture the
memories and pass them on. As of 1/30/09 we still have no definite word on what they found on the dig. The last word we got was they did recover some very small samples but what they had were not the good enough quality to get DNA from. Also I understand that a cousin of LCpl. Joseph Hargrove is with JPAC on this dig and here is a news paper story about it. On the trail of his family's hero
For nearly a year Cary Turner has told the story of U.S. Marine
Lance Cpl. Joseph Hargrove -- of how he was left behind on the small
Cambodian island of Koh Tang in 1975 and of the years it took before
his family began to learn the truth. And for almost that long,
Turner has been telling people that he wants to watch the members of
the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) team when they excavate
his cousin's suspected gravesite -- just to make sure they do their
job, just so the family knows every effort was made. Now,
after months of planning and fundraising, he is there, having
arrived in Cambodia on Jan. 16. Before he left, Turner
admitted that he was nervous about making the trip -- nervous about
the potential of camping out on the island, of not knowing the
language or the culture, and of simply being taken out of his
comfort zone. "I'm getting a little bit stressed, a
little anxious," he said. "I've been talking the talk and now it's
time to walk the walk." Fortunately, he said via
satellite phone last week, things are going better than expected.
"We're in pretty safe here," he said. "It's a beautiful place."
Helping assuage those earlier feelings of nervousness, he explained,
was the meeting he had with the U.S. ambassador to Cambodia after
arriving.
"He said he was pleased with what I was trying to do for my
family. He was supportive of me, and that really made me feel good,"
Turner said. The next piece of good news, he continued, was
when he, Ralph Wetterhahn (the author of "The Last Battle: The
Mayaguez Incident and the End of the Vietnam War") and their
Cambodian companions decided that rather than camp out on the
island, they would just sleep on a fishing boat anchored off the
coast.
But the most reassuring part of the trip has been the contact
they have made with the JPAC team.
"Everything's going better than I would have hoped," Turner
said. "JPAC's welcomed me with open arms."
Not only, he continued, have they allowed him to watch their
excavation efforts, they have even let him get a little bit of
hands-on experience with some of the more basic shovel and screening
work. "They're letting me help, so I help a little bit and
then get out their way because I know they're just being nice," he
said. And while the team didn't start with the site identified
as Hargrove's, he feels sure that when they get there, every care
will be taken -- an especially comforting thought since it's
unlikely that he will be able to stay in Cambodia long enough.
The team's deployment is expected to last into March. Turner is
planning on staying until at least the end of the month. "I
have all confidence that if there are any remains to be found,
they'll find them," he said. "Even if I have to leave before they
excavate all the sites, I have peace of mind." Regardless of
what happens next, though, he is pleased that he at least had the
opportunity to take his quest this far -- and he hopes he will be
coming home with M-16 and M-60 shells from where Hargrove and Marine
Pfc. Gary L. Hall and Pfc. Danny G. Marshall made their last stand.
"All the effort that's been put forth, this is what it's all about.
I'm just glad I'm able to do it," he said. Gail Hargrove, Joseph's
widow, also is thankful for what Turner's been able to do. "I
was real excited to hear from him (last week)," she said. "I'm
thrilled that he's over there. I'm thrilled that he made it safely.
It's made me feel good how JPAC has responded to him."
By
Matthew Whittle
Published in News on January 28, 2008 01:46 PM
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