1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:05,080 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio, 2 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:09,719 Speaker 1: Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: show that looks at the ups and downs of everyday history. 4 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:17,960 Speaker 1: I'm Gay Bluesier, and in this episode, we're looking at 5 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:22,319 Speaker 1: a humbling moment in US naval history, a tense year 6 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:26,200 Speaker 1: long standoff with North Korea that's now known as the 7 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:37,360 Speaker 1: Pueblow Incident. The day was January twenty third, nineteen sixty eight. 8 00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:42,040 Speaker 1: The USS Pueblow and its eighty three crew members were 9 00:00:42,120 --> 00:00:46,199 Speaker 1: captured at sea by North Korean forces. One member of 10 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:49,800 Speaker 1: the crew, Dwayne Hodges, was killed during the seizure, and 11 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:53,600 Speaker 1: the other eighty two American sailors were held in captivity 12 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:57,800 Speaker 1: for the next eleven months. The Pueblow was a small, 13 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:01,480 Speaker 1: lightly armed US Navy ship that had originally served as 14 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:04,720 Speaker 1: a cargo hauler in the nineteen forties. It had since 15 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:08,399 Speaker 1: been refurbished as an intelligence vessel and was engaged in 16 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:12,520 Speaker 1: a routine surveillance mission for the top secret operation Click Beetle. 17 00:01:12,720 --> 00:01:15,759 Speaker 1: At the time of its capture, the Pueblow had been 18 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:19,600 Speaker 1: dispatched on its first mission with an inexperienced crew and 19 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:23,039 Speaker 1: a first time captain thirty eight year old Commander Lloyd 20 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:28,000 Speaker 1: Pete Boucher. According to US reports, including those of the crewmen, 21 00:01:28,319 --> 00:01:32,160 Speaker 1: the ship was in international waters, nearly sixteen miles from 22 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:36,400 Speaker 1: the shore of the Korean Peninsula. Nonetheless, North Korean patrol 23 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:39,720 Speaker 1: boats and fighter jets turned their guns on the Pueyblow 24 00:01:39,959 --> 00:01:44,240 Speaker 1: and demanded its surrender. The Americans tried to make a getaway, 25 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:47,080 Speaker 1: but the ship was too slow, and the North Koreans 26 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:50,240 Speaker 1: quickly caught up and opened fire. The crew of the 27 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:53,880 Speaker 1: Pueblow knew their capture was inevitable, so they used what 28 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:57,160 Speaker 1: little time they had to frantically destroy as much of 29 00:01:57,200 --> 00:02:02,240 Speaker 1: the classified information on board as they could. Unfortunately, there 30 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:05,800 Speaker 1: was too much material for the ship's shredders and incinerators 31 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:09,600 Speaker 1: to handle under heavy fire. The crew eventually resorted to 32 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:13,640 Speaker 1: throwing the documents overboard, many of which were later recovered 33 00:02:13,639 --> 00:02:17,200 Speaker 1: by the North Koreans and shared with the Soviets. By 34 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:20,560 Speaker 1: the time North Korean forces boarded the Pueblow, the ship 35 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:23,440 Speaker 1: had been rendered defenseless and many of the crewmen had 36 00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:27,760 Speaker 1: been wounded. The eighty two survivors were bound and blindfolded 37 00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:31,560 Speaker 1: and transported to Pyongyang, where they were charged with spying 38 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:35,760 Speaker 1: and imprisoned. When the US government learned what had happened, 39 00:02:35,919 --> 00:02:39,560 Speaker 1: it immediately demanded that the sailors be released, insisting that 40 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:43,920 Speaker 1: they hadn't breached North Korea's twelve mile territorial limit. The 41 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:48,520 Speaker 1: demand was swiftly refused, and in response, President Lyndon Johnson 42 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:52,079 Speaker 1: ordered a military build up in the area. Roughly two 43 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:56,040 Speaker 1: hundred and fifty US combat aircraft were sent to American 44 00:02:56,120 --> 00:02:59,800 Speaker 1: bases in South Korea, and three aircraft carriers and about 45 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:03,040 Speaker 1: two twenty five warships were stationed in the Sea of Japan. 46 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:08,120 Speaker 1: This show of force was purely symbolic, as President Johnson 47 00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:11,360 Speaker 1: had just launched the tet Offensive in South Vietnam and 48 00:03:11,560 --> 00:03:15,600 Speaker 1: wasn't eager to start another war by retaliating against North Korea. 49 00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:19,880 Speaker 1: Doing so would have risked spreading American forces too thin, 50 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:23,360 Speaker 1: especially since the Soviet Union likely would have come to 51 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:26,800 Speaker 1: the aid of its allies, thus escalating the Cold War 52 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:31,160 Speaker 1: into a hot one. But North Korea called Johnson's bluff 53 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:35,640 Speaker 1: and continued to hold the sailors captive. With few options remaining, 54 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:39,680 Speaker 1: the US began negotiating for the prisoner's release, meeting with 55 00:03:39,800 --> 00:03:43,440 Speaker 1: North Korean leadership at the Pon Munjom Truce village in 56 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:48,080 Speaker 1: the demilitarized zone dividing the Korean Peninsula. The talks were 57 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:51,320 Speaker 1: not productive and would ultimately drag on for the rest 58 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:54,960 Speaker 1: of the year. In the meantime, North Korea tried to 59 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:58,520 Speaker 1: ring public confessions out of its prisoners by subjecting them 60 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:03,240 Speaker 1: to private torture session. The crewmen resisted for months, maintaining 61 00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:07,800 Speaker 1: they had never strayed from international waters. Finally, though North 62 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:12,360 Speaker 1: Korean authorities shifted their focus to Captain Boucher. They tried 63 00:04:12,360 --> 00:04:14,720 Speaker 1: to force a confession by putting him in front of 64 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:17,880 Speaker 1: a firing squad, and when that failed, they threatened to 65 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:20,600 Speaker 1: execute his men in front of him one by one. 66 00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:24,600 Speaker 1: It was only then that Boucher agreed to confess and 67 00:04:24,680 --> 00:04:29,920 Speaker 1: apologize to North Korea. The statement prepared for him read quote, 68 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:33,920 Speaker 1: we intruded into the territorial waters of the Democratic People's 69 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:38,080 Speaker 1: Republic of Korea and committed hostile acts. I will never 70 00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:41,560 Speaker 1: again be a party to any disgraceful act of aggression 71 00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:45,159 Speaker 1: of this type. The rest of the crew later signed 72 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:48,760 Speaker 1: the confession as well, and afterward they were transported to 73 00:04:48,839 --> 00:04:53,000 Speaker 1: a second compound in the countryside outside the capitol. They 74 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:56,880 Speaker 1: were forced to study propaganda materials as a form of indoctrination, 75 00:04:57,400 --> 00:05:01,240 Speaker 1: and when they resisted or expressed disdain, they were beaten severely. 76 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:05,560 Speaker 1: That said, the crew members still found ways to rebel 77 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:08,920 Speaker 1: against their captors, while also showing the outside world that 78 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:13,039 Speaker 1: their fighting spirit hadn't been broken. For example, when North 79 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:16,800 Speaker 1: Korean authorities photographed the men for use in propaganda, the 80 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:20,360 Speaker 1: captured crew famously raised their middle fingers at the camera. 81 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:24,479 Speaker 1: The act of defiance went unnoticed at first, as North 82 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:27,560 Speaker 1: Koreans weren't familiar with the gesture, and the crew told 83 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:30,919 Speaker 1: them it was the Hawaiian sign for good luck. The 84 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:33,880 Speaker 1: guards eventually caught on to the truth, though, and they 85 00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:38,120 Speaker 1: punished the sailors with beatings, freezing temperatures, and sleep deprivation 86 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:42,400 Speaker 1: in ordeal. They later became known as Hell Week. The 87 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:45,600 Speaker 1: crew's nightmare finally came to an end in late December, 88 00:05:45,839 --> 00:05:49,240 Speaker 1: when US and North Korean negotiators reached an agreement for 89 00:05:49,279 --> 00:05:52,840 Speaker 1: their release. Under the terms of the settlement, the United 90 00:05:52,839 --> 00:05:56,760 Speaker 1: States admitted that the Pueblow had crossed into North Korean territory, 91 00:05:57,120 --> 00:06:00,800 Speaker 1: apologized for that action, and pledged to do it again. 92 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:05,360 Speaker 1: The eighty two surviving crewmen were released that very day, 93 00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:10,440 Speaker 1: December twenty third, nineteen sixty eight, exactly eleven months after 94 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:14,400 Speaker 1: their capture. They walked one by one across the Bridge 95 00:06:14,440 --> 00:06:18,160 Speaker 1: of no Return at Panmunjam to South Korea, and from 96 00:06:18,240 --> 00:06:21,160 Speaker 1: there they were flown to San Diego, where they received 97 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:25,680 Speaker 1: a hero's welcome on Christmas Eve. Diplomacy had won out 98 00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:28,760 Speaker 1: in the end, but the victory came at a steep cost. 99 00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:33,640 Speaker 1: The imprisoned crew had experienced severe physical and psychological trauma, 100 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:36,839 Speaker 1: and the reputation of the United States had been dealt 101 00:06:36,839 --> 00:06:41,039 Speaker 1: a humiliating blow. The Pueblow incident led to a mix 102 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:45,479 Speaker 1: of soul searching and scapegoating among American policymakers, but the 103 00:06:45,520 --> 00:06:48,359 Speaker 1: consensus was that the US government had been wrong to 104 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:51,640 Speaker 1: assume that North Korea was working from the same Cold 105 00:06:51,640 --> 00:06:55,520 Speaker 1: War playbook as the Soviets. The capture of the Pueblow 106 00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:58,960 Speaker 1: made clear that North Korea had its own national agenda 107 00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:01,880 Speaker 1: and that the country was willing to make bold moves 108 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:05,320 Speaker 1: to achieve it. If the US had recognized that from 109 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:08,520 Speaker 1: the outset, it probably wouldn't have sent a lightly armed 110 00:07:08,520 --> 00:07:12,680 Speaker 1: spy ship so close to Korean shores without backup. That 111 00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:17,120 Speaker 1: misjudgment not only led to an embarrassing international incident, it 112 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:20,320 Speaker 1: also taught North Korea that standing up to a military 113 00:07:20,400 --> 00:07:24,200 Speaker 1: giant can sometimes be worth the risk. The country has 114 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:27,920 Speaker 1: apparently taken that lesson to heart too, as evidenced by 115 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:32,160 Speaker 1: its ongoing nuclear weapons build up today. As for the 116 00:07:32,320 --> 00:07:37,000 Speaker 1: USS Pueyblow, the ship itself remains in North Korean custody 117 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:40,280 Speaker 1: and has since been turned into a floating tourist attraction. 118 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:44,200 Speaker 1: It's currently moored in a river in Pyongyang as part 119 00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:48,560 Speaker 1: of the country's Victorious War Museum. To this day, the 120 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:51,560 Speaker 1: Pueyblow is the only commissioned ship in the U. S. 121 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:54,800 Speaker 1: Navy to be held in captivity by a foreign power, 122 00:07:55,480 --> 00:08:00,000 Speaker 1: an embarrassing fact that seems unlikely to change any time soon. 123 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:06,679 Speaker 1: I'm Gabe Lucier and hopefully you now know a little 124 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:10,760 Speaker 1: more about history today than you did yesterday. You can 125 00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:14,480 Speaker 1: learn even more about history by following us on Twitter, Facebook, 126 00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:18,920 Speaker 1: and Instagram at TDI HC Show, and if you have 127 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:21,760 Speaker 1: any comments or suggestions, you can always send them my 128 00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:26,480 Speaker 1: way by writing to this day at iHeartMedia dot com. 129 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:29,520 Speaker 1: Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing the show, and thanks 130 00:08:29,520 --> 00:08:31,960 Speaker 1: to you for listening. I'll see you back here again 131 00:08:32,040 --> 00:08:35,000 Speaker 1: tomorrow for another day in history class.