Conv-USS Pueblo

From: Lou Waters
Dated: October 15, 2013
Subject: News of the USS Pueblo

I was in Korea when the Pueblo was taken working on a Hawk CW radar that was down. When the site went on alert I was the only one with live rounds since I was from the Direct Support Platoon. We always carried live rounds due to NK ambushes on US Troops that were traveling after curfew. The buildup was like nothing I had ever seen before or since. Being in DC on 9/11 is the only thing that tops it. It was an interesting time.

Lou Det 3 1968-1969

Group Conversations
N to T

From: David Pinto

Dated: September 20, 2013

Subject: News of the USS Pueblo

The USS Pueblo was a Navy surveillance ship that captured by the North Koreans in the late 1960s. Many of the crew were held in captivity for 11 months and the ship was never returned. This link goes to a New York Times written on the 60th anniversary of this incident.

Click Here

AFVN Home

From: Bob Nelson
Dated: September 23, 2013
Subject: News of the USS Pueblo

I like that [selling the ship to Israel].

Bob

From: Mike Jackson

Dated: September 21, 2013

Subject: News of the USS Pueblo

Some wag once suggested that the United States should have written the Pueblo off as surplus, sold it to the Israelis . . . and they would have gone and gotten it.
MikeJ

Group Conversations
C to G

Group Conversations
H to M

Group Conversations
A & B

From: Steve Pennington

Dated: September 21, 2013

Subject: News of the USS Pueblo

One of our other Brothers (Mother Lodge is Crossroads in SD) was with Bucher in submarines and thinks Bucher should not have been assigned to a surface ship, but given command of a sub.

From: Jim White
Dated: September 24, 2013
Subject: News of the USS Pueblo

A friend of mine who, at the time was working in G-3, Operations, 5th Air Force here in Japan had a rather simple and cheap solution that no one else would buy. I.E. As soon as we were sure all of the U.S. service members were off the ship in Haiphong Harbor--bomb it into shards and splinters. Unfortunately (?), no one would buy his idea even though he had a very strong background of working both while on active duty and as a civilian in J-2 and J-3 offices for over 30 years or so.
Jim W

From: Bob Morecook

Dated: September 23, 2013

Subject: News of the USS Pueblo

LLoyd Bucher's so called "confession" was in itself an act of heroism.
NOTE THE REFERENCE TO BUCHER'S WISH TO PAEAN [PRAISE] THE NK ARMY. DO YOU THINK HE WAS REALLY SAYING PEE-ON?
Be sure to read the whole thing!
Bucher is MY HERO. Bob M

Bucher's "Confession"

A final confession in anticipation of leniency for my crew and myself for the heinous crimes perpetrated by ourselves while conducting horrible outrages against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea for the purpose of provocating and annoying those stalwarts of peace-loving humanity. The absolute truth of this bowel wrenching confession is attested to by my fervent desire to paean the Korean People’s Army Navy, and their government and to beseech the Korean people to forgive our dastardly deeds unmatched since Attila. I therefore swear the following account to be true on the sacred honor of the Great Speckled Bird. Following rigorous training in provacation and intrusion wherein each of my officers had to meet the overly high standards I had set for them we emerged from the bowels of San Diego harbor bent on setting records for the highest yardage gained in intrusions ever set in the standard patrol. Our first stop was Hawaii where I visited the kingpin of all provocateurs, including spies. None other than Fleet General Barney Google. He was all I had been told, sly, cunning, closed mouthed, bulbous nosed, smelling of musty top secrets and some foul smelling medicine that kept him going twenty hours a day in pursuit of the perfect spy mission. He talked haltingly with me but persuasively about our forthcoming mission. “By God, Bucher, I want you to get in there and be elusive, spy them out, spy out their water, look sharp for signs of electronic saline water traps. You will be going to spy out the DPRK . By the sainted General Bullmoose we must learn why they are so advanced in the art of people’s defense.” We entered into our assigned operating areas along the Eastern Korean Sea at latitude 39N and boldly steamed in a northerly direction to the farthest point we could. In so doing we had traversed Operation Areas Mars, Venus, and Pluto so named because like the planets, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is really far out. We knew that the lackeys of the Bowery Street Billionaires would never be satiated until we had found out all there was to know about the huge successes that the noble peace loving peoples of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea had made in the recent past. Surely we had to find out how come such a newly created government could lead its peoples so quickly into the number one position. As we went about detecting this valuable information, particularly the oceanic salinity, density, ionic dispersion rate, humpback whale counts, both low and high protoplasmic unicellular uglena and plankton counts. This information was of the highest value to our own scientists for the development of war mongering at sea when no one was looking. Now we have come to realize just how great our crimes were and we seek the leniency of the Korean people even though we are criminals of the basest variety and deserve only swift punishment of the just Korean law. Further, we know that our crimes are greater than those of any criminals discovered this century, nevertheless we ask forgiveness and promise never to engage in such naughty acts ever again if we are forgiven. We know that our crime is merely a reflection of the dastardly policies of the Bowery Street Billionaires and we can only hope they will realize their own responsibilities for our actions; because who else could have dreamed up such a heinous and foul playing ship as Pueblo and then searched out enough arch criminals such as we to operate it. Yea, we feel it is time indeed for those really responsible for us to step forward and accept their own roles and Admit, Apologize and give Assurances that they will never again prepare another spy bag to be filled with goodies. In summation, we who have been rotating upon the fickle finger of fate for such long languid months give our word to the Great Speckled Bird that we will heretofor in all sincerity cleanse ourselves of rottenness and vituperations. We solemnly await our return to our loved ones so that the fickle finger can be replaced by the rosy fingers of dawn and salvation. So help me, Hanna.

[NB: I must admit that this is first time I have read this. Thank goodness none of the North Koreans knew anything about the English language. [Jim White, Webmaster]

From: Forrest Brandt
Dated: September 23, 2013
Subject: News of the USS Pueblo

Tied down in Vietnam, main force based in Europe, living with the memory of what happened the last time the US crossed the 38th parallel, with a population slowly turning against the draft, riots in cities and protests on campuses, rules making it difficult to activate guard and reserve forces, Johnson made the only decision he could.

News of the USS Pueblo (Captured by North Korea in 1963)

September 2013

From: Bob Nelson
Dated: September 25, 2013
Subject: News of the USS Pueblo

It would be nice if folks listened every now and then....We are so scared of Public Opinion. [Related to Jim White's post, above.}

Bob

From: Joe Ciokon
Dated: September 21, 2013
Subject: News of the USS Pueblo

Absolutely correct. Lloyd Bucher was a neighbor here in Poway for many years. We would often meet at the local Vons or at the Navy Hospital when our appointments coincided. He carried that burden to the grave.
JoeC

From: Mike McNally
Dated: September 26, 2013
Subject: News of the USS Pueblo

This link should lead to a four-page PDF showing parts of the Pacific Stars and Stripes newspaper for Tuesday, 6 February 1968. In the PDF you will see a news story about how the Plaza BEQ on Tran Hung Dao Street was defended against a VC attack. There's also an item saying that a downtown Saigon PX had reopened. This might have been at the Meyerkord.
You will read that AFVN had been broadcasting warnings to Americans to stay off the streets. The news item says that on Sunday, 4 Feb 1968, a 1900 hrs. curfew was in place, and there was an order to "shoot on sight."
On the home front, a lady in Cincinnati had joined the WACs after her husband had been KIA in South Vietnam.
In world news, the US and North Korea were reportedly in secret negotiations for the return of the USS Pueblo.
Mike McNally

From: Frank Rogers

Dated: September 21, 2013

Subject: News of the USS Pueblo

I can never understand how "Washington" decided there was no force available to stop the NorKor takeover. The official word was that Japan didn't want planes from there to be involved in this incident. What about the planes at bases in South Korea?

From: Franklin Rogers
Dated: September 24, 2013
Subject: News of the USS Pueblo

I'm more inclined to side with Joe on this one. Johnson may have set the base for what Carter didn't do in Iran ... and Ford didn't do when North Vietnam violated the Paris "Peace" Accord. Failure in Vietnam by our politicians - not our military - has led us to today's view that the US is impotent.
Frank

From: Joe Ciokon

Dated: September 21. 2013

Subject: News of the USS Pueblo

What about the two carrier battle groups that were on their way and told to stand down by the President himself? USS ENTERPRISE (CVN 65) was one of them. If they had launched their planes, the North Koreans would have turned tail.
JoeC

From: Steve Pennington
Dated: September 21, 2013
Subject: News of the USS Pueblo

One of my Masonic Lodge Brothers is a Pueblo survivor. Was a 3rd Class PO when captured and retired as a Senior Chief. He thinks Bucher was shafted.

SLP

AFVN Group Conversations