IWTC honors Pueblo legacy

PENSACOLA, Fla. – The Information Warfare Training Command (IWTC) aboard Corry Station held a remembrance ceremony Jan. 23 on the 50th anniversary of North Korea’s capture of the technical research and spy ship USS Pueblo. In 1968, USS Pueblo was confronted by North Korean military while operating some three miles inside international waters. The NK vessels opened fire on Pueblo injuring its commander, Capt. Lloyd Bucher, and two sailors and killing another. The 82 surviving crew were captured and held prisoner 335 days in NK before being released Dec. 23, 1968. Unofficial IWTC historian and instructor Mario Vulcano provided a detailed account of the events. "Courage and bravery were necessities that these servicemen could not live without, and they represented what our sailors today hold to be the Navy’s core values: Honor, courage, and commitment," he said. IWTC Corry Station is part of the Center for Information Warfare Training. It provides a continuum of training to Navy and joint-service personnel that prepare themselves to conduct information warfare across the spectrum of military operations. (Source: IWTC Corry Station 01/29/18) During anniversary week 2018, North Korea seized the opportunity to aggrandize the ship as a trophy amid escalated tensions with the U.S. The ship has become a frozen spectacle on the Pothong River, moored adjacent to the "Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum" in Pyongyang. Pueblo is the only U.S. ship held captive by a foreign government, and is still officially in commission in the U.S. Naval Vessel Register. When released, many of the crew was crippled, malnourished, and nearly blind from tortuous treatment. The U.S. government didn’t recognize the crew’s sacrifice until 1989, at which time they were awarded Prisoner of War medals.