One of the goals of the Rustic FAC Association, since its inception, was to provide aid and support to the Cambodian people. This was made possible thanks to the efforts of Rustic Don Mercer who visited Cambodia in 1999 and established contacts with the House of Hope and Sunrise Ministries in the district capital city of Kompong Cham.
As a result, the Rustics have provided annual support to these charities who also served as a conduit for helping them provide assistance to the Kompong Cham Orphanage. The Rustics would provide financial support to purchase items needed at the orphanage, and these items were purchased and delivered by the House of Hope. No funds were provided to the government agency that ran the orphanage.
The House of Hope is now closed but Sunrise Ministries continues to operate in Kompong Cham.
Why the Rustics Have a Close Affinity for the Cambodian People
Rustic aircrews established a very close working relationship and friendship with the Cambodian people whom they supported. When the Rustics first formed in June 1970, they were often visited by the Cambodian combat commanders whom they supported. This helped established an immediate rapport. Plus, English speaking Cambodian pilots and enlisted personnel cycled through Bien Hoa Air Base, Vietnam, for a month at a time to fly with the Rustics as interpreters. This made the war very personal as we often overflew the Cambodian’s home villages. Daily contact with the Cambodian ground commanders who were fighting the insurgent Khmer Rouge also reinforced our resolve to protect them to the best of our ability.
After the OV-10 Rustics moved to
Ubon Thailand in late 1971, they eventually began flying
long
back-to-back combat missions with a stopover in the capital
city of Phnom Penh to rearm and
refuel. During these stopovers, they hung out at the AT-28
Scorpion Operations building and met
the Cambodian pilots who
were flying daily combat missions. Such friendships forged
in combat are never forgotten.
August 15, 1973 was a bitter-sweet day for the Rustics. Congress declared this to be the last day of United States combat support for Cambodia. The war was finally over for the Rustics but they knew their job was not complete. They were required to standdown, but their Cambodia allies had to fight on. Regrettably, the dark days of Cambodia’s “Killing Fields” were ahead.
The last chapter in our book
“The Rustics-A Top Secret Air War in Cambodia” chronicles
how three
of our close Cambodian allies and their families managed
to survive after Cambodia fell to the
Khmer Rouge in 1975. These are heartfelt accounts of some
very chilling stories. They miraculously
escaped from Cambodia and eventually were able to emigrate
to the United States and become US
citizens. The Rustics gladly helped them adjust to their
new life in America and many have
attended our Rustic reunions in Ft Walton Beach, FL.
04/29/2025