SS Columbia Eagle Mutiny (1970)

Sat Mar 14, 1970

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On this day in 1970, the SS Columbia Eagle Mutiny began when two anti-war crewmembers seized the napalm bomb-carrying vessel, forcing its crew to sail to Cambodia rather than complete its delivery of weapons to be used in the Vietnam War. It is the only mutiny of a United States ship in recent history.

The ship was under contract with the Military Sea Transportation Service to carry napalm bombs to be used by the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War and was originally bound for Sattahip, Thailand.

During the uprising, 24 of the crew were forced into two lifeboats and set adrift in the Gulf of Thailand while the remainder of the crew were forced to take the ship to a bay near Sihanoukville, Cambodia. The two mutineers had planned to take political refuge in Cambodia, however Prince Sihanouk had just been deposed by a coup the led by the pro-U.S. Sirik Matak and Lon Nol. Instead, they became prisoners of the new Cambodian government.

One mutineer, Alvin Glatkowski, turned himself in at an American Embassy, was extradited to the U.S., and served seven years in prison. The other mutineer, Clyde McKay, escaped capture and sought out the Khmer Rouge. Remains from Cambodia were positively identified as McKay’s in 2005.