I have been saying this for years that any North Korea deal should include the return of the USS Pueblo. I am glad to see someone in Congress thinks so as well:
North Korea has displayed the captured U.S. spy ship Pueblo in Pyongyang and has retained the ship for more than five decades. File Photo by KCNA/EPA
As the White House prepares President Donald Trump for his meeting with North Korea‘s Kim Jong Un, a movement is building in Congress to return a U.S. Navy spy ship.
Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, of Colorado’s Third District, sent a letter to Trump last week, ahead of submitting a resolution in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, seeking the return of the USS Pueblo to the Navy, Voice of America reported.
In the resolution, Tipton said the ship did not violate the territorial waters of North Korea at the time of its capture on Jan. 23, 1968.
One crewmember, Duane Hodges, was killed during the attack and 82 others were held in North Korean captivity for 11 months.
In his letter to Trump, Tipton said he requests the president raise the issue of the Pueblo during his summit with the North Korean leader.
“The House of Representatives would welcome the return of the USS Pueblo as a sign of good faith from the North Korean people to the American people,” the resolution read. [UPI]
You can read more at the link, but since its capture the USS Pueblo has been used as part of the standard propaganda tour around Pyongyang for both domestic and international visitors. You can read more about the USS Pueblo Incident at this link.
All my efforts finally got to someone in Washington! For years I have been calling for the return of the captive held hostage for 60 years. Since nK is so tied up in ceremony, it would be a nice gesture to have the USS Pueblo returned during the 60th anniversary year of its capture.
J6Junkie
6 years ago
The Commies would probably wants lots of American “aid” for their cowardly taken prize.
Flyingsword
6 years ago
If nK doesn’t return it, the US should sink it where it is. One JDAM down the smoke stack should do it.
Yes! let’s push KJU to humiliaton so he will cancel the summit! Friggen Liberals hate Trump so much they want him to fail despite the prospect of ………………………………PEACE! OMG PEACE!!!
setnaffa
6 years ago
The liberals want peace just like the commies and the mullahs want peace… Everyone on their knees begging a government official for a handful of rice, with no other place to go…
Ole Tanker
6 years ago
STETnaffa! What happened to the Soviet Union? Gorbachov andall, just a fluke? Starving suffering populace can be sustained only for so long.
Liberal?? Who are you calling a Liberal Ole Tanker? Besides, what the congressmen proposed was to make it part of the negotiations which will happen barring any last minute shenanigans by nK. The part about the JDAM was just a nice thought on Flying Sword’s part which I agreed with. The conversation between Trump and KJU could go something like, “Hey, little rocket-man, thanks for returning the hostages, by the way, would you consider returning just one more hostage? One that you have been holding for 60 years? How about that?
I think a way to negotiate this is to tell the Kim regime that the only way an embassy would be opened in Pyongyang as part of some larger denuclearization and pace deal would be to have the USS Pueblo returned. I doubt they are going to denuclearize, but maybe before the reneg on whatever deal is signed the US can at least get the Pueblo back.
ChickenHead
6 years ago
Maybe I am not oldskool enough…
…but I don’t see why a single bit of capital or political capital should be spent on clawing back a 60 year old tub that requires white elephantesque upkeep.
OK. They got us. Should have gotten it back then. Now it is too late. Let it go like an old girlfriend. Stop whining around like a third world country of minor losses of a generation ago.
Let them maintain it in good condition in their waters.
Thank them every year for looking out for our most forward-deployed asset.
And then… someday… get the last laugh by hoisting an American flag on it amid the chaos of regime change.
J6Junkie
6 years ago
That’s a good place hatched by Chickenman.
1sgtret
6 years ago
The Pueblo was pirated in Jan ’68, that makes it 50 years, not 60 years. But that does not disguise the fact that the US did zilch to respond to their call for help. The Captain should have opened up the sea cocks or take the necessary action to sink his ship rather than have it fall into the norks hands. But you got to hand it to those bastards in the north, they knew exactly what to do and when to do it. The Vietnam war was going hot and heavy and our generals said, knowing that china would back the north, we could not fight two wars at the same time. I believe that the Pueblo is still on the navy’s list of ships. Let’s sink it when a load of Chinese tourists are aboard.
setnaffa
6 years ago
LBJ failed the Crew of USS Pueblo, the US Navy, and the people of the United States when he refused to respond appropriately to the Nork aggression.
But he let us all down when he used the Tonkin Gulf Hoax to get us into a phony war in Vietnam, too.
And don’t get me started about his “Great Society” and the deleterious affects that had on poor people (especially Blacks).
He’s probably roasting in Hell.
Ole Tanker
6 years ago
We can trade a Submarine for it. If S. Korea agrees!
ChickenHead
6 years ago
Ship ages are calculated from the time they are built rather than the time they are captured.
I figured it was about 10 years old when it was captured… just a guess.
It turns out it was launched in 1945… 23 years old when captured… making it 73 years old.
Wait and see… those crafty Norks will give it back in a big fancy show of good will and we will be forced to build a multi-million dollar museum to house it with millions in yearly upkeep.
setnaffa
6 years ago
CH, you mean like the SS United States?
J6Junkie
6 years ago
Bombing it would be cheaper than their ransom and museum demands.
All my efforts finally got to someone in Washington! For years I have been calling for the return of the captive held hostage for 60 years. Since nK is so tied up in ceremony, it would be a nice gesture to have the USS Pueblo returned during the 60th anniversary year of its capture.
The Commies would probably wants lots of American “aid” for their cowardly taken prize.
If nK doesn’t return it, the US should sink it where it is. One JDAM down the smoke stack should do it.
FS, I like the way you think. 👿 👿
Yes! let’s push KJU to humiliaton so he will cancel the summit! Friggen Liberals hate Trump so much they want him to fail despite the prospect of ………………………………PEACE! OMG PEACE!!!
The liberals want peace just like the commies and the mullahs want peace… Everyone on their knees begging a government official for a handful of rice, with no other place to go…
STETnaffa! What happened to the Soviet Union? Gorbachov andall, just a fluke? Starving suffering populace can be sustained only for so long.
Liberal?? Who are you calling a Liberal Ole Tanker? Besides, what the congressmen proposed was to make it part of the negotiations which will happen barring any last minute shenanigans by nK. The part about the JDAM was just a nice thought on Flying Sword’s part which I agreed with. The conversation between Trump and KJU could go something like, “Hey, little rocket-man, thanks for returning the hostages, by the way, would you consider returning just one more hostage? One that you have been holding for 60 years? How about that?
I think a way to negotiate this is to tell the Kim regime that the only way an embassy would be opened in Pyongyang as part of some larger denuclearization and pace deal would be to have the USS Pueblo returned. I doubt they are going to denuclearize, but maybe before the reneg on whatever deal is signed the US can at least get the Pueblo back.
Maybe I am not oldskool enough…
…but I don’t see why a single bit of capital or political capital should be spent on clawing back a 60 year old tub that requires white elephantesque upkeep.
OK. They got us. Should have gotten it back then. Now it is too late. Let it go like an old girlfriend. Stop whining around like a third world country of minor losses of a generation ago.
Let them maintain it in good condition in their waters.
Thank them every year for looking out for our most forward-deployed asset.
And then… someday… get the last laugh by hoisting an American flag on it amid the chaos of regime change.
That’s a good place hatched by Chickenman.
The Pueblo was pirated in Jan ’68, that makes it 50 years, not 60 years. But that does not disguise the fact that the US did zilch to respond to their call for help. The Captain should have opened up the sea cocks or take the necessary action to sink his ship rather than have it fall into the norks hands. But you got to hand it to those bastards in the north, they knew exactly what to do and when to do it. The Vietnam war was going hot and heavy and our generals said, knowing that china would back the north, we could not fight two wars at the same time. I believe that the Pueblo is still on the navy’s list of ships. Let’s sink it when a load of Chinese tourists are aboard.
LBJ failed the Crew of USS Pueblo, the US Navy, and the people of the United States when he refused to respond appropriately to the Nork aggression.
But he let us all down when he used the Tonkin Gulf Hoax to get us into a phony war in Vietnam, too.
And don’t get me started about his “Great Society” and the deleterious affects that had on poor people (especially Blacks).
He’s probably roasting in Hell.
We can trade a Submarine for it. If S. Korea agrees!
Ship ages are calculated from the time they are built rather than the time they are captured.
I figured it was about 10 years old when it was captured… just a guess.
It turns out it was launched in 1945… 23 years old when captured… making it 73 years old.
Wait and see… those crafty Norks will give it back in a big fancy show of good will and we will be forced to build a multi-million dollar museum to house it with millions in yearly upkeep.
CH, you mean like the SS United States?
Bombing it would be cheaper than their ransom and museum demands.