A gathering last week in Pueblo, Colo. reminded some people --- but most media missed it --- of the capture by North Korea of the USS Pueblo a half century ago, noted Grumpy Editor.
North Korean MiG fighter jets and patrol boats opened fire on the American spy ship, leading to the first capture of a U.S. Navy ship since the War of 1812.
In the Jan. 23, 1968 incident, one crew member was killed and 82 others were taken captive and held for 11 months in North Korean prisons where they were tortured.
“The crew of the USS Pueblo would like to get our ship returned,” Ron Berens, lead helmsman onboard at the time of capture, told Fox News at last week’s reunion that attracted 40 surviving crew members.
Berens revealed, “There’s nothing in the current history books about the Pueblo.”
Tim Harris, a supply officer onboard the ship, recalled North Korean patrol boats quickly surrounded the American spy ship and opened fire with machine guns and 40mm cannon.
“We never surrendered. We stopped the ship. There was never an order to surrender,” Harris said. “We had taken so much fire.”
Today, the Pueblo remains a commissioned U.S. Navy ship on display in the Potong River inside North Korea’s capital Pyongyang.
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