Bucher, Lloyd Mark

▪ 2005

“Pete” 

      U.S. naval officer(b. Sept. 1, 1927, Pocatello, Idaho—d. Jan. 28, 2004, Poway, Calif.), commanded the American intelligence ship USS Pueblo until its capture by the North Korean navy. The Pueblo was patrolling off the coast of North Korea on Jan. 23, 1968, engaging in surveillance, when it was surrounded and fired upon by North Korean ships. Wounded in the attack along with 10 others (including one who died of his injuries), Bucher surrendered the Pueblo without having fired a shot in defense. He and his 82 surviving crew members spent 11 months in captivity, experiencing torture and deprivation. After Bucher's release, a board of naval officials recommended his court-martial for having given up his ship without resisting, but Navy Secretary John H. Chafee rejected the recommendation. The surviving crew members were finally awarded POW medals by the U.S. government more than 20 years later.

* * *