Friday, July 26, 2013

North Korea to put US spy ship captured in 1968 on display in war museum as part of 60th anniversary 'Victory Day' celebration of the signing of treaty ending the Korean War

Another post on John's Naval, Marine and other Service news

North Korea to put US spy ship captured in 1968 on display in war museum as part of 60th anniversary 'Victory Day' celebration of the signing of treaty ending the Korean War

The only US navy ship held by another country, is still listed as a commissioned Navy vessel
The siege killed one sailor and injured three, with the remaining 82 crew held hostage for 11 months in 1968
Crew claim they were fed turnips three meals a day and routinely beaten while in captivity

PUBLISHED: 21:17 GMT, 25 July 2013 | UPDATED: 22:04 GMT, 25 July 2013

North Korea will put a captured U.S. Navy ship on display this week as part of a new war museum.

The USS Pueblo, the only US Navy ship held by a foreign government, will go on display as the crown jewel of a North Korean military museum on Victory Day, which commemorates the signing of the treaty that ended the Korean War 60 years ago.

Restored as part of the effort to renovate the museum, the Pueblo was captured in the late 60s of the eastern coast of North Korea. The Pueblo is held up in the North as proof the country stood up and drove out the U.S.

Its a museum: The USS Pueblo sits on the banks of a Pyongyang, North Korea river as North korean soldiers walk past it

The museum, on the banks of a river in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, has been fully restored as part of the country’s celebration of the 60th anniversary of their victory by way of treaty.

Once captured, the crew were held hostage in the reclusive Communist country for 11 months. Having not been recovered or sunk, the ship is still listed as a commissioned Navy vessel.

‘I got shot up in the original capture, so we were taken by bus and then train for an all-night journey to Pyongyang in North Korea, and then they put us in a place we called the barn,’ Marine Corp sergeant Robert Cicca said. Saying that food was scarce, causing him to lose 60 pounds, Cicca added that the crew was forced to eat ‘fried turnips for breakfast, turnip soup for lunch, and fried turnips for dinner.’

Tourist destination: North Koreans now tour the ship in groups as part of a visit to a war museum

Not a battleship: The USS Pueblo was barely armed, meant for intelligence gathering only

International waters: At over 15 miles from the coast,the USS Pueblo was well beyond the 12 miles of territorial waters claimed by North Korea

Never built for combat, the USS Pueblo was launched in 1944 as a US Army cargo ship before being repurposed for intelligence gathering in 1967, before being sent to the Far East later that year, according to the Navy.

Purposely not heavily armed, the Pueblo was easily overtaken by North Korean forces in January, 1968, in an attack that killed one sailor and saw the remaining 82, including three seriously injured, captured.

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North Korean officials claimed shortly after the attack that the Pueblo was in North Korean territorial waters and posed a threat, a claim the U.S. denied. The Navy claimed the ship was over 15 miles from the coast of the nearest island – well beyond the 12 miles of territorial waters claimed by North Korea, in a subsequent film released by the US Navy.

By corroborating that evidence with location reporting from both the Pueblo and a sub hunter in the area, the Navy believes it has proof that the North Koreans misled American officials as to the location of the ship when it was overrun by forces from six boats covered by air support from MiG fighter jets.

In North Korean waters: North Korea asserts the USS Pueblo was in the country's territorial waters when captured, according to a propaganda video released by the Communist nation

Dear leader: North Korean patriarch Kim il-Sung, referred to as 'Dear Leader in the North,' is seen in this propaganda video in which North Korea claimed 'the US imperialists went down on their knees again'

The US was hesitant to commit to a battle over the ship with North Korea because it was in the middle of the Vietnam War to the south, and was wary about being spread too thin.

Despite being an intelligence gathering ship, according to the Navy, crew members have long asserted they had little information of value to share with North Korea, which resulted in brutal beating at the hands of North Korean soldiers.

‘The Koreans basically told us, they put stuff in front of us, they said you were here, you were spying, you will be shot as spies,’ Earl Phares said, adding that beatings were shared equally among the captive crew.

Put in front of cameras to confess, Pueblo crew members were courageously defiant during their forced confessions, even extending middle fingers in images seen outside the country. Once wise to the gesture, North Korean soldiers beat the soldiers even more for their boldness.

Held hostage: Crew members of the USS Pueblo hold up their hands while in captivity in North Korea in 1968

Forced confessions: Crew members of USS Pueblo pose while in captivity in North Korea in 1968

Long ago, but not forgotten: former USS Pueblo crew member Richard Rogala holds a painting of the USS Pueblo at his home in Sarasota, FL

Founder: Kim il-Sung founded the North Korean state, leading it until his son Kim Jong-il took over after his death

Only after a signed statement from Major General Gilbert Woodward, the chief US negotiator with North Korea, apologizing for ‘the grave acts’ committed against North Korea when the Pueblo ‘illegally intruded’ into the country’s territorial waters, were the hostages let go. Woodward read a statement into the record disavowing the confession both before and after the apology.

The hostages were released across the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea two days before Christmas, 11 months to the day after their capture.

Initially considered for a court marshall for losing his ship, Commander Lloyd Bucher never saw any charges brought against him after it was determined the crew had suffered enough.

Hostile takeover: Several speedboats filled with Korean soldiers had little trouble taking over the lightly armed USS Pueblo after spraying it with gunfire for about an hour

For cargo: Known as the FP-344 prior to being commissioned the USS Pueblo for the Navy, the ship was used to transport US Army cargo in the waning days of World War II

Family business: Kim Jong-un, grandson of Kim il-Sung, took over North Korea in 2012 after the passing of his father Kim Jong-il

Defending the ship’s captain, Phares said ‘It would have been nice to take out some of the guys, some of them, and maybe go down fighting, but it would have been total suicide.’

North Korea was said to have been close to returning the ship to the US in 2002, but reportedly back-peddled – an act that haunts the former crew even now.

‘It's very disappointing to have it still there, and still being used as anti-American propaganda,’ Chicca said.

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Friday, July 26, 2013