| Koh Tang today is mostly forgotten as the last | | | | they are composed of. The iconic helicopter of the |
| battleground of the Vietnam War. Located in the Gulf | | | | Vietnam War nicknamed "Heuys" I have been told |
| of Thailand it is 35 miles from the port of | | | | are mostly aluminum, magnesium and titanium which |
| Sihanoukville Cambodia. There are no memorials here, | | | | would bring a handsome reward to the salvager. |
| once I heard the distinctive sound of a AK47 ripping | | | | Koh Tang today is one of the best scuba diving |
| through a clip poking holes in the sky fired in anger | | | | areas in Cambodia with several Sihanoukville dive |
| over a poker gamer, sometimes today you can still | | | | companies running overnight trips out to this large |
| hear explosions, but they are related more to | | | | uninhabited island group. Large fish like cobias and sail |
| poverty than to war, as desperate men risk their | | | | fish as well as large schools of jacks, snappers and |
| lives in a continuing battle to make money from a | | | | fusiliers swim over the reef in large numbers as |
| slowly decaying fishing ground that is systematically | | | | damaged reef section are repaired by mother nature, |
| being depleted by the Vietnamese and Thailand | | | | with new coral colonies of "apcora" (a commonly |
| fishing fleets, illegally fishing in Cambodian water for | | | | known variety being stag horn coral) growing at a |
| squid and shrimp mostly. Thankfully the dynamite | | | | rapid pace, and the fish stocks displaced start to |
| blasts are down to a trickle as the Cambodians are | | | | recover. The diving is good, no crowds and several |
| discouraging this at the higher levels and it is starting | | | | large shallow sections, as well as the deep reefs |
| to be really enforced. | | | | escaped damage, so there is ample dive opportunities |
| Underwater there are no visible artifacts or evidence | | | | interspersed with the damaged coral beds. The most |
| that the battle ground was here. The USA MIA | | | | famous dive site in Cambodia would be Virgin Reef |
| teams are still looking for a helicopter lost and never | | | | which has never been completely dived due to its |
| recovered during the Mayaguez incident, but many | | | | large size, is blessed with healthy fish stocks and |
| here speculate that it was found a long time ago, and | | | | some amazing coral gardens stretching for hundreds |
| like the other submerged wrecks in this part of | | | | of meters out from the island. |
| South East Asia was salvaged for the metals that | | | | |