Cambodia War: Does anyone remember Spencer Dale?

[Carl Robinson]

Does anyone who covered the Cambodian War (1970-75) remember a young Australian guy named Spencer Dale, then 26, who arrived in 1971 and ended up hanging out with General Chantaraingsey's 13th Brigade off-and-on until war's end?    The general was about the only truly competent Cambodian military commander and all the media knew him.   So, did anyone ever stumble across this young Aussie who was "doing the Sean Flynn Thing" and hanging out on the front line?   He's got some amazing Super 8 footage-- so far still unseen.  I have a feeling he also crossed over the line to an active participant in the war too. 

As far as I know, Dale never sold anything to the media during his time in Cambodia and has sat on his archive for all these years.   While living in Brisbane, I did see his story told in a local paper which said he worked as a steward (cabin attendant) with Qantas and would spend all his free time back in Cambodia and out with Chantaraingsey.   It's a strange story, that's for sure.  

Now, a Brisbane-based documentary maker named Mike Brown is trying to put something together about Spencer Dale and get some funding together.  The clips attached to the FW'd message below show some truly amazing footage.  Sharp as a tack and quite dramatic stuff.  

But it's all a bit of a mystery as I certainly never met the guy.  How about Matt Franjola?  Al Rockoff?   Did Chhang Song give this guy an accreditation.  

Here is Mike Brown's to me: 

Hello Carl,

 

I'm in the process of informing people about the documentary that's now in production about a largely unknown journalist who spent much of his time documenting the Cambodian Civil war. Spencer Dale went there as a tourist to do the "Sean Flynn thing" in 1971 and shot several hours of super 8mm film and hundreds of still photos. He became very close to Prince Norodom Chantaraingsey of the 13th Brigade which gave him unprecedented access to anywhere he wanted to go in Cambodia.

 

The documentary is not only about his wonderful footage but a story that goes beyond what a journalist would encounter, as he became one of the locals, gaining the trust of many high ranking Generals including Chantaraingsey.

 

We need to get this project out into the public arena for financial support. Chhang Song is now aware of our project and is supporting where he can, but we need more general public awareness to make this happen.

 

Dale is one of only a handful that made it out alive with all his film archives and a mind boggling story to boot. 

 

Please take a look at our project and if this is something you would like to tell others about, we would be most appreciative.

 

www.daleofcambodia.com

www.facebook.com/daleofcambodia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOdNHhWHMeo

       

 

Kind Regards

Mike Brown

 

 

mbproductions.com.au

Disthurst Pty. Ltd.

P.O. Box 161

14 Mornington St. Red Hill.

Brisbane, QLD. 4059

Tel. 07-3876-4476

Mobile. 0427-07-17-42

web. www.mbproductions.com.au

Email. mi...@mbproductions.com.au

 

[jon swain]

Hi Carl,

Now you mention it, I remember talk of a  young Australian hanging out with Lon Nol's forces and even think I bumped into a chap like him in the early days while covering fighting on Route 4 to Kompong Speu, the Pich Nil pass and Sihanoukville. Maybe it was him. There were a number of westerners who attached themselves to Lon Nol's army, perhaps most notably the Frenchman Dominique Borella, who had fought with great distinction in the French Indochina war, then in Algeria with the Second Foreign Legion Parachute Regiment (2REP) and who afterwards went underground with the OAS. He turned up in Cambodia and  became a captain in the Cambodian Parachute battalion that defended Phnom Penh airport to the last in April 1975,  then retreated to join us in the French embassy after the Khmer Rouge victory. We were good mates and I am sorry to say he met a particularly grim and brutal end in Beirut fighting  on the Christian side in the Lebanese civil war not many months later.

best Jon 

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[Jon Swain]

PS Borella was a Jacques Tonnere-type  who of course you knew at the AP. There was a poor Brit ex-squaddie adventurer who fought with South Vietnamese paras and whose body was recovered after the battle for Quang Tri. I spoke to his mum in Birmingham after he was killed.  "I always knew my Johnny would come to a sticky end," she said.

Jon

On 10 May 2013, at 11:09, jon swain <jonbrew...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Carl,

Now you mention it, I remember talk of a  young Australian hanging out with Lon Nol's forces and even think I bumped into a chap like him in the early days while covering fighting on Route 4 to Kompong Speu, the Pich Nil pass and Sihanoukville. Maybe it was him. There were a number of westerners who attached themselves to Lon Nol's army, perhaps most notably the Frenchman Dominique Borella, who had fought with great distinction in the French Indochina war, then in Algeria with the Second Foreign Legion Parachute Regiment (2REP) and who afterwards went underground with the OAS. He turned up in Cambodia and  became a captain in the Cambodian Parachute battalion that defended Phnom Penh airport to the last in April 1975,  then retreated to join us in the French embassy after the Khmer Rouge victory. We were good mates and I am sorry to say he met a particularly grim and brutal end in Beirut fighting  on the Christian side in the Lebanese civil war not many months later.

best Jon 

On Fri, May 10, 2013 at 9:01 AM, Carl Robinson <robinso...@gmail.com> wrote:

Does anyone who covered the Cambodian War (1970-75) remember a young Australian guy named Spencer Dale, then 26, who arrived in 1971 and ended up hanging out with General Chantaraingsey's 13th Brigade off-and-on until war's end?    The general was about the only truly competent Cambodian military commander and all the media knew him.   So, did anyone ever stumble across this young Aussie who was "doing the Sean Flynn Thing" and hanging out on the front line?   He's got some amazing Super 8 footage-- so far still unseen.  I have a feeling he also crossed over the line to an active participant in the war too. 

As far as I know, Dale never sold anything to the media during his time in Cambodia and has sat on his archive for all these years.   While living in Brisbane, I did see his story told in a local paper which said he worked as a steward (cabin attendant) with Qantas and would spend all his free time back in Cambodia and out with Chantaraingsey.   It's a strange story, that's for sure.  

Now, a Brisbane-based documentary maker named Mike Brown is trying to put something together about Spencer Dale and get some funding together.  The clips attached to the FW'd message below show some truly amazing footage.  Sharp as a tack and quite dramatic stuff.  

But it's all a bit of a mystery as I certainly never met the guy.  How about Matt Franjola?  Al Rockoff?   Did Chhang Song give this guy an accreditation.  

Here is Mike Brown's to me: 

Hello Carl,

 

I'm in the process of informing people about the documentary that's now in production about a largely unknown journalist who spent much of his time documenting the Cambodian Civil war. Spencer Dale went there as a tourist to do the "Sean Flynn thing" in 1971 and shot several hours of super 8mm film and hundreds of still photos. He became very close to Prince Norodom Chantaraingsey of the 13th Brigade which gave him unprecedented access to anywhere he wanted to go in Cambodia.

 

The documentary is not only about his wonderful footage but a story that goes beyond what a journalist would encounter, as he became one of the locals, gaining the trust of many high ranking Generals including Chantaraingsey.

 

We need to get this project out into the public arena for financial support. Chhang Song is now aware of our project and is supporting where he can, but we need more general public awareness to make this happen.

 

Dale is one of only a handful that made it out alive with all his film archives and a mind boggling story to boot. 

 

Please take a look at our project and if this is something you would like to tell others about, we would be most appreciative.

 

www.daleofcambodia.com

www.facebook.com/daleofcambodia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOdNHhWHMeo

       

 

Kind Regards

Mike Brown

 

 

<image002.jpg>

mbproductions.com.au

Disthurst Pty. Ltd.

P.O. Box 161

14 Mornington St. Red Hill.

Brisbane, QLD. 4059

Tel. 07-3876-4476

Mobile. 0427-07-17-42

web. www.mbproductions.com.au

Email. mi...@mbproductions.com.au

 

[Donald Jameson]

Dewar Carl: I spent quite a bit of time with Chantarangsey in 1972 and 73. He used to invite contingents of diplomats, especially from the American and Australian Embassies, down to his little fief just on the Phnom Penh side of Kampong Speu town right on Route 4 for lavish lunches of French food and fine wine. On one occasion he had an overnight party which included practically the whole Australian Embassy staff, secretaries and all. On another occasion he provided Khmer women to amuse the visitors. In that case it was a group of Americans from the Military Attache's office. I was in on these events sometimes simply because I knew his public relations staff in Phnom Penh very well and they invited me along on a personal basis. On other occasions it was as part of a group of US diplomats invited in a more formal way. Apart from lavish food there were games of various sorts, including volleyball, elephant rides, dancing and additional amusements with the ladies (who were professionals). There was nothing very unusual about that because there were "ladies" available on many occasions in Cambodia, especially when the military were involved. Jon Swain paints a very good picture of the charms of Cambodian women in his book "River of Time", and it is all true.

But regarding Chantarangsey's competence as a military commander I am not so sure. Apart from the battle of Pich Nil early in the war there was not much fighting in his area that I can recall, at least up to the end of 1973 when I left the country. He was personally very rich and a charming man with a very French demeanor. He claimed that he had purchased most of his weaponry himself and that he was not allocated much of anything by the government. In this sense he was something of an independent warlord but without the negative connotations that thus term usually conveys. But what he actually accomplished other than maintaining his own small piece of territory is hard to. As far as real fighting generals are concerned Ith Soung, Dien Del and Un Savuth were much better I think. But they were all drunks and not so attractive on a personal level. And they had none of the French charm of Chantarangsey. I don't think Un Savuth even spoke French. We used to say that the way to get Un Savuth to moveforward was to throw a can of beer out in front of him and tell him to go get it. He died in an accident in 1973 when his jeep ran into a tree. I had several lively and well watered conversations with him, during one of which he promised a coup against Lon Nol if the latter did not change his ways and then wrote this down on a napkin as a verification of his resolve. Not long after that his jeep hit the tree.

I don't recall ever hearing of Spencer Dale. One has to wonder why, if his claimed exploits are true, it has taken until now for them to surface. My hunch would be that he spent a good deal of his time enjoying Chantarangsey's wine and women and maybe not so much engaging in dangerous battlefield activities. Overall the film clip provided seems hyped and way over romanticized, especially regarding the behavior of the Khmer. If he was rally on the ground for any significant amount of time he would know that this is only part of the picture. There was also the severing of heads, the eating of enemy livers and other rather unpleasant activities that paralleled in many ways the behavior of the Khmer Rouge later. Not all Cambodians are like Chantarangsey. They can be extremely rough and cruel, but this does not fit very well into the storyline Dale seems to be peddling. That what I can say on this. Best regards, Don   

Chantarangse was 

<image002.jpg>

mbproductions.com.au

Disthurst Pty. Ltd.

P.O. Box 161

14 Mornington St. Red Hill.

Brisbane, QLD. 4059

Tel. 07-3876-4476

Mobile. 0427-07-17-42

web. www.mbproductions.com.au

Email. mi...@mbproductions.com.au

 

[Carl Robinson]

Thank for your inputs here -- and it'd still be great from Matt Franjola and Al Rockoff and any others.   

Meanwhile, this has come in from ex-UPI's Alan Dawson he actually knew the guy and peripherally involved in an earlier at a doco.  So, he was indeed a Qantas "cabin boy" too! 

Hi Carl,
I know ... knew Spencer, and worked for several months in Thailand and then in Brisbane on a documentary using his story and film. Long story, but it never got shown, obviously - although we did in fact finish the rough (and quite good) cut on the doco in the mid-1980s. It was called "One Man's War".

Spencer was a Qantas cabin boy (heh) and if what I remember is right, he never was accredited or worked as a journo or anything - he just liked going along with the troops and seeing things blow up, apparently. I wasn't ALL that intrigued w ith his story or his film, frankly. It was interesting but far from engrossing, but maybe I was too jaded.

Best,

Carl 

  

[Martin Stuart-Fox]

I note that on YouTube Dale says he was inspired by Sean Flynn, but the photo accompanying his voice over is of Tim Page.

Cheers

Martin

[jon swain]

I have been thinking more about Dale. I now have a vague memory of a colourful piece being written for a Brit paper about the antics of a young Australian with Lon Nol troops who had gone ferrel and was tooling around with a rifle. If I am right it might have been in the Observer. I will check if I am right.

Jon

[matt franjola]

There was an Aussie fighting with I believe the 7th Div. on the northern front up hwy 5. We called him the "skindiver" because he had come from Indonesia where he had been an underwater welder on oil rigs. It was good money and tough work. Don't know why but he just showed up the PP one day. I do not remember his name he was a thin wiry guy with blondish hair.

 

Life at the front was tough - soldiers received food and pay sporadically and they were quite understrength and spread thin along a front line. The line wasn't that far north of the city and soldiers or one of their number could get to PP to pick up the odd item of necessity, if they had any cash. Surprisingly, they seemed to have good morale.

 

the skindiver was there a number of months and would come into PP occasionally and hangout with press types at the hotel. I met him a number of times asking about life at the front and the techniques of underwater welding. I don't know where he stayed; maybe at the Hotel Asie where Warren Hoffecker lived.

 

One day he said he was leaving the front and Cambodia. I asked why. he said: "I got tired of eating grass."

 

Matt

 

  

[Stanley Cloud]

I was in Cambodia, off and on, in '70, 71' and '72 and was with some of Chantarangsey's troops at Pich Nil Pass one long and (incoming) mortar-filled day. I do not, however, recall ever meeting Spencer Dale there or anywhere else.

Allow me to add to the list of competent (though not necessarily incorruptible) Cambodian officers the name of Col. (later general, I think) Srey Yar. In December 1970, he was in command of the troops that withstood (with a lot of illegal U.S. air support and napalm) the NVA's siege of Prey Totung on Route 7, between Phnom Penh and Kompong Cham. The late Denis Cameron and I managed to get in there while the town was still under siege. (Of course, we didn't know it was still under siege until we disembarked from a Cambodian chopper piloted by a South Vietnamese, who panicked and took off as soon as we hit the ground, never to be seen again.) Denis and I spent a couple of fairly harrowing days witnessing Srey Yar and his men at work. He was an impressive officer, in my opinion. Anyone know whatever became of him?

Stan

   

Stanley Cloud

stan...@mac.com

[Chhang Song]

Hi Stanley,

Here's your old friend Chhang Song, now 75 and living among the Cambodians in Long Beach, CA. 

(General) Srey Ya was the paratroopers' commander until the end. I do not believe he ever got out of Cambodia when the Khmer Rouge got in there. Good men died.

Best,

Chhang Song

[Stanley Cloud]

Thanks for filling me in, Chhang Song. Lynne and I miss seeing your good self in DC these days, but we've followed your doings, illnesses and recoveries  with much interest, thanks to the Old Hacks network. We remain close to the remarkable Hout Seng family. All the best as always, old friend.

[Chhang Song]

Hello everyone,

I am very happy to hear from Stanley Cloud and Don Jameson, and I am trying to jot down a few notes, with the hope they may be of interest to everyone.

Of all the very interesting comments on General (Prince) Chantarainsey, I wish to mention that, before Cambodia got its independance from France, Chantarainsey led a group of Khmer Issarak fighting the French-Cambodian government of Prince Sihanouk . I was too young to remember the rest of the story, but when he joined Lon Nol in 1970, Chantaraingsey was  made a major of the Khmer Republic's armed forces.  His headquarters in Kompong Speu was named Chbar Mon, or Mulberry Garden, close enough to be confused with Chamkar Mon, or Mulberry Field of his cousin's private palace, that of Prince Sinanouk. Chantaraingsey just loved it.

It should also recalled that it was Chantaraingsey and his troops that were responsible  for locating Kate Webb when she was captured by the Vietcong during a battle on Route 4, and for her safe transfer to the Pochentong airport when we picked her up.

Don Jameson mentioned General Oum Savuth's jeep ran into a tree and that he was killed... and made illusion to Oum Savuth's pledged to get rid of Lon Nol if Lon Nol did not change. Interestingly enough, I was with Oum Savuth that night, a few hours before his death, eating and drinking at two Phnom Penh restaurants, Seh Hoh and later Thmaw Da. Along ordering good food and good drinks, Oum Savuth scripted a few songs that night, and had the female singers sing them for his wife who had refused to join him. She wanted him to come home for the night before returning to his field post. When he was drunk enough, he forced his driver, a lieutenant, to drink wisky with him. The driver first refused, buth Savuth threatened him with punishment until the driver accepted then took a few more hard drinks.

I insisted he should return home and rest as it was very late, but Oum Savuth retorqued he would ride back on his Jeep to his field command post in Kompong Thom that very hour, adding that the North Vietnamese carried their weapons and ammunitions, walked on foot day and night and fought the war in the South, both in Khmer land and in Vietnam. For his part, he should have no fear moving at night on his own territory. By midnight, I left Oum Savuth at Thmaw Da restaurant and returned to my flat by Psar Thmei. The next morning, when I was getting myself ready for the morning briefing at the Etat-Major General, I was told Oum Savuth's jeep had run into a tree by the Cham village and Oum Savuth died as a result. I told officers at the high command headquarters that I suspected Oum Savuth's driver might have been already drunk when I left them and might have been the cause of the fatal accident.

It would be a very important history footnote to point out that, during the 60's, then Major Oum Savuth was detached from the regular military command and attached to then Head of State Prince Sihanouk's private Chamkar Mon Palace, specifically assigned to supervise the transport of military equipment and ammunition passing through Kompong Som port into COS/VN in eastern Cambodia. Oum Savuth limped on his left leg as the result of an earlier shootout with one of his soldiers.

Warm Regards,

Chhang Song

[Donald Jameson]

Dear Song: Thank you for these interesting details on Oum Savuth. I also was dining with Oum Savuth at Thmaw Da when he made the coup threat. Of course, he was as usual quite drunk then as well and I did not take what he was saying very seriously. Those were colorful times but unfortunately it was a very serious situation and this boys will be boys approach to fighting a war did not prove to be very successful in the end. By that time overall morale, among both civilians and the troops, was so low that there probably was no way to save Cambodia short of a full scale US intervention/occupation. Ironically something like this might have been feasible in Cambodia but by the 1970s no one in Washington was prepared to contemplate anything but a complete exit from Indochina. I managed to convince left wing Congressman Allard Lowenstein during a visit in 1971 that Cambodia was different, in part by introducing him to a number of my student and intellectual friends. But he never followed this up and a few years later died in a bizarre murder incident in New York. I had some entree with him because he had been my professor of international law at Stanford in 1963.

I hope you are doing well Song. Best regards, Don