Date: Thu, 06 Jul 2006 18:37:06 -040

Gentlemen,

I am working on a book to be published by HarperCollins, under the imprint of The Smithsonian Institution, during Winter '07. The title of the book is "How To Tell A Secret", and it will deal with ciphers and codes and secrets in everyday life. I plan to include an overview of the U.S.S. Pueblo incident as part of the book, with particular emphasis on the use of the "Hawaiian Gook Luck Sign". I am wondering if any of the veterans would be willing to discuss this element with me in depth. We could do it via telephone, or I could meet with a veteran at their convenience. I note from your website that several live near Washington DC, and I am there at least one day a week. If convenient, I could travel to one of their homes or meet in some neutral location (a restaurant, perhaps). This is a legitimate request. If you care to check my bona fides, you will see that this book is already listed on amazon.com My "pen name" is J.G. Lewin. This is the third book I will have produced for HarperCollins/Smithsonian. Please respond to this email, or give me a call at the toll-free number below. Thank you for your response to this email. Jim Lewin

Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 15:22:31 -0700

How could I find a list of the crew and maybe a picture. I mite of had a cousin on the ship at that time. His name was Robert Schnell. Thanks for any Info. Don Frison

Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2006 09:36:04 -0400

Some of your folks might be interested in the book "Asia From Above" that tells the story of the USAF 67th Reconnaissance Technical Squadron at Yokota, Japan from 1957 to 1971. We were the ones who processed and did photo interpretation on the Black Shield (CIA A-12) mission over North Korea in January 1968. The book includes several First Hand accounts of that mission from PIs who worked it. Our photo interpreters found Pueblo in Wonson Harbor, and identified surrounding defenses "just in case." We then supplied target materials to carriers and AF units coming to the area "just in case." The Pueblo story is a relatively small part of what the unit did over 15 years, but it is something you might like to read. The book is available from Amazon, but the best price is direct from Author House. I have attached an image of the book cover. Regards, Roy Stanley

Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2006 13:57:40 -0700 (PDT)

Gentlemen and Ladies of the Pueblo,

My 25 years plus career in US Intelligence began with the capture of the Pueblo. I piloted an electronic platform in Southeast Asia starting in November 1969. I was a cleared intelligence officer who was sent to fight school in order to ensure that platform commanders had complete command control of any and all platforms. I served in the Vietnam theater; like the Pueblo, I worked in areas not discussed in the open. Latter I spent 14 years with the CIA. My question: After the capture of John Walker and members of his family in 1985, has anyone now updated the significance of the capture of the Pueblo? For once Walker signed on to deliver key codes, a need for the actual KW equipment was paramount to the communisms. They apparently read naval communications throughout the remainder of the Vietnam campaign and far into the cold war era. The Soviets have stated on many occasions that the Walker family spies were their greatest spy accomplishment. The capture of the Pueblo had the full backing of the Soviets, the Chinese and their operatives, the North Koreans. The capture of the Pueblo had far reaching results.

Paul W. Thompson

Date: Sat, 29 Jul 2006 12:12:30 -0700 (PDT)

I was aboard Enterprise when we were called into action from Sasebo, Japan. I was with VA-35 aboard CVAN-65. Attached is a picture of the Big E enroute thru the Sea of Japan, taken from our cruise book. It was a very memorable cruise for us to say the least. Jim Wetzel Terrell

Date: Sat, 29 Jul 2006 15:22:43 -0700 (PDT)}

I was one of the USN Radiomen on the midwatch (midnight till 0800) at the Naval Radio Station (Receiver Sight), Kamiseya, Japan when the Pueblo was captured. That's been a long time ago, and my memory isn't perfect, but I do recall some things to be perfectly clear, even haunting at times: The problem with the Pueblo contacting higher authorities wasn't due to poor HF radio propagation as your account theorizes. The procedure for communication with these "CT ships", as the Radioman called them, was for the ship to bring up a CW (morris code) transmitter on a ship-to-shore ciruit with Naval Communication Station Japan. There were various frequencies reserved for this purpose, so finding a frequency that would propagate wasn't a problem. Besides, the Pueblo wasn't that far away. While the radio receivers for this CW net were located at the receiver sight at Kamiseya, the morris code operators were actually at the communication station in Yokosuka. (The audio was passed to Yokosuka from Kamiseya, via microwave). The ship operator was to send the phrase "activate circuit 21P" (P for Pueblo, B for Banner, etc). When the CW operator received and authenticated the transmission from the ship, he passed the phrase verbatum to the control center, at the communication station in Yokosuka, who then passed the phrase verbatum via a tty circuit to the NRS at Kamiseya. When the tty operator at Kamiseya received this "activate circuit 21P" phrase on the teletype orderwire from the control center at Naval Communication Station, Yokosuka, the radiomen at the NRS were to "tune up" a radio reciver on a preset frequency to recieve a radio teletype transmission from the Pueblo - actually the Radiomen at the receiver site just tuned up the receiver, and passed the audio to the Security Group personnel (CT's) who were in a different part of the building. Crypto equipment of the security group was required to decrypt the signal. This sounds like a lot of runaround I know, but it was actually a very good proceedure and had worked great for a long while. The ship would come up morris code first because it was quick and easy to get a short activation notice to the security group - CW isn't as susceptible to atmospheric noises, etc as other modes of comm, plus it's more discrete - no steady carrier to home in on. In the early morning of capture day, the teletype operator at the receiver sight was engaged in a lot of "shooting the breeze" with other guys on watch. I can't recall if it was a call from the control center at Yokosuka on the voice orderwire, telling us to check the teletype orderwire or what caused me to go over and personally check the teletype monitor roll - but it was there and there was a time entry in front of it, indicating when the control center had sent the words, "Activate Circuit 21 Papa". I recall that the time the activation message was sent, was at least 2 hours before I discovered it - seemingly 4 hours, but I can't say for certain. I immediately ran back to an R-390 HF receiver, which already had an antenna connected to it, and turned in the present radio frequency. I had a speaker on the audio output so that I could turn the receiver better. The audio was very loud and clear - "booming in" as we would say in the old days of HF communications. After that, it seemed like every security group person in the world showed up. Of course a lot in those days was blamed on " poor propagation", "bad frequency", etc. But this one can't be blamed on "props". My name isn't actually joe hall, and I do not want my real name known. Maybe the communicators on the ship will at least know that they didn't drop the ball.

Joseph Wetzel

Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2006 22:17:20 +0200

Only recently I have been in North Korea and I have visited the spy ship in Pyongyang. And the story I got there (from a soldier who was part of the victorious DPRK-team) was quite different from the lies presented on your website. Anyway, I congratulate the North Korean people and my North Korean friends to their success over the aggressive US policy. I wish them many more successes like these as long as the US-government does not stop to be an aggressive, imperialist world terrorist.

Fritz-Walter Hornung

Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2006 10:31:18 -0500

Sirs, I am very much aware of the Pueblo incident and have a lot of admiration for those involved. When it happened, I was on temporary duty at Kadena AB, Okinawa. I was a member of a joint USAF/CIA organization that flew the A-12, which had the same or better speed and altitude capabilities as the SR-71. Our home base was Area-51. My job was a mission planner for our Mach 3+ recon missions we were flying over the Southeast Asia area before the SR-71 era when your problem surfaced. The pilot that flew the overflight of North Vietnam for intelligence on your fate was Frank Murray, a friend of mine. If you do a Google search on "The Pueblo incident A-12 mission", it will direct you to our web site and his story about his Blackshield mission BX6847. When you were in the harbor, he was 80,000 feet above you at Mach 3+. Our organization is called Roadrunners Internationale. Our website is www.roadrunnersinternationale.com. It tells Frank's story, too. Contact me if you would like further information. Ronald Girard

Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2006 21:13:32 -0600

I was on the Pueblo a couple of years ago while our ship was delivering grain to Nampo. I've got several pictures from our tour if you would like to have them......if so please write back and I'll email them. Jeremy Walton

Date: Mon, 7 Aug 2006 13:39:27 -0400 I

It has been well over thirty years since my Junior High School days in Rochester, NH. As I look back on that time, the one highlight that always stands out was the time spent in SGT Robert J. Hammond, USMC’s home room. I have no idea to this day how he ever ended up at our JR High but the life lessons he shared, as well as, the privilege we had to learn some real history from a real hero is something I am still proud to share with people after all these years. To this day I’m not sure he ever realized what an impact he made on some of us. SGT Hammond was always willing to share what occurred during his long ordeal. He never spoke in a self pitying way, but rather in a way that presented the facts about the attack and subsequent capture and imprisonment. I would be willing to bet that in my life time I will never meet a hero of the caliper of SGT Hammond. I don’t know whatever happened to SGT Hammond after he left our school but he and the rest of the crew of the USS Pueblo will always have a special place in history and in the lives of all that they and your association touch by keeping the memory of this incident alive for all time. Steven Mann Rochester, NH

Date: Wed, 9 Aug 2006 15:03:01 -0500

Just wanted to drop you a quick note. I came across your website and found it very interesting. I must have read the whole thing and thirst for more knowledge about this incident. Having not been born until 1967, I had never even heard about this. Now I know, thanks for all that you did, and all that you went thru, and thanks for putting up this site. It should be able to be a historical record( especially liked the first hand stories ) it made it more personal. Anyways. Thanks Dan Rokicki

Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2006 11:21:52 -0400

I was searching for information on the 121 Evac Hospital when I found your site. I was a U. S. Army Captain assigned to the 121 Evac in ASCOM Korea in 1968. Upon arriving in Korea on 1 Mar 68, my first assignment was to make preparations to receive the crew of the Pueblo upon repatriation. I worked with the Navy liaison office in Seoul, procured Navy uniforms for each crew member, secured medical records on the crew, and made preparations for providing medical treatment upon their arrival. There were several times during 1968 when we were alerted to the possibility of the release of the crew. When confirmation came on 22 December, we had 24 hours to mobilize and we were told to hold the crew for less than 24 hours and get them out for transport home in time for Christmas. What had been a gloomy Christmas in the Frozen Chosen away from families became the best Christmas in my memory. I vividly remember greeting the crew as they entered the hospital with tears of joy and relief as they saw Christmas decorations and knew, for certain, that they were free and on their way home. We were privileged to serve the crew and to talk with them. Not a Christmas Eve has passed in these 36 years that I have not remembered that day and paused to toast the crew. The true meaning of freedom, for me, was defined that day. Freedom is precious and only those who have had it denied can help the rest of us understand how fragile and tenuous is can be. To the crew of the Pueblo, thank you for your service; thank you for your courage; and thank you for showing how precious every day of freedom is. Note for your website narrative: The section on repatriation cites the 121 Evac Hospital at Seoul. In 1968 it was at ASCOM City, an Army installation near Bupyong Dong and Yong-Dong-Po, midway between Inchon and Seoul. I believe I may still have a copy of the hospital admission record for the crew and a reel-to-reel audio tape of the incesant radio broadcast of Radio Pyongyang on the day of the release, excoriating the "imperialist U. S. agressors" and the "U. S. spy ship Pueblo." Neil W. Bohnert Lynchburg, VA

Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 09:24:44 -0400

Dear USS Pueblo Crewmember,

The Pueblo incident still remains vivid in my mind after all these years. On,before and after November 1967, I was a QM3 stationed with COMSERPAC in Pearl that did part of your briefings prior to your deployment to Westpac. I had followed the progress of the USS Pueblo during it's refitting in Bremerton, sailing to Pearl and again charted your progress to Korea in COMSERPAC's "war room". During your short stay in Pearl, for ship's briefings, I was invited by a crew member (and I accepted) to have lunch and tour your ship. In mid Jan. 1968 I was separated from the Navy only two days before your capture. I remember well telling my co-workers in Comservpac's war room that your ship was headed for some trouble knowing exactly how close you were to North Korea from your daily plotting reports to Comserpac. What upsets me the most about this incident was the USS Pueblo was not doing anything that other nations were doing just off Pearl Harbor. The Russians kept 2 to 3 survlanvce craft on station during my entire time at Pearl. I regret this incident and your capture by the North Korean's. Since that time, I have often thought about and prayed for the USS Pueblo's crew. The ship and crew have a permanent place in my mind, your service and sacrifice will never be forgotten to our nation by me. Sincerely, Richard E. Titsworth Whitesburg, Kentucky

Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2006 18:06:57 -0400

I can remember the AP photo with the crew of the USS Pueblo all showing the good luch sign. However I can not find the AP photo in any of the newspapers at my local Library's archive. Can you give me a date when the photo was in most US newspapers? Thank You, Gary Miller

Date: Tue, 05 Sep 2006 16:44:15 -0400 Many thanks for your response to my message. I'm very new at the computer, thanks to my daughters who thought it would help 'occupy' my time after emergency open-heart surgery. I know how to turn it on and I know how to get on the Internet to pursue my lifetime passion for history. Some sites note they are copyright protected and can't be copied but can be purchased. Were that the case in this instance, I would gladly have paid. Can't afford to pay for too many of them so I have to be grudgingly selective until it almost hurts. Now, with your kind guidance, when one of my daughters visits again, i will save your instructive letter and she will know exactly how to follow your instructions.I searched, mostly in vain, several decades ago in libraries and bookstores for information on THE USS LIBERTY as well as THE USS PUEBLO, happening some not too many months thereafter. The obvious 'blackout' was 'carbon black'. Then along came Borne's "The USS LIBERTY: Dissenting vs official History and of course, Ennes' superb and literally shocking: "THE USS LIBERTY" and the proverbial 'Pandora's Box' was forever open. The entire fiasco of both incidents yet leave me with somewhat of the numbing of conscious affirmation; not too unlike those hordes of Chinese coming across those frozen waters when guns couldn't fire fast enough and grotesquely wounded Marines seemed like a never-ending descent into HELL for want of means to do more than primitive improvising with all supplies long since exhausted. The denial of reality is pathological but the deliberate obfuscation of reality is more than treasonous treachery, it has the very markings of pure EVIL. The USS LIBERTY and the USS PUEBLO, admittedly, each uniquely very different, yet both were covered by that same shroud of pure EVIL for what will forever remain an indelible 'stain of shame' on the fabric of AMERICAN HISTORY! TRAGIC barely scratches the surface of culpability to the highest offices of this GREAT COUNTRY. God forgive us. Many thanks!, James E. Girzone

Date: Tue, 5 Sep 2006 18:06:03 -0700 (PDT)

i am a junior at enloe high school in north carolina and i have enrolled in my school's us military history class. my teacher's name is bob matthews and in class today he was teaching us about the events that went down with the north koreans in 1968.he also showed us the picture of some of the crew that was in some magazine, i believe it was Time (? im not sure), in which the men in the front row gave a bit of a signal to prove wrong the messages of the soldiers being well kept and fed that the picture was trying to propogate to america. one piece of info that he shared with us that was a little bit shocking to me was that the USS Pueblo was the only ship to have ever surrendered to another vessel. he also expressed that he was never able to come to a complete agreement with one side or another in whether the captain was right in doing so, but what he has always been able to express is how a man could make that decision with eighty-four odd seamen's lives in one hand and a material thing, a ship, in the other and which was to be of more value. another thing he was able to express was how one could come into the mindset to act as such of a soldier, i believe his name was, Dwayne Hodges. while all would be resolute on how the reprocussions of his actions were carried through by the north koreans, not all would agree with how he decided to go. i personally feel that i would have done the same thing. while his orders were to surrender willingly and he chose the alternate route of retaliation, no man on earth would be able to knock him for that. at least thats how i feel. in short, i just wanted to express to you how moved i was by the story of the Pueblo and that i will forever remember this event. it was a brilliantly taught lesson and i would look forward to hearing back from you. sincerely, alexander jones

Date: Wed, 6 Sep 2006 09:48:45 -0400

Dear Pueblo Veterans: I'm a navy reservist working at US Special Operations Command MacDill AFB in Tampa, FL. Do you know if there are any Pueblo veterans in the Tampa area? I'm preparing a brief on the Pueblo incident for my duty section and I would like for a Pueblo veteran to be present if one is in the area. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, CTR1 Kirk Jones US Naval Reserve USSOCOM MacDill AFB

Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2006 13:29:35 -0700 (PDT)

Whe the ship was attacked I wanted to join the Navy but was too young when it was time to join the militairy my Father said I would only join the same service the he served in,I pointer out the the Army Air Force did not exist and that I wished to join the Navy.His reply was the Air Forse did exsit they only droped the name Army out.So I complied with his wishes,and served our gerat country as a member of the S.S.Air Force.I did have a cousin that did serve the Navy.So I guess the family did balance out the services. The point I'm trying to make is this what was done to the ship and crew was wrong then and still is.The only thing if that had happened now we would be fighting in that region of the world as well as were we are fighting.God Bless the crew of the Pueblo,and their families. Michael J.Golch

Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2006 23:37:49 -0400 Hello, my name is Jimmy Williams. I was on board the USS Samuel Gompers (AD-37) in Bremerton, Washington and the USS Pueblo was along side us when my ship was being built in 1967. I was wondering when your next reunion was going to be. Would I be allowed to attend? Would that be appropriate or is it appropriate to even ask? Thank you very much. Jimmy Williams

Date: Thu, 28 Sep 2006 17:28:29 -0500 I was stationed at Kamiseya when the Pueblo was captured, I was a cube mate of Ralph McClintock who was on the Pueblo. I knew that the crew was expecting trouble when they left port, as their departure was delayed 24 hours so a machine gun could be installed(little good that did) I also know that we had a green officer on duty the night the Pueblo was captured and also know that the international distress frequencies were blocked by carrier waves originating in Valdivostok. I heard over the years that two of the crew of the Pueblo were flown to Moscow after the ship was captured. One was a man who had been in the NSG since its inception. Ralph McClintock was my cube mate in Kamiseya, I know he survived the incident, but I have lost track of him over the years. If you can help me contact him, let me know Andrew Stevens former CT3 7226 FM 947 Gary TX 75643 936 645 1967 Tell Ralph I said he should have gone on the Enterprise to California .. He will know what I mean. Back at that time I was a resident of New York State, but moved to Texas in 1977

Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2006 13:46:49 -0400

My father was with ONI/NIS at the time of the Pueblo Incident and has told me many times, Cdr Bucher did everything he could to prevent what happened to his ship. R, Jane Beason