Koh Tang Mayaguez Vets Organization Guest Book

The officers and board members of our organization have been hard at work preparing for the upcoming reunion. Please do all you can to attend.

are we or we not Vietnam veterans?

In Response to above question:
Are the veterans who participated in the Mayaguez recovery / the battle of Koh Tang, Vietnam Veterans?

Let us look at all the facts. We all know the last 41 men named on the Vietnam Wall did not die in Vietnam. We also know that officially (according to some records) the Vietnam War ended with the evacuation of Saigon on 30 April 1975. We know that if you ask the curator of the Iwo Jima Memorial why Koh Tang was not listed as a Marine engagement on their memorial, you will be told that Koh Tang is part of the Vietnam War. Further, many men who died in Laos, Cambodia and other places prior to 30 April 1975 are listed as Vietnam Veterans even though they never set foot in Vietnam. On the other side, the VFW does not list us as Vietnam Veterans because of the date of our engagement. To put it simply, the answer depends on who is defining “Vietnam Veteran.” we feel that it is a dilemma that will probably never be answered to everyone’s satisfaction. That being said, we ask only that we be respected for what each of us did during our operation as we respect those who served their time in Vietnam. We must remember that we are all veterans, just like our many Brothers who served before us. In the end, it doesn’t really matter if our names are attached to a specific war.

is George st john or john royster out there or crumb

I worked in the comm ctr

Hey Dennis, Was wondering if you were in Echo co or Golf co. Were having a re-union in Branson Missouri, May 14 to 19. Go on the website Kohtang.com and look under whats new for more info. We've all had a bad time that's why we have each other to talk to.
Semper Fi

I was in 2/9 marines then. I was lucky enough as one chosen to stay at camp schwab instead of deploying. I just recently found out about the three marines left behind and am having trouble dealing with it

David,
Thanks for checking in to our website, brother. We all toiled in the heat and rain at NKP to do our duty, and to keep each other safe.
I was a Jolly, but I had some good friends in the Knives -- John Schramm, Jim Kays, Brian Rye, etc.
Thank you for remembering...it was only yesterday, right?

As usual, Larry has it right. We were all young and full of testosterone, but we all needed each other and depended on each other to complete the mission and to take care of each other. God Bless all of you for being there when we needed each other. I'm looking forward to hugging old brothers and newly-found brothers (and sisters) in May.

Hello Brothers,

I just found this site and wanted to shout out to all family, friends & Brothers of the Koh Tang organization. I also want to shout out & acknowledge our buddies of Fox Company 2/9 Marines who embarked the helicopters and raced to Koh Tang to provide support to our brothers needing help on the island. God Bless Us!

Dear Brothers,

In my personal opinion I don't believe it has always been one sided. Golf as mentioned. It always been about the participants in the operation. Unfortunately no Echo members have ever come forward to assist and help locate others. The first reunion I'm sure was experimental and wasn't designed to piss off others. We should not harbor ill feeling and just accept it for what it can become. We are not forced to go but would be welcomed at any time and are always looking for volunteers to assist and help find our other brothers. Life is too short to have negative feeling, and we can't worry about the nichol and dime shit. Remember brothers it took a lot of brothers to do what we did because there was not a single island where only one guy fought the battle, it was all of us. Be positive and respectful. Your brother in arms.