'Remember the Pueblo': USS Pueblo documentary brings history back to life

Jul. 21—Approximately 125 Stillwater residents gathered on Thursday evening at the Sheerar History Museum to watch the premiere screening of a documentary by film director and writer Bill Lowe.

"Pueblo: A Year of Crises in America" recounts in vivid detail how the USS Pueblo was seized by North Korean warships and aircraft in international waters on Jan. 23, 1968.

Stillwater resident Stu Russell and Steven Woelk of Kansas City, both survivors of the incident, were in attendance for a question and answer session after the screening. Russell received a Quilt of Valor, presented by the Cimarron Valley Quilt Guild.

The documentary featured seven surviving Pueblo crew members, a former National Intelligence officer, other military personnel and a cast of 40 actors who reveal the story in this little-known drama that affected America's intelligence network for years.

Setting out from California in a former World War II freight and supply ship that was commissioned for intelligence communications, their specific orders were to intercept and conduct surveillance of Soviet Navy activity and collect signal and electronic intelligence from North Korea.

As their cover, two civilian oceanographers were on board to conduct research.

Their mission was to last 30 days, but only a few days shy of completing their mission, they were attacked by North Korea.

One crew member died during the three-hour-long standoff with Korean gunboats. While under attack, the crew was assured that help was on the way — but it never came.

For 11 grueling months, 82 crew members were detained by the North Korean government, who insisted that the United States were spying in North Korean waters. The captured crew endured brutal living conditions, starvation, beatings, threats and intimidation.

The incident occurred during the height of the Cold War when the United States was already fighting the Vietnam War. The event captured the attention of the entire world — and caught U.S. President Lyndon Johnson and his entire cabinet off guard, almost bringing the world to the brink of nuclear war between North Korea, China and the Soviet Union.

"There was so much going on in 1968 that kept the government (busy)," said Woelk, who was the youngest crew member onboard. "And why they didn't retaliate right off the bat, nobody will ever know, I guess, but them — and they're all gone."

Over time, the incident slipped into the background as other events loomed over the country — such as the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the ongoing Vietnam War.

"The USS Pueblo dropped out of the news ... they just forgot about us," Woelk said, who was an Electrician's Mate, 2nd Class Petty Officer, E-5. "We didn't go to Vietnam ... we were going to Vietnam, but we never made it that far."

USS Pueblo Commander Lloyd Bucher's wife, Rose Bucher, spearheaded a campaign to bring the crew members home. She traveled to Washington D.C. and put pressure on the Secretary of the U.S. Navy and other military personnel until negotiations were finalized between the United States and North Korea to release the men.

The men finally came home on Dec. 23, 1968, just in time for Christmas. Ronald Reagan, former president of the United States and governor of California at the time, was part of the welcoming committee.

On the 55th anniversary of the event, the documentary's screening brought it all back.

Russell, who was a Seaman 4th class assigned as a cook on the ship, told the News Press that watching the documentary was "heavy." The memories it evoked became real again, and most of the crew had no idea what was going on in the larger scene at the time.

"We weren't trained for that (kind of situation)," Russell said.

Woelk said most people had no idea — then or now — what the crew went through.

"They went through hell," Woelk said. "There's so many things that I didn't know, what the government was going through, the issues — it makes you mad."

Asked during the question and answer time what the key takeaway was, Woelk said that over the years, the USS Pueblo has been forgotten about.

"We fell through the cracks," Woelk said. "This helps get the story out."

He said he's a member of every military organization there is, but he doesn't like going to the meetings because he feels like he doesn't fit.

"The only organization I felt like I fit with was the ex-POWs," Woelk said. "I just really love their stories and (sitting) and listening to them talk."

And he added, "Just remember the Pueblo, because it is history."

The Sheerar auditorium was nearly full and guests in attendance said the documentary affected them deeply.

Stillwater resident Annye Love said her Navy dad served as a gunner and radioman on a two-man bomber in World War II and later suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.

"Being here watching this movie of USS Pueblo and getting to meet the men who actually went through that experience ... helps me to understand more about PTSD and how it really was for my dad," Love said.

Kay Cheaney said she was a junior in high school when she remembers hearing about the Pueblo incident. All the guys in her class were turning 18 years old and worrying about the Vietnam draft.

She came because she remembered the gap between the Pueblo incident and the Vietnam War.

"We forgot as a nation," Cheaney said. "When they released this (documentary), I was like, 'Oh, my gosh, I forgot. How could you forget?'"

Film director and writer Bill Lowe said when people think of heroes, General Dwight D. Eishenhower and General George S. Patton come to mind.

"But how many guys died for them," Lowe said. "Their potential, their children, all the things they could have done, it's gone. (But) this guy gets the glory."

Watching how quickly people forget the sacrifices that provide freedom fueled Lowe's determination to document the stories of forgotten soldiers.

"It's been rewarding," Lowe said. "I want our military to have more respect ... I want them to get better pay, I want them to have the biggest, the best, the brightest."