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Photo: Author's reconstruction.

Photo NH 75555 - North Korean photograph of the USS Pueblo logbook taken after capture in January 1968. Coordinates are highlighted with black boxes.

EXCLUSIVE. FIRST IN THE WORLD. Not even in the English Wikipedia. The only complete analysis in the world based on declassified documents (August - October 2026). USS Pueblo (AGER-2) awards and the full crew list. Author’s research by oxanaoxana.com based on archives and work with documents

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USS Pueblo: the only U.S. ship that has been a North Korean trophy for 58 years and is still listed in active service.

Captain: Lloyd “Pete” Bucher

Lloyd M. Bucher was born on September 1, 1927, in Pottello, Idaho. His parents died when he was an infant. At 17 he joined the U.S. Navy. Later he graduated from the University of Nebraska and became an officer.

In May 1967 he took command of USS Pueblo (AGER-2) - an intelligence ship officially listed as an “auxiliary general environmental research vessel.” She carried two mounted.

On January 23, 1968, Pueblo was attacked by North Korean patrol boats. Bucher ordered the destruction of secret documents, but the volume was too great. The ship was seized. One sailor - Duane Hodges - was killed. 83 men, including Bucher, were taken prisoner for 11 months.

Bucher was subjected to the most brutal torture. He was beaten, burned on steam radiators, subjected to mock executions. Shipmates recalled: “We were all beaten, all tortured. But he got it twice, three times, four times more than us.” He signed a “confession” of espionage only after a North Korean colonel threatened to shoot the entire crew one by one, starting with the youngest.

After his release he was put on trial - for surrendering the ship without a fight. But U.S. Secretary of the Navy John H. Chafee rejected the court’s recommendations: “They have suffered enough.” Bucher was not found guilty and continued to serve.

He retired in 1973. He worked as a commercial artist. He was a central figure in the USS Pueblo Veterans Association. He was awarded the Purple Heart and the Prisoner of War Medal.

He died on January 28, 2004, in San Diego. According to shipmates - from the effects of the torture he endured in captivity. He was buried with military honors at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.

Official ship data

USS Pueblo (AGER-2) - not a “warship.” She was an auxiliary signals intelligence ship (Auxiliary General Environmental Research), converted from the Army cargo transport FS-344 (1944). Transferred to the U.S. Navy on April 12, 1966. Reclassified as AGER-2 on May 13, 1967.

Technical specifications:

· Displacement: about 900 tons

· Length: 54 meters (177 feet)

· Beam: 10 meters (33 feet)

· Speed: 12.7 knots

· Armament: two mounted .50 - caliber (12.7 mm) machine guns - one forward, one aft. A third machine gun was kept in its crate and was never mounted. They were stored under covers, ammunition below deck. Time to bring them to action - no less than 10 minutes. The guns were temperamental to maintain, and only one crew member had real experience firing them.

The seizure: January 23, 1968

The ship was in international waters. The U.S. claimed Pueblo was at least 13 nautical miles from North Korean territory. North Korea insisted on a 50-mile boundary, although the international standard at the time was 12 miles.

Chronology according to official data:

January 20: a North Korean patrol boat passed 3.7 km from Pueblo

January 22: North Korean trawlers passed within 27.4 meters

January 23: a patrol boat demanded she stop. Bucher maneuvered for two hours. Then a 57-mm gun opened fire.

Casualties: Duane Hodges killed. 10 crew members were wounded, including Bucher (in the ankle and rectum) and Marine Robert Chicca.

Crew - 83 men (including two civilian oceanographers). After Hodges’ death, 82 spent 11 months in captivity.

Technical data: damage and destruction

Secret NSA documents (declassified):

Diagram of Pueblo Prior to North Korean Attack (Doc ID 4123314)

Diagram of Pueblo After Emergency Destruction (Doc ID 4123316)

Damage Assessment of the Compromise of Operational Intelligence Broadcast Messages On Board USS Pueblo (March 17, 1969)

What was on board: cipher machines, codes, radio documents, signals intelligence (SIGINT) technical data, operational intelligence messages (GOPI - General Operational Intelligence Broadcast).

What was destroyed: about 90% of secret materials. The rest fell into North Korean hands.

NSA damage assessment: the documents state that the compromise of GOPI revealed the structure, technical capabilities, staffing, and coverage areas of many SIGINT facilities. Analysis of GOPI gave insight into U.S. intelligence requirements and gaps in U.S. and allied capabilities.

Additional archival data

NSA, “The Capture of the USS Pueblo and its Effect on SIGINT Operations” (1992) - a full report, 236 pages. Declassified in 2012.

Panmunjom negotiation transcripts - 29 reels of recordings from February 2 to December 23, 1968. U.S. National Archives.

Recording of a radio broadcast from Pyongyang dated January 25, 1968, with Bucher’s “confession.”

 CIA document dated January 3, 1969 — on possible Soviet involvement in studying the captured equipment.

NSA damage assessment: about 80% of documents and 95% of cryptographic equipment survived. North Korea gained access to more than 500 documents, including 58 SIGINT technical instructions, 37 technical manuals, 33 COMINT (Communications Intelligence) technical reports, and 126 collection requirements.

North Korean specialists interrogated some communications personnel up to 20 times, with sessions lasting hours. They obtained diagrams of KW-7 and KWR-37 equipment, which saved them 3–6 months of analysis.

Captivity and torture: official testimony

82 survivors spent 11 months in captivity. From the official NSA report: the crew was subjected to interrogations and torture.

Bucher recalled: “I was beaten more often than anyone. They wanted to break me.”

Propaganda photos: the sailors showed their middle fingers, telling the North Koreans it was a “Hawaiian good luck sign.” When the deception was discovered, they were brutally beaten.

Full crew list of USS Pueblo (83 names)

Published in the declassified document “USS PUEBLO RELEASE SUMMARY” dated November 20, 2012, available on the official website of the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA).

Officers:

CDR Lloyd Bucher (commanding officer), LT Stephen Harris, LT Edward Murphy, LT(jg) F. Schumacher, ENS Timothy Harris, CWO-4 Gene Lacy.

Chief Petty Officers:

CTMCS Ralph Bouden, ENC Monroe Goldman, CTTC James Kell.

Petty Officers First Class:

CT1 Don Bailey, HM1 Herman Baldridge, CT1 Michael Barrett, EN1 Rushel Blansett, YN1 Armando Canales, SK1 Policarpo Garcia, CT1 Francis Ginther, EMI Gerald Hagenson, BM1 Norbert Klepac, QM1 Charles Law, CT1 James Layton, PH1 Lawrence Mack, CT1 Donald Peppard, CT1 David Ritter, EN1 William Scarborough, CT1 James Sheppard.

Petty Officers Second Class:

CT2 Michael Alexander, CT2 Wayne Anderson, BM2 Ronald Berens, SGT Robert Chicca (USMC), IC2 Victor Escamilla, SGT Robert Hammond (USMC), RM2 Lee Hayes, CT2 Peter Langenberg, SM2 Wendell Leach, CS2 Harry Lewis, CT2 Donald McClarren, ET2 Clifford Nolte, CT2 Charles Sterling, GM2 Kenneth Wadley, CT2 Elton Wood.

Petty Officers Third Class:

CT3 Charles Ayling, CT3 Paul Brusnahan, BM3 Willie Bussell, RM3 Charles Crandell, CT3 Bradley Crowe, CT3 Rodney Duke, CT3 Joseph Fejfar, CT3 John Grant, CT3 Sidney Karnes, CT3 Earl Kisler, CT3 Anthony Lamantia, CT3 Ralph McClintock, QM3 Alvin Plucker, CS3 Ralph Reed, CT3 Steven Robin, CT3 John Shilling, CT3 Angelo Strano, EN3 Darrel Wright.

Stewards:

Rogelio Abelon, Rizalino Aluague.

Seamen and Firemen:

Richard Arnold, Richard Bame, Peter Bandera, Howard Bland, Stephen Ellis, John Higgins, Robert Hill, Duane Hodges (killed during the seizure), Roy Maggard, Larry Marshall, Thomas Massie, John Mitchell, Michael O’Bannon, Earl Phares, Dale Rigby, Richard Rogala, Ramon Rosales, Edward Russell, John Shingleton, Norman Spear, Larry Strickland, Steven Woelk.

Civilian oceanographers:

Harry Iredale, Dunnie Tuck.

Bucher’s trial: the official position

The Court of Inquiry (1969) recommended a court-martial for Bucher and Stephen Harris - for surrendering the ship without a fight.

Secretary of the Navy John H. Chafee rejected the recommendation: “They have suffered enough.”

Bucher on the order: “We were told not to provoke and not to engage in combat with the North Koreans. We didn’t go out to start a war. We obediently followed those orders.”

Official crew awards (U.S. Navy, November 20, 2012):

Navy Cross - Sergeant Robert J. Hammond (USMC).

Silver Star - Duane Hodges, Lieutenant Frederic C. Schumacher.

Bronze Star - Ron K. Berens, Robert J. Chicca, Timothy L. Harris, Peter M. Langenberg, Wendell G. Leach, F. Carl Schumacher.

Purple Heart - Captain Lloyd M. Bucher, Duane Hodges.

Prisoner of War Medal - all crew members.

Combat Action Ribbon - all military crew members.

The full crew list - 83 names (82 survivors and 1 killed) - was published by the NSA on November 20, 2012.

Official crew awards

According to U.S. Navy data (November 20, 2012)

Data as of 2026

USS Pueblo is still listed as “Active” in the U.S. Navy registry. She is the second-oldest active ship in the U.S. Navy after “Constitution” (“Old Ironsides”).

Legal claims: in June 2026, a U.S. court ruled on claims by former crew members: $1.15 billion for 171 plaintiffs. The money has not been paid - North Korea ignores court rulings.

Legislation: in 2026, Colorado adopted resolution HJR26-1015, declaring January 23 “USS Pueblo Day.” H.Res. 44 on the return of the ship is under consideration in Congress.

The ship as a museum: Pueblo stands on the Potong River in Pyongyang, next to the Museum of Victory in the Liberation War. Tours are conducted by North Korean naval personnel.

I wrote this article so that the names of these heroes will not be forgotten.

They endured 11 months of captivity, torture, and uncertainty - but they never broke.

With deep respect for the crew of the USS Pueblo

oxanaoxana.comAuthor: Oxana. oxanaoxana.com, May - September 2026. Updated October 16, 2026.

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