10 Strangest Vietnam War Unsolved Mysteries

Between the 12-15 May 1975, the last official battle of the Vietnam War took place. In it, a U.S. Merchant vessel, the S.S. Mayaguez, was captured by Khmer Rouge forces. The lives that were lost here were the last inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

After the Khmer Rouge had seized the merchant's vessel, a counter-attack was made. U.S. Marines managed to recapture the ship. They believed that the crew was being held on the island of Koh Tang, which prompted an invasion of the island. The U.S. forces faced more resistance than they had thought, having to be evacuated. The hostages were released shortly after the attack.

On the U.S. side, 15 men were killed in action. Many bodies had to be left on the island during the retreat. Worst of all though in the confusion some men were left. A machine gun team sent to defend the right flank was missed in the order to retreat. There was later contact with the men. However, there was no logical way for them to escape.

The machine gun group was not heard from after this. U.S. forces searched for them and even sent communications to the enemy but to no avail. They were marked as missing in action and finally killed in action on 21st July 1976.

There were many different reports of what happened to the men. Eye witness reports said they were executed. The bodies, however, were never recovered. Bone fragments have been found, but the test was inconclusive because of the small size of the fragments. We may never know what really happened to these men and be able to recover their bodies.