Re: USS Pueblo Commander, Bucher, Passes

Date: January 30, 2004

"Lloyd Bucher, hero of Pueblo
Commander of spy

By Seth Hettena Associated Press

Friday, January 30, 2004 - SAN DIEGO -- Former Navy Cmdr. Lloyd "Pete" Bucher, who was commander of the USS Pueblo when the spy ship was captured by North Korea in 1968 and helped his crew survive nearly a year of abuse in captivity only to nearly face a court-martial, has died. He was 76.

Bucher, who lived in the San Diego suburb of Poway, died Wednesday evening at a nursing facility near his home. He had been in declining health for months, partly the legacy of months of brutal captivity, said Stu Russell, who served under Bucher and is president of the USS Pueblo Veteran's Association.

The Pueblo, armed only with two .50-caliber machine guns in poor condition and hand-held firearms, was monitoring communist ship movements and intercepting messages in inter-national waters near the North Korean coast when it was attacked by torpedo boats Jan. 23, 1968.

One sailor was killed and 82 were taken prisoner. Bucher, who was wounded when the Pueblo was shelled, was beaten and tortured into signing a confession. During their captivity, crewmembers were beaten with pieces of lumber, burned on radiators and had their teeth kicked out by North Korean soldiers.

"The man was a giant," Russell said from his home in Eureka. "Being the focal point between the Koreans and the crew, he took the brunt of everything. No matter who did what, he was always punished. I simply don't know where he got the strength and courage to go through what he did."

After 11 months, the crew was released two days before Christmas. Many returned home crippled or nearly blind because of malnourishment. Their diet mostly consisted of turnips. The ship remained behind in North Korea, where it became a tourist attraction.

"I had people come to me and say on so many occasions that they never really appreciated how great it was to be an American until they had the misfortune to have been captured and stuck in a country that is completely devoid of humanity and truthfulness," Bucher said shortly after his release.

Bucher's surrender of the small ship, loaded with intelligence information, was harshly criticized by a Navy Court of Inquiry convened in January 1969 in Coronado. The court recommended Bucher face a general court-martial for failing to defend the Pueblo and allowing the ship to be searched when he had the power to resist and other offenses.

Navy Secretary John H. Chafee denied the request, saying that Bucher and other crewmembers "have suffered enough, and further punishment would not be justified."

The court did note that Bucher's leadership helped the crew survive the ordeal. While Bucher was being grilled by the Court of Inquiry, crewmembers passed him a note that read, "We've made it this far together and we'll finish it together." The note was signed "Bucher's Bastards."

Years later, Bucher remained angry that no U.S. forces were sent to aid the Pueblo.

"The U.S. at that time had enormous military forces in the western Pacific within five minutes flying time of us," Bucher told The Associated Press in 1988. "I would have thought something could be mustered to come to our aid. But everybody just forgot we were there."

It was only in 1989 that the Pentagon agreed to give prisoner of war medals to Bucher and the crew. Until then, the government maintained the 82 crewmembers were detainees rather than POWs because the United States and North Korea were not at war.

Bucher was born Sept. 1, 1927, in Pocatello, Idaho, to parents who both died shortly after his birth. He became a ward of the state and was adopted the following year by Austin Bucher and his wife, who changed his birth name from Don to Lloyd. The Buchers, too, died shortly after the adoption.

Bucher was sent to the St. Joseph's Children Home in Idaho where he remained until 1940 when he saw the Spencer Tracy film "Boys Town." Bucher wrote to Boys Town founder Father Edward Flanagan in Nebraska, asking for permission to live there. Flanagan sent him a train ticket, according to an account provided by Boys Town.

"Boys Town was the only home that I ever had," Bucher once said.

After Bucher graduated from high school in 1947, he served two years in the Navy and went on to the University of Nebraska.

Bucher was commissioned as an officer in 1953 and received command of the Pueblo -- his first command -- in 1967. The Pueblo, a World War II Liberty ship, had been outfitted with intelligence-gathering equipment.

Before retiring from the Navy in 1973 with the rank of commander, Bucher's final duty included the mining of Haiphong Harbor in North Vietnam.

Bucher is survived by his wife, Rose, sons Mark and Michael and several grandchildren.

A funeral is scheduled for Tuesday at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego. Bucher will be given full military honors.

USS Pueblo Veterans Association: http://www.usspueblo.org/ "