On May 12, 1975, just days after the U.S. withdrawal of troops from Vietnam, the American merchant cargo ship SS Mayaguez was seized by the Cambodian Khmer Rouge in international waters. President Gerald Ford the first (and only) non-elected president of the United States found himself in the midst of an intense four-day international crisis with significant historical ramifications. The Mayaguez incident was the first test of the president s role as commander-in-chief since the enactment of the 1973 War Powers Act, which was intended to limit presidential power. While the Ford administration...
On May 12, 1975, just days after the U.S. withdrawal of troops from Vietnam, the American merchant cargo ship SS Mayaguez was seized by the Cambodian ...
