SS Columbia Eagle incident
The SS Columbia Eagle incident refers to a
Background
Columbia Eagle
The Columbia Eagle was a Victory-type cargo ship constructed by Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation of Portland, Oregon in 1945 for the U.S. Navy and originally christened SS Pierre Victory. She was designed to carry all types of dry supplies and munitions to Pacific theaters during World War II. SS Pierre Victory survived three separate kamikaze attacks by the Japanese in 1945.[8]
After World War II the Pierre Victory was converted to a livestock ship, also called a Seagoing cowboys ship. Pierre Victory made 6 trips with 780 horses on each trip to war-torn Poland and Greece.[9][10][11][12][13][14] SS Pierre Victory served as merchant marine ship supplying goods for the Korean War. Like most of the ships of the Victory-type, Pierre Victory was decommissioned after the war and then sold to a commercial shipping company. In 1968, she was purchased by the Columbia Steamship Company, renamed Columbia Eagle and contracted out to the Military Sea Transportation Service for the purpose of hauling supplies and ammunition to Southeast Asian ports in South Vietnam and Thailand during the Vietnam War.[15] Because Columbia Eagle was a U.S. flagged ship, she was a part of the Merchant Marine fleet and therefore eligible under government contracting rules to haul military supplies to the war zone.[16]
Clyde William McKay, Jr.
Clyde McKay was born on 20 May 1944 near
Alvin Leonard Glatkowski
Alvin Glatkowski was born on 11 September 1949 in
Timeline of the mutiny
McKay and Glatkowski had been considering the operation for some time but had little in the way of a plan with the exception of bringing a gun on board.[19]
On 14 March 1970, McKay and Glatkowski used guns they had smuggled aboard to seize control of their ship, SS Columbia Eagle, in the first armed
McKay and Glatowski had planned their action to ensure that they would involve the least amount of crew members, knowing full well that they were risking their freedom if not their lives.[19] In order to give themselves the maximum amount of time to secure the ship and their freedom, they planned their action to take place immediately after the daily radio communication of the ship's location, ensuring they had 24 hours before the ship's change of course would be officially noticed.[19]
In order to involve the fewest crew members during the mutiny, McKay and Glatkowski decided that triggering a fire drill would be a good time to get most of the crew off board the ship.[19] After triggering the fire alarm, all but a few crew members took position in lifeboats, as per fire protocol. McKay and Glatowski then took the captain hostage and, claiming that they had a live bomb on board the ship, they demanded that the captain order severing the lifeboat lines, leaving 24 of the crewmen in the lifeboats.[19] By taking action right after the daily radio communication of the ship's location they ensured that the crew on the lifeboats would be found and rescued.[19] The ship's cargo, 3,500 500-pound bombs, and 1,225 750-pound bombs, provided leverage and credibility to the bomb threat.
When the crewmen departed in lifeboats, an SOS was transmitted. A Lockheed P-3B from VP-1 Crew 6, the "Scalf Hunters", operating from U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield, Thailand, was directed to launch a search and rescue (SAR) mission to find the SS Columbia Eagle and assist as needed. Upon arrival at the ship, they found a small crew and the presence of small arms and immediately reported their assessment that the ship had been hijacked and was heading for Cambodia. Crew 6 maintained communications and status reporting until the ship anchored in Cambodian waters. Afterward, they were relieved and other P-3 Orion aircrews kept the Columbia Eagle under constant surveillance from outside Cambodian territorial waters.
The merchant ship Rappahanock picked up the lifeboats and crew members and broadcast the news of the mutiny. The United States Coast Guard cutter Mellon was the first US military vessel to pursue the Columbia Eagle. The amphibious transport dock USS Denver was diverted to relieve Mellon in its pursuit. The destroyer, USS Turner Joy, was detached from the station at I Corps to pursue the Columbia Eagle at flank speed and to intervene. However, the Columbia Eagle reached Cambodian waters before any U.S. naval ships could intercept it.[20]
With only 13 crewmen remaining aboard besides the mutineers, they sailed into Cambodian waters, where they assumed they would be welcomed as heroes. They anchored within the 12 miles (19 km) territorial limit claimed by Cambodia on the afternoon of 15 March.
At 09:51 on 16 March, Denver anchored 15.6 miles (25.1 km) from the coast in the
On 17 March, the helicopters were detached and Denver, with Commander, Amphibious Squadron Seven, departed for Singapore, passing on-scene command to Mellon.[20] Turner Joy remained on station in a cruising pattern within shipping lanes and in sight of the harbor channel.
On 18 March at 06:36, Denver reversed her course; Prince Sihanouk had been
Sihanouk, now in exile, charged that the CIA had masterminded the mutiny to deliver weapons to Lon Nol. Both the mutineers and U.S. officials denied his charges.
When it became clear that Columbia Eagle's release was not imminent, Denver was detached to proceed to Da Nang.[20]
On 8 April, Columbia Eagle was permitted to leave Cambodian waters. She rendezvoused with
Status
McKay and Glatkowski were held by the post-coup Cambodian government for several months after their capture. A
McKay said to a reporter:
We are sympathetic with the Asian people and, while I'm not an authority on the war in Vietnam I respect the opinions of people who were authorities like Bertrand Russell and Jean Paul Sartre who said the war in Asia was genocide and I intend to carry on my actions against the American Government.[5]
In June both men were indicted in absentia by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles on charges of mutiny, kidnapping and assault.[23]
Glatkowski
After months of imprisonment Glatowski was released and, after seeking asylum at the Chinese and USSR embassies, he turned himself in at a US Embassy in Phnom Penh and was extradited to the United States to face trial. He was charged with mutiny, kidnapping, assault and neglect of duty. On 2 March 1971 Glatkowski pled guilty in a Los Angeles District Court to mutiny and assault. United States federal judge Manuel Real heard the testimony of four psychiatrists; three of the psychiatrists reported that Glatkowski was currently sane and was sane at the time of the mutiny incident. Glatowski was sentenced to 6 months to 10 years in Federal prison and served nearly eight of the ten years when mandatorily released from Lompoc, California federal prison.[24][25][26][27][23] He has admitted to mistakes in the hijacking but remained unapologetic about their goal of interrupting the napalm shipment.
McKay
McKay escaped from his captors, along with U.S. Army deserter Larry Humphrey, in October 1970[28] and sought out the Khmer Rouge.[29] He was officially declared accounted for, with a Date of Loss on 4 November 1970[30] without being located by the authorities.
According to an article for
References
- Footnotes
- ^ Nelson Benton, "Columbia Eagle / Mutiny / Cambodia," segment #208707, in transcript: CBS Evening News for 1970-03-16, from the Vanderbilt Television News Archive, Vanderbilt University, retrieved 1 March 2018.
- ^ Hoffman, Fred S., Associated Press, "U.S. Bomb Ship Seized in Mutiny: Anchored Off Cambodia", 16 March 1970, San Bernardino Sun, San Bernardino, California, Volume 76, Number 137, pp.1-2, photocopy at retrieved 1 March 2018 from OCR transcription in California Digital Newspaper Collection.
- ^ "Mutiny Involved 5: Captain,", 19 March 1970, Nashville Tennessean, Page 13 retrieved 1 March 2018 from OCR transcription in Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Emery, Fred (26 March 1970). "Two Who Say They Support S.D.S. Tell How They Hijacked Ship". New York Times.
- New York Timesarchives, retrieved 1 March 2018.
- New York Times, retrieved 1 March 2018 from the Harold Weisberg Archive, Hood College, Maryland.
- ^ "Naval Ships and a Land-Locked State". South Dakota Historical Society Press. 14 February 2019.
- ^ "Heifer International® - Ending Hunger And Poverty". Heifer International.
- ^ "Cowboy Stories". 23 October 2015.
- ^ "Seacowboys report" (PDF).
- ^ "Who were the Seagoing Cowboys, by Jackie Turnquist" (PDF).
- ^ Miller, Peggy Reiff (8 December 2017). "S. S. Pierre Victory". The Seagoing Cowboys.
- ^ "Seagoing Cowboys notes (CPS), Swarthmore College Peace Collection". www.swarthmore.edu.
- ^ Linnett, pp 67–68
- ^ Cutler, p 142
- ^ Linnett, pp 13–15
- ^ Linnett, pp 43–56
- ^ a b c d e f Woldorff, Daniel (9 April 2019). Woldorff, Daniel (ed.). "E21-24: WCH Crime – The Columbia Eagle mutiny". Working Class History. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "1970 Command History of USS Denver (LPD-9)" (PDF). Command Operations Reports. US Navy Naval History and Heritage Command. pp. 2–3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
- ^ "Commander, Naval Forces Vietnam (April 1970)" (PDF). Monthly Historical Summary, April 1970. Naval Historical Center, U.S. Navy. pp. 31–32. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
- ^ "Manson Hero to Hijackers". Reading Eagle. 26 August 1970. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
- ^ ISBN 9780939526079.
- ^ True Crime and Punishment: Mutinies, By Barry Stone, page 314
- ^ Loiederman, Roberto (25 February 2002). "Echoes of 1970 in Lindh case". Baltimore Sun.
- ^ Fourth Arm of Defense: Sealift and Maritime Logistics in the Vietnam War, By Salvatore R. Mercogliano, page 57
- ^ Pomona Progress Bulletin Newspaper Archives, Thursday, 25 February 1971, Page 50
- ^ "Bio, Humphrey, Larry D." www.pownetwork.org.
- ^ Linnett, pp 228–232
- ^ "POW MIA Accounting Agency Listing Civilians" (PDF).
- ^ Richard Linnett and Roberto Loiederman, "The Last Mutineer", Penthouse. February 2005. Retrieved on 22 October 2016.
- ^ "Disappearance of Sean Flynn and Dana Stone, 1970". 3 March 2015.
- ^ Hoffman, Fred S., Associated Press, "U.S. Bomb Ship Seized in Mutiny: Anchored Off Cambodia", 16 March 1970, San Bernardino Sun, San Bernardino, California, Volume 76, Number 137, pp.1-2, photocopy at retrieved 1 March 2018 from OCR transcription in California Digital Newspaper Collection
- ^ "Mutiny Involved 5: Captain,", 19 March 1970, Nashville Tennessean, Page 13 retrieved 1 March 2018 from OCR transcription in Newspapers.com]
- Sources
- Cutler, Deborah W. and Thomas J. Cutler (2005). Dictionary of Naval Terms. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-150-8.
- Linnett, Richard and Roberto Loiederman (2001). The Eagle Mutiny. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-522-5.
External links
- "Deep Water" musical account of the Columbia Eagle incident, written by Joe DeFilippo and performed by the R.J. Phillips Band
- Article on Columbia Eagle Mutiny