European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 23, 1969, Darmstadt, Hesse Thun Day january 23, 1969 the stars and stripes Page 5 Pueblo Captain says he radioed White House Coronado Calif. A the Pueblo s Captain said to Day that As North korean boat closed in on his intelligence ship with Superior firepower and Speed he used a communications priority that enabled his messages to go direct to the White House. Cmdr. Lloyd. Bucher de scribing events leading up to the Pueblo s capture said reopened radio channels to keep his Navy superiors in Japan an ultimately the White House in formed on what was happening. He did not elaborate on his Brief reference to the White House and was not questioned about it. There was no Indica Tion whether Bucher received any instructions Back from any one. Navy sources said they believed his testimony before a Navy Board was the first Public mention of messages directed to the White House. Shortly after the Pueblo was seized a year ago a White House spokesman attributed the delay in informing president Johnson to the time it took presidential aide Walt w. Rostow to compile information for a Brief ing. The exact time the join chiefs of staff were informed has never been , then defense Secre tary Robert s. Mcnamara Wassail to have gotten word of the ship s troubles nine minutes after the Pueblo sent its final Mes that Lime the ship had been taken Over by the North koreans. Tried to leave Bucher said that when North korean boats closed in and pointed guns at his ship he said ill be damned if they re going to get away with that an tried to Man Euver away from 41-year-old Navy officer spoke calmly to the five Admi rals comprising a Board of in Quiry into the Pueblo s capture and the 11-month imprisonment of its Crew. But he appeared emotionally drained when he was just before noon last Jan. 23 when a Lone boat headed toward them on the sea of Japan and circled guns manned As he signalled he was making hydrographic tests in International Waters Bucher said. Soon three torpedo boats Thena fourth approached to Point Blank Range As he radioed his plight to Japan and later to the White House in Washington. Gear destroyed Bucher said he thought it was just harassment but he ordered secret items destroyed and got under Way to try to get away. To Man the Pueblo s machine guns he said would have meant certain death for the gunner. Bucher said his Defi Ance of a heave to or be fired upon order caused the North koreans to open fire and he an others were hit by shrapnel. He was to continue his Testi Mony wednesday with details of the ship s said earlier his assign ment was to conduct surveil Lance of soviet ships in the sea of Japan and Monitor North korean radar but he saved the surveillance until the last an was captured before he got to it. And he denied one by one 17communist charges that his ship violated North korean Waters. Here Are highlights of his Tes Timony when the first ship a sub Chaser was sighted seven freight Miles away Bucher or dered the Pueblo s position con-firmed"15 to 17 Miles from the nearest land " i it approached and Cir our ship at about 500 to 1,000 Yards Bucher said. He Wasat Battle stations. His deck mounted guns 57-millimeter cannons were All manned and pointed in my Gen eral direction. I suspected this was nothing More than he said he ordered All hands to remain below decks to avoid letting the North koreans knowhow Many men he had on Board and raised flags showing the Pueblo was taking Hydro graphic said the sub Chaser hoisted a signal asking of response to that was to hoist the . i was not particularly apprehensive he said but ordered that a running narrative be kept and that All the Engin room pre pare to a Junior officer reported sighting three torpedo boat headed in our direction operating from the same location won san Harbor As the sub Chaser Bucher were identified As p 4s, armed with deck mounted machine guns and torpedoes on both the port and starboard sides. The torpedo tubes were stars and sink Security Council to meet Friday United nations a the . Security Council will meet Friday to consider the inclusion of russian and Spanish As working languages of the coun cil. The present working languages Are English and general Assembly approved a Resolution at its Las session to include russian and Spanish and the soviet Union re Quested the Council meeting. Del. Governor fulfils pledge Dover Del. Up Russell Peterson became Delaware governor tuesday and ordered the immediate withdrawal of National guard troops from Wilmington where they have conducted nightly patrols in the negro ghetto since riots nine months ago. Presence of the armed patrols in the 24-Block negro Section had become a cause of great resentment within the Black Community and Peterson announced sunday that his first order would be to end the patrols. Actors audition in the nude new York up a doze Young actors and actresses tues Day auditioned in the nude i Greenwich Village. The men had to strip completely the girls tothe Waist to read their lines in the drama geese which deals with homosexual and lesbian love. For my next play director Phil Oesterman was quoted As saying i d like everybody Tobe nude the actors the Ushers the Crew and the citizen Johnson roams the Range Johnson City Tex. Up Lyndon Johnson craving Littlemore than Freedom from pressure controversy and criticism spent the first Day of his new life As an elder statesman tuesday by roaming the Range of his Texas ranch. Johnson drove around his beloved Hill country in sunny 82-degree weather in a Lincoln Continental convertible while preparations went Forward at the Federal building at Austin to outfit his offices for his new life As an sex president. Ignatius takes newspaper Post Washington up Paul. Ignatius Navy Secretary in the Johnson administration tuesday was named president of the Washington , 48, a native of los Angeles will assume the executive duties now performed by publisher John w. Sweeter Man who was recently named vice chairman of the Board of the Washington Post co. Ignatius will also become executive vice president and a member of the Board of the Washington Post co., which also owns Newsweek Magazine Post Newsweek stations inc., and part of boaters Mersey paper co. Ltd. Six killed in crash of b52 Minot . A a b52 Strat fortress crashed and burned just West of Minot air Force base tuesday killing All six Crew men victims were identified As maj Byron d. Edmonds 36, commander Bismarck to. 1st it. Kenneth a. Kuhn 25, co Pilot Beatrice neb. C Apt. Gerald j. Walla 29, navigator Schulenburg Tex. Capt. James c. Jiles 30, radar navigator Mesa Ariz. l. Jones 31, electronic warfare officer Evanston Iii. And tech sgt. Lee a Gunn 34, gunner Gary plane crashed on Takeoff for a training Mission officials said and carried no nuclear weapons. Convicted Cheater acquitted los Angeles up Richardson one of five men convicted of conspiracy Tomulet wealthy members of the friars club in rigged Gin Rummy games has been acquitted by a Federal judge William p. Gray denied motions for acquittal an new trials on behalf of the other four defendants found guilt last dec 2. In acquitting Richardson Gray said he had been troubled about the sufficiency of the evidence that the Las vegas Casino executive was in on the scheme after dec 21, 1962, when the five year statue of limitations expired. Covered but the the sub Chaser then hoisted flags demanding heave to or i will fire Bucher said. I was momentarily confused As to just what he meant by that message since i was dead in the he said he signalled i am i International he said he was having very Good Luck in communicating with Navy head quarters in Japan. Earlier he had reported previous difficulties in reporting his initial detection by North korean ves Sels. I told the radioman to keep the line open Bucher said. Then he said he sent a message reporting the presence of the torpedo boats and i raised the precedence from Flash to critic enabling it to go straight and direct to the White critic is Short for critic comm a general name for Navy Security group radio Cir Cuits. A Junior officer asked about scuttling the Pueblo but the skipper thought he said that i could not be done quickly enough another officer had told him it would take More than 2�� hours and the vessel was in Only 30 fathoms 180 feet of was indeed concerned Bucher said but not to the Point that i thought the North korean ships would do anything More than continue the harass ment and get me to do some thing Bucher said a fourth torpedo boat appeared. I now had them mercy Airlift to Biafra has perilous route Miami a two big cargo planes with 19 men aboard took off tuesday to set up perilous mercy airlifts into Biafra. They were the first of fourc97s obtained with . Govern ment help by a Church affiliate group to Fly food and Medicine across a path of possible niger Ian gunfire. It s not much for us to risk when you consider that 6,000 to 7,000 people die every Day i Biafra said Axel Duch of Copenhagen the chief of operations. At Sao Tome a portuguese Island off Africa the Organiza Tion joint Church Aid .a.,will set up a base. Soon two More planes Are expected to joining the operation. In Washington meanwhile three top Senate democratic Lead ers called for stepped up . Humanitarian action to ease the plight of starving pleas were made in sen ate speeches by Sens. Edward of Massachusetts Rob Ert c. Byrd of West Virginia and Richard b. Russell of Georgia. The four planes will Fly 200tons of cargo to the troubled african state nightly Duch 300 planes that is just a drop in the bucket. To fill the need it would take about 30c such planes he said. Each plane will try to crack the blockade with two missions nightly Duch explained the aircraft must Fly 400 Niles mostly Over the Atlantic Ocean where nigerian gunboats Are will Fly by night Only and land on a sort of blocked off Rodin Biafra he said. On both bows and both Quarter sat Point Blank Range about 25 did not go to Battle stations As i did not want to give them the excuse of concluding our ship was in their Vicinity and being but at this Point Bucher said he gave the order to prepare to destroy classified about the same time two Mig aircraft i believe the were mig21s, passed directly Over the ship and began to he said he prepared a Mes Sage of critic priority that one of the p-4s was backing toward my Bow intending to tuck the nickname for the oceanographer get that damned gear up Here Bucher said he shouted. I m leaving i said on the Bridge that to be damned if they re going Roget away with that so i got under Way out to sea to gain Smuch room As possible to a ordered a modified general quarters and hoisted the Flag signals hoping to confuse the sub Chaser thank you for your consideration " Bucher said he messaged " i am departing " in Hindsight i should have filled my Yardar with flags of All sorts and let them fiddle with it to try to figure out some thing that really meant Noth ing Bucher said. Outgunned they started playing por poise crossing my Bow at 10yards, and keeping All guns aimed at me Bucher said. Did not feel at any time though that there was any Point ingoing to War. I was completely and hopelessly outgunned. Toman our .50-caliber machine guns would have been to Send Aman up to that gun and that would have been certain death to him. And we would have had to remove their covers which were in fact Frozen. .1 saw no Point in sending people Point Lessly to their said he gained 3,000 Yards on the sub Chaser before the North korean vessel gave Chase in Earnest Angling to Ward the Pueblo s port Side to bring his guns to Bear on As Bigan Angle of my ship As Possi said the sub Chaser again signalled heave to or i wildfire on you and i ignored 1,500 to 2,000 Yards the sub Chaser opened fire Buche said. Each Salvo contained 6 to 14 individual the Bridge were myself signalman 1-c Wendell a Leach quartermaster 1-c Charlesb Law and communications technician 3-c Steven a Robbin. Three hit Robbin and Leach and i received shrapnel wounds. One piece of shrapnel passed directly into my rear end and other pieces into my leg and my right ankle. Leach was hit in the leg Robbin in the five to six pieces in my leg did not bother me but theone that entered my buttocks gave me considerable pain. Buti was Able to completely ignore it and resume full control of the ship within about five seconds. I did not give my trouble another thought until i reported them by message 20 or 30 min utes Bucher said that after a few months of imprisonment a North korean general told him he would have been torpedoed had he continued to depart the area
