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The Forgotten DMZ War Commander Bucher

Pueblo Incident - Jan 23,1968

On Fri, 21 Nov 1997
Don G Putnam Email address wrote:

It has been almost 30 years since the USS Pueblo was captured by North
Korea. The vessel's commander was  Lloyd Bucher. 

Commander Bocher, now 70, retired from the Navy in 1973, after 27 years.
He lives in Poway, Calif. where he enjoys painting and a quiet life - a
far cry from the international incident involving his lightly armed
906-ton  intelligence-gathering vessel. Commander Bocher and his crew 
of 82 were captured by North Korean patrol boats Jan.23,1968, in the Sea
of Japan off North Korea's eastern coast. 

North Korea claimed that the Pueblo had violated its territorial waters,
but the United States said they were in international waters.

One American crewman was killed in the attack. The others were held
captive for 11 months. After their release,Commander Bucher said he and
other crew members had been beaten and forced to confess. 

Long snubbed by the U.S.government, the Pueblo crew finally received
prisoner if war medals in a 1990 . At the time of the ceremony ,
Commander Bucher was quoted as saying: "This should have been done when
we got home ,They (U.S.government officials) needed to tell these guys
that they had served well" ..

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Pueblo Incident - 1968

Hal, I'm a television reporter working on a story about the Pueblo 
incident. I'm surfing the net for information about the Pueblo and
what happened. So far, your's is the only link I've found. If you're 
aware of any more would you please e-mail me at: 
tlawrence@wral-tv.com

Your help is much appreciated... and I found your site very interesting.
I'm 58, not a vet, but remember Korea well and have several friends who
served. 

Regards, Tom Lawrence, WRAL-TV Raleigh, NC

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Pueblo Incident

On Sat, 01 Jul 95
Gary Esposito  rocket@shadow.net wrote:

Very good article on the DMZ. I was there when the USS Pueblo
was taken, I was with the 2nd Inf. up on the DMZ at the time,
and as you said things got hot. Your article brought back a 
lot of memories.

Take Care (Keep Up the Fire)
Ralph Esposito

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Start of Section, please scroll down

Pueblo

On Wed, 29 Oct 1997 
Tony Boyle  wrote:

207 TWELVE OAKS DRIVE
WARNER ROBINS, GA 31088

Telephone:	912-327-3551

US AIR FORCE

Comments:

I am a Vietnam Veteran and retired military USAF. I was not in the 
Korean War but served six years in Korea during the post Korean War Era.

I flew recon mission over Korea during the Pueblo Crisis and was their
during the AX Murder and Tree Cutting Incident. The war never really 
ended all the time I was there incidents occured frequently along the 
DMZ and the North Koreans were constantly trying to send infiltrators 
into the south. I was in high school during the Korean War and many of 
the upper classmen went to Korea upon graduation and some did not come
back. We had a plaque in the lobby of the school in their memory. 

We must not forget the heroes of our wars who went where sent by their
government and gave their all serving their country. Keep up the great
job you are doing.

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Pueblo Support

On Sun, 2 Aug 1998 
Ted Haverty Email address wrote:

comments: 
Great section and info.  Do you ever get any visitors/vets from the 
1968 time span. I was there, TDY from Okinawa, June, July, and part of
Aug. for support due to the capture of the Pueblo.

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USAF Support

On Wed, 31 Dec 1997
Dan Decker Email address wrote:

206 W. Arcadia
Alpine, TX 79830

Comments: 

Have noticed there isn't much mention of the Air Force in Korea. As 
part of the response to the USS Pueblo incident, the 4th Tactical 
Fighter Wing from Seymour Johnson AFB, NC was sent to Kunsan AB.

I was a member of the 4th, an INS technician working on the F-4Ds. I
recall that our backseaters were bored flying across the Pacific, so 
they kept their Fire Control Radar system in Operate mode. Consequently,
when they landed at Kunsan, 74 of 75 aircraft had useless radar sets. 

The weather was miserable; 20 below zero and a 30-knot wind. And we had 
to get all the birds back to 100% ASAP. We came over in January and
returned home in July. We left one crew in Korea somewhere. The enlisted
folks never heard what happened to that one bird. It took off and never
returned.

The 51st Composite Wing and the 13th TFS would be good sources for the
second Korean Offensive.

Keep 'em flying.

Dan Decker, TSgt
USAF Retired

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