A Change of Guard

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Thursday 3 April 2014

Cambodia repatriates remains of three possible U.S. MIAs

Four U.S. servicemen carry a coffin draped with U.S. national flag containing possible remains of a U.S. serviceman to a C-17 cargo plane during a repatriation ceremony at Phnom Penh International Airport, Cambodia, Wednesday, April 2, 2014.   AP PHOTO/HENG SINITH 
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - A ceremony was held in Cambodia on Wednesday to repatriate what are believed to be the remains of three American servicemen who went missing in action more than 40 years ago during the Vietnam War.
The remains, in three white coffins draped with U.S. flags, were hoisted Wednesday into a C-17 military cargo plane for transport to Hawaii, where they will undergo DNA testing to try to confirm their identities. An honor guard of four currently serving U.S. servicemen carried the coffins.
"As the son of a combat helicopter pilot who served in Vietnam twice, I am truly privileged to be a part of this important ceremony," U.S. Ambassador William Todd said in a speech at Phnom Penh International Airport in which he also thanked the Cambodian government for its assistance in searching for the missing.
"To my fellow Americans assembled here today, I am humbled and honored to join with you to pay respect to our fellow countrymen who put our nation's needs above their very lives," Todd said. "Today, we honor colleagues who died far from home and whom we never knew."
Some 90 Americans were listed as missing in action in Cambodia from the Vietnam War, which ended in 1975, but the remains of only 37 have been recovered and identified.
The latest sets of remains were found in eastern Kampong Cham province. U.S. forces staged a brief ground incursion into eastern Cambodia in 1970 and bombed the country heavily from 1969 to 1973.
A year ago, the Pentagon announced the burial at Arlington National Cemetery of the fragmentary remains of a Marine who perished in a failed helicopter rescue from Cambodia of the crew of the merchant ship Mayaguez in May 1975, an incident that is considered the last U.S. military engagement in the long Vietnam War.
Their helicopter crashed after coming under heavy fire; 13 aboard were rescued at sea and 13 others were declared missing. Remains of 12 other U.S. servicemen who also were aboard the helicopter had been accounted for previously, following a series of searches off the coast of Cambodia.

The latest remains were repatriated just two days after U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said he is establishing a new Pentagon agency with more focused authority and innovative approaches to account for missing U.S. war dead.
The Pentagon has been under congressional pressure for months to take decisive action to improve the POW-MIA accounting effort. Its failings were highlighted last summer when The Associated Press disclosed an internal Pentagon report that said the search for remains of missing soldiers on foreign battlefields was mismanaged, wasteful and acutely dysfunctional.
After lengthy study, Hagel decided to combine the functions of the two leading agencies in this field - the Joint POW-MIA Accounting Command, based in Hawaii, and the Defense POW-MIA Office, based in the Pentagon. Those two organizations will disappear; the new agency will be directed by a civilian official not yet named.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

As a Khmer, i think the American are fucking hypocrites as always. They bombed Cambodia and Laos into oblivions, turned Cambodia into a living hell.

As always the fucking American than denied any roles in the bombing campaigns. Then blame the millions of death on Pol Pot who was trying to evacuate the people away from the American bobmings.

Without the Americans bombings, their would be no Vietnamese invasion. Without the American there would be no Khmer Rouge uprise.

Their lengthy study is a one sided circus show. Why dont the fucking American own up to the damages done and the millions of dead Khmer because of their action.

Anonymous said...

Yes, the American did bombed Cambodia back to stone-age, but Paol Pote did killed millions of Khmers. Paol Pote DID NOT evacuate anyone for safety reason. Paol Pote forced moved thousands of people into the jungle and many died of starvation and killed.

Anonymous said...

3 April 2014 3:40 pm. So you are saying Pol pot with no military experience and no weapon, those behind him were farmers and teachers, managed to turn a country of 5+ million population into stoneage.

While the American that bombed Cambodia for over 10 years inside of Cambodia and the Vietnamese that took control of half of Cambodia did no damage to Cambodia and did not use Pol pot as a scapegoat to the Vietnamese invasion?

Anonymous said...

Yes, Paol Pote with no military experience and NO leadership-skill was put in charge and the result was Cambodia demise. Paol Pote with his stupidity waged war with the youn after turning Cambodia upside-down and killing milloins of Khmers. Make no mistake, paol pote and youn are one and the same. The US did bombed eastern part of Cambodia and as result thousands of Khmers suffered and killed.

Anonymous said...

1:36 pm, Please learn the correct history. Don't say that "without American bombings, there would be no Vietnamese invasion".

Here is the fact dude! Because there was a Vietnamese invasion of Cambodian territory that's why America bombed the Viet Cong who used Cambodian territory as their sanctuary to launch an attack on South Vietnam. America did not bomb the Cambodian population. It bombed the Viet Cong troops and the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the road used by the Viet Cong to transport troops, weapons and supplies across Cambodia and Laos to their troops based in Cambodian territory. Without the American bombings, may be those areas belong to Vietnam already.

As for the Khmer Rouge movement, it was formed in 1951, long before the American bombings from 1967-1973. You must know that Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge Movement and Hun Sen's Khmer Rouge Movement was the same movement, formed on the same date and year and at the same place near the Phnom Penh Railway Station in 1951. The Khmer Rouge was not born after the American bombings. However, due to the coup d'etat against Sihanouk in 1970, the Khmer Rouge movement became stronger due to Sihanouk's popularity.

Again, America did not bomb the Cambodian population but it bombed the Viet Cong troops and the Ho Chi Minh Trail inside Cambodian territory used by the Viet Cong soldiers to transport weapons and food supplies to their comrades who were already set up their bases inside Cambodia. This is the fact!

Anonymous said...

@9:19 , I'm not sure where you got your fact form, but the US did bombed more than the Ho Shit Minh trail. Not only DID the US BOMBED the eastern part of Cambodia but they also send in the Green-barets and other special forces into eastern Cambodia in search of the Shit-Congs. More than half of the Khmer population were killed.

PS:I'm the one posted above your coments

Anonymous said...

3 April 2014 9:19 pm. Your fact is a bunch of baloney. American played a huge role in the genocide of Cambodia. Just as the same way the Vietnamese played a huge role in the genocide of Cambodia.

Next you are going to tell me the Chinese were behind the killing field?? Dude check your fact, we live in 21th century not 1979. Plenty of facts for you to check.

Anonymous said...

3 April 2014 9:50 pm. Remember that the Eastern Cambodia were mainly occupied by the Chams. After the Pol Pot regime, over 50,000 Cham were killed.

If you spend enough time research the American and the Vietnamese, you will see who was behind the genocide of the Cham people.

Anonymous said...

China was a major player in the Cambodian genocide. China was the only one that sale weapons to the Khmer Rouge between 1975-79. True paol pote has no money to buy Chinese weapons, but most of the rice and timbers were traded for those weapons. In fact, during every rice harvest season, the chines (officials ?) would toured Cambodia, just to make sure that their were safe and secured.