The collection was created by the Marine Corps Historical Center, from its digitized holdings, at the suggestion of an associate of former President Ford. It includes compact disks of oral histories (audio files only) with Marines who participated in the Mayaguez action. It also includes compact disks containing Marine unit operational records from the Mayaguez action. These disks, as an incidental by-product of their creation, also contain extensive operational records from the Marine units' participation in other phases of the Vietnam War. Most of these records date from 1965-1970, but some concern the evacuations of Phnom Penh and Saigon, and the later transfer of refugees to the United States. The Ford Library staff has printed to paper, as an additional convenience to researchers, all operational records that date from the Ford presidency.
Series Description and Container List
Container List
Collection Overview
Scope and Content Note
The Marine Corps History and Museums Division collects oral histories and documents concerning the history of the Marine Corps. In 2004 they sent compact disks containing copies of materials relating to the recapture of the S.S. Mayaguez and other aspects of the Vietnam War to former President Gerald R. Ford. He donated them to the Ford Library.
The CDs contain two sets of material. The first consists of audio files of oral histories conducted with Marine Corps personnel who participated in the recovery of the S.S. Mayaguez after it was seized by Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge in May 1975. All of the interviews concern the landing on Koh Tang Island and the search for the ship and its crew. Several interviews record the memories of survivors of a helicopter crash that took place during the operation, killing several Marines.
The second set of CDs contains operational records for several Marine Corps units involved in the Mayaguez action. Although some documents concern the Mayaguez, the bulk of them date from 1965 to 1970 and concern these units’ involvement in other aspects of the Vietnam War. For the convenience of researchers, the Ford Library staff has printed to paper all operational records dating from the Ford administration. In addition to the Mayaqguez rescue operation, these materials relate to the evacuations of Cambodia and South Vietnam in 1975 (Marine units assisted with the evacuation) and Indochina refugees (the Marines were involved with both their evacuation from Indochina and their arrival in the United States).
Related Materials (May 2006)
Materials on the Mayaguez, the evacuations from Cambodia and South Vietnam, and Indochina refugees appear in a number of Ford Library collections. Information on all these topics appears in the White House Central Files Subject File, the Files and Papers of Press Secretary Ron Nessen, and several of the National Security Adviser subcollections. The Sea-Land Service Collected Materials concerning the Mayaguez contain transcripts of oral histories with the captain and crew of the Mayaguez. Another key collection on the Indochina refugees is the Theodore Marrs Files.
Details
2.4 linear feet (33 compact disks and ca. 4,000 pages)
Access
Copyright
Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain.