Outskirts Press, INC.

From Cambodia to America: The New Beginning and Redemption

The civil war in the 1970s and the victory of the communist Khmer Rouge shocked humanity with its unmatched atrocities and destruction that uprooted the already much weakened Cambodian kingdom. The American-trained Khmer Special Forces performed gallantly, but it eventually folded to the Khmer Rouge. One of those Khmer Special Forces was Saren Thach. Ever since the end of this war in his native country of Cambodia on April 17, 1975, Saren Thach has been haunted by the memories of fallen comrades and lost family members, burdened with the regret and remorse that comes from war. His nightmares bring back the echoes of raging battles and smoke from gun barrels, both big and small, as opposing sides slugged at each other relentlessly. He recounts the deafening explosions of bombs dropped from combat aircraft, artillery rounds, and rocket fires shredding through the air. He recalls the ferocious hand-to-hand combat to hold on to a tiny tract of ground, and the bloodied corpses strewn across the landscape. There were valiant fighters on both sides, with uncommon bravery and sacrifice to serve the cause they believed in.