Declassified papers detail response to Mayaguez seizure

WASHINGTON - When the merchant ship Mayaguez and its American crew were seized by communist forces off the coast of Cambodia in 1975, the Ford administration was determined to craft a muscular response in hope of limiting damage to U.S. prestige, according to newly declassified documents published by the State Department.

U.S. Marines regained control of the ship three days after its seizure, and the 40 civilian crew members were safely returned. But three helicopters ferrying Marines to a nearby island defended by Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge forces were lost to hostile fire, and 18 U.S. servicemen died. Decades later the United States was still recovering remains.

Washington's initial response illustrated how, just weeks after the fall of Saigon, U.S. leaders were eager to put the Vietnam debacle behind them, erase the U.S. image as a helpless giant, and dissuade provocative action by other U.S. adversaries. A nonmilitary response, such as freezing Cambodian assets, was raised and quickly rejected as ineffectual.

When Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was informed of the ship's seizure May 12, he was flabbergasted. "How can that be?" he asked an aide.

"We are not going to sit here and let an American merchant ship be captured at sea and let it go into the harbor without doing a bloody thing about it," Kissinger said. "We are going to protest."

Judging by their remarks, Kissinger and other senior administration officials seemed chiefly concerned that the United States, whose prestige had taken a beating in failing to stop a communist takeover of Vietnam, not allow the Cambodia incident to further undermine U.S. standing.

A few hours later, after informing President Gerald R. Ford, Kissinger suggested at a National Security Council meeting headed by Ford that the United States could seize a Cambodian ship on the high seas to demonstrate U.S. resolve.

"Can we find out where Cambodian ships are around the world?" he asked. Answer: The Pentagon wasn't sure there were any.

Vice President Nelson Rockefeller joined Kissinger in advocating a strong response to avoid the impression of U.S. weakness.

"This will be seen as a test case," Rockefeller said. "I think a violent response is in order. The world should know that we will act and that we will act quickly."