Per some other articles/threads, Kerry said President Nixon was the one who ordered them into Cambodia Christmas 1968. Kerry says they took 'friendly fire' from South VietNamese celebrating Christmas Eve. Yet, Nixon was not sworn in as President until January 1969.
And, The Vietnamese don't celebrate Christmas !!!!!
The 10 percent who are Catholic do, but not by firing their M16s, that's more of a Tet or Khmer New Year thing.
I'm also dubious that he was being fired on by the Khmer Rouge (part of his "inside Cambodia" claim). The KR numbered less than 9,000 even by 1970, and operated mostly out of Siem Reap and the Southwest (Sihanoukville).
In 1968 the KR would have been out assaulting the provincial capitols and Phnom Penh, not down in the muck of the Bassac river looking for Americans who weren't allowed to be there in the first place.
None of it makes any sense.