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The Jewish Home n
M ay 3 0 , 2013
Forgotten Heroes
Avi Heiligman
The Saga of the USS Pueblo
T
he Cold War (1945-1991) pitted the two ideologies of Communism and capitalism against one another. Although the two main countries involved, the U.S. and Russia, never actually met on the battlefield (hence the term “Cold” War), they each
originally a freight and passenger ship for the army and was called FP-344. A year later, the ship was manned by the Coast Guard to train civilians. After ten years, she was placed out of service, but in 1964, the ship was transferred to the navy as a light cargo ship. She was renamed the USS Pueblo after the county in Colorado, and in 1967, she was converted to an intelligence gathering or spy ship. It was a joint project between the navy and the NSA (National Security Agency), and the Pueblo was USS Pueblo in North Korea designated as supported other military campaigns the AGER-2 (Auxiliary General Enagainst the mother country. Some of vironmental Research). The ship was these “mini” wars included the Korean given state-of-the-art equipment that War, the Vietnam War and the Russian would be able to intercept enemy sigWar in Afghanistan in the 1980s. There nals. A special metal room called a sod were several other smaller incidents hut was installed and 33 onboard techthat were instigated by one of the coun- nicians used the equipment to do their tries. One of these included the capture research on enemy territory. of an American spy ship off the coast The Pueblo left its port in Japan on of North Korea in 1968. Along with the January 11, 1968. She immediately excapture of 82 sailors, a lot of sensitive perienced engine trouble but continued information was captured as well. on to Tsushima Strait where the ship The USS Pueblo was built during had orders to intercept Soviet signals. the massive military buildup in WWII The intelligence was more important and was launched in 1944. She was than the inherent dangers.
On the 20th, the American military Pueblo was in inwas fully aware of ternational waters the plight of the off North Korea and Pueblo but unfordetected a North tunately wasn’t in Korean submarine a position to do chaser that was withanything about the in 4,000 yards of the situation. Aircraft American ship. Two from land bases or days later, the North carriers were too attempted to assassifar away to make nate the South Korea difference. The an president but the ship’s crew was Pueblo wasn’t intold not to give up formed and the crew the ship unless it Commander Lloyd Bucher was questioning why they were being was absolutely necessary but no help shadowed by two fishing trawlers. came from nearby American forces and The next day, January 23, accord- all they could do was try to save their ing to U.S. accounts, the Pueblo was skins by giving up without firing a shot. about 16 miles off the North Korean When President Lyndon Johnson was coast and in international waters. The informed, there was little he could do. ship was approached by a North Kore- By the time he found out, the ship was an sub chaser and demanded to show already in Wonson and he was greatly her nationality. The Pueblo raised an worried about the fate of the 82 sailors American flag and attempted to maneu- in captivity. ver away. The Pueblo was much slower There are two sides of the story than the sub chaser and the three torpe- about why the North Koreans wanted do boats that joined the chase and soon to capture an American ship. Some exwere firing on the American ship. MiG- perts say that they wanted to prove their 21 fighter jets joined the battle that was worth within the Eastern Bloc states but completely one-sided. The ammunition in capturing the Pueblo actually damon the American ship was stored away aged their status. No one wanted a “hot” and in the two hours before she was war with the powerful American miliboarded, sailor Duane Hodges was killed by the sub chaser’s gun while he tried to destroy important documents. (Most of his shipmates didn’t do much to try to destroy any classified material.) The Americans stalled for time while they tried destroying the large piles of classified materials; howthe USS Pueblo off of San Diego in 1967 ever, by the time they were captured, only a small portion of it was destroyed and tary. Other experts say that the North most fell into North Korean hands. The Koreans were under pressure from the ship was boarded by Korean sailors, Soviets to capture code machines from and the Americans were blindfolded an American spy ship. The Russians and beaten while they were being led had secret messages (through CIA detowards the port of Wonson. High-rank- fector and traitor John Walker, whom ing North Korean officials boarded the the agency did not discover was a spy ship once they were in North Korean until 1985) but were unable to decode waters. them; now they were able to translate During the entire incident, the the codes with the assistance of the