Overview

The war in Cambodia, 1970-1975, pitching the unprepared Cambodian army against the battle tested communist Vietcong/North Vietnamese troops, who had fought for over a decade against the mighty American army, was a lopsided brutal conflict. Soon after, the communist Khmer Rouge added to their rank. The heroic sacrifice by the Cambodian fighters, the populace, and the dedicated small Khmer Special Forces units, all supported by the United States meager financial and logistic assistance, were not enough to overcome the fatal pre-war shortfall created by the Khmer leader, namely Prince Norodom Sihanouk, who joined the enemy in the war fighting his own people, for the sake of power. The book highlighted crucial military operations, some known only to very few personalities, which the author participated in, and the resulting triumph and defeat. The American Congress's refusal, in late March 1975, to continue further military assistance, sealed the fate of the country. The Cambodian sentiment is that America callously betrayed its friend and ally whose paramount aspiration is freedom and liberty. This abandonment was also the American trademark in Vietnam, and decades later in Afghanistan. The book provides the plausible causes of the decline of the ancient Khmer civilization near the end of the Angkor era in the fourteenth century C.E., the era that produced a powerful Kingdom in the entire Southeast Asia, decline within the context of religious conflict, and the geopolitical emergence and evolution of neighboring nations. The fall of Prince Norodom Sihanouk, in March of 1970, gave communist Vietnam, the Khmer's traditional adversary, pretext to invade the country at will, against international law. The Cambodians will never forgive nor forget the tremendous sufferings levied upon them, in which all Khmer families were affected. In the shadow of his enormous tragedy early in life, and likewise that of his current wife, and considering the autumn of his existence, the author's wish is, for the sake of humanity, if he can do something good, let him do it now, for he will pass this planet earth only once.

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9781977272317

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"No Greater Loss: Memoirs of a Green Beret Under Two Flags by Saren Thach is a moving account of the fall of the Khmer Republic, the tragedy and genocide that followed by the Khmer Rouge in the killing fields of Cambodia, and of his selfless service as an American Special Forces officer in the Green Berets. Saren's account of the war in Cambodia is truly an unknown story of the Khmer Republic, and of his courage, selfless service, and dedication. It contains rare documents and photographs previously not available. This is truly a soldier's story that needs to be read. -Kenneth R. Bowra, Major General (Ret.) U.S. Army Special Forces Saren Thach's ""No Greater Loss: Memoirs of a Green Beret Under Two Flags"" is a cameo of one man's brutal truths and inspiring accomplishment. It is an antidote to American's tragically limited sense of history. America's Vietnam War, more appropriately the second Indochina War, it is having been fought in Cambodia and Laos as well as in Vietnam, is a classic example of a poorly understood, grossly simplified historical event fast fading from view in the rear-view mirror of our easily distracted national psyche. Herewith an antidote to our current American acceptance of ""alternative facts"" and the illusion of ""reality TV."" The book ""No Greater Loss"" gives you Cambodia as it was and as it became under the Khmer Rouge, told through the painful odyssey of one young man's progression in life from a patriotic Cambodian Army Green Beret to a patriotic American citizen and member of the U.S. Special Forces. A story of soul-searching personal loss, adaption to the American way of life, and success as a newly immigrant American citizen. A book wherein Saren Thach lays out the price to achieve peace in the face of enormous tragedy. I would recommend the book to any liberally educated American who was born in freedom and never had to calculate the cost. -Colonel James E. Callahan, U.S. Army Special Forces (Retired)"

Author Information

Saren Thach graduated first of his officer's class in 1968 from the French-trained Royal Military Academy in Phnom Penh. He received a law degree (with honor) from the Faculty of Law and Economics at the age of 24. When the civil war broke out, he led his infantry platoon and special forces troops into many brutal battles. Once in America, he received a direct commission as first lieutenant from the US Army and was assigned to the 11th Special Forces Group (Airborne). Later, he worked for the Defense Intelligence Agency as an analyst before receiving an honorable discharge from the Army with the rank of major. Today, Saren Thach has a practicing tax consultancy and business advisory service with 44 years of experience. He and his wife of over 40 years live in Fairfax, Virginia. They have five adult children and a granddaughter.

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