Naval Commander Returns To Cambodia After 37 Years

Semper Fi Parents | November 25, 2010 

U.S. Navy Commander Michael Vannak Khem Misiewicz has visited dozens of ports over the course of his career, but none has ever evoked the emotions that will come when his ship USS Mustin visits Cambodia in December, marking the first time in 37 years that he has returned to the land of his birth.

As a young Cambodian boy born and living in the rice fields outside of the capital Phnom Penh in the late 1960’s / early 1970’s, Misiewicz – whose birth name was Vannak Khem -- wasn’t aware of the political tension building up around him. When his country plunged into turmoil, his family reluctantly gave him up for adoption to a young American woman who worked at the U.S. Embassy, allowing him to escape before the Khmer Rouge regime took over the country, eventually causing millions of deaths in what is known as the “Killing Fields.”

“I know it’s going to be very emotional,” said Misiewicz. “I was the lucky one in the family.”

Raised by his adoptive mother, Misiewicz enlisted in the Navy after graduating from high school in Lanark, Illinois. He was selected for the Navy’s Broadened Opportunity for Officer Selection and Training (BOOST) program, and attended the U.S. Naval Academy, where he received his commission in 1992. His service as a Navy Surface Warfare Officer ultimately brought him to command the guided missile destroyer USS Mustin, forward deployed to Yokosuka, Japan.

As commanding officer of the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Mustin (DDG 89), Misiewicz and the more than 300 Sailors under his charge will conduct community service projects and interact with the Cambodian Navy. USS Mustin’s port call comes on the heels of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s visit earlier this month, and the first-ever Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise with Cambodia.

“It brings a lot of happiness to see my country – the United States – establishing a positive relationship with the country of my heritage,” Misiewicz said.


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