Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist

Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist
Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Md Troopers Assoc #20 & Westminster Md Fire Dept Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist
Showing posts with label Pres 1963 36 Johnson-Lyndon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pres 1963 36 Johnson-Lyndon. Show all posts

Friday, January 23, 2009

USS Pueblo captured January 23, 1968


USS Pueblo captured January 23, 1968

It is a dangerous world out there. And wishing that dynamic away with wishful thinking or attempting to make the danger go away by the force of naive will or force of personality endangers our country…

For example, on this date:

On January 23, 1968, the USS Pueblo a Navy intelligence vessel, is engaged in a routine surveillance of the North Korean coast when it is intercepted by NorthKorean patrol boats. According to U.S. reports, the Pueblo was in internationalwaters almost 16 miles from shore, but the North Koreans turned their guns onthe lightly armed vessel and demanded its surrender.

The Americans attempted to escape, and the North Koreans opened fire, wounding the commander, Lloyd Bucher, and two others. With capture inevitable, the Americans stalled for time, destroying the classified information aboard while taking further fire. Several more crew members were wounded, including Duane Hodges, who later died from his injuries.

Finally, the Pueblo was boarded and taken to Wonson. There, the 83-man crew was bound and blindfolded and transported to Pyongyang, where they were charged with spying within North Korea's 12-mile territorial limit and imprisoned. It was the biggest crisis in two years of increased tension and minor skirmishes between the United States and North Korea.

The United States maintained that the Pueblo had been in international waters and demanded the release of the captive sailors. With the Tet Offensive raging 2,000 miles to the south in Vietnam, President Lyndon Johnson ordered no direct retaliation, but the United States began a military buildup in the area. North Korean authorities, meanwhile, coerced a confession and apology out of Pueblo commander Bucher, in which he stated, "I will never again be a party to any disgraceful act of aggression of this type." The rest of the crew also signed a confession under threat of torture.

The prisoners were then taken to a second compound in the countryside near Pyongyang, where they were forced to study propaganda materials and beaten for straying from the compound's strict rules. In August, the North Koreans staged a phony news conference in which the prisoners were to praise their humane treatment, but the Americans thwarted the Koreans by inserting innuendoes and sarcastic language into their statements. Some prisoners also rebelled in photo shoots by casually sticking out their middle finger; a gesture that their captors didn't understand. Later, the North Koreans caught on and beat the Americans for a week.

On December 23, 1968, exactly 11 months after the Pueblo's capture, U.S. and North Korean negotiators reached a settlement to resolve the crisis. Under the settlement's terms, the United States admitted the ship's intrusion into North Korean territory, apologized for the action, and pledged to cease any future such action. That day, the surviving 82 crewmen walked one by one across the "Bridge of No Return" at Panmunjon to freedom in South Korea. They were hailed as heroes and returned home to the United States in time for Christmas.

Incidents between North Korea and the United States continued in 1969, and in April 1969 a North Korean MiG fighter shot down a U.S. Navy intelligence aircraft, killing all 31 men aboard. In 1970, quiet returned to the demilitarized zone.


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The photo above was found on the web site: http://www.usspueblo.org/:

Official Navy Photograph Provided by Steve Woelk

The USS PUEBLO was a U. S. Navy vessel sent on an intelligence mission off the coast of North Korea. On January 23, 1968, the USS PUEBLO was attacked by North Korean naval vessels and MiG jets. One man was killed and several were wounded. The Eighty-two surviving crew members were captured and held prisoner for 11 months. The pages on this site tell the story of the Pueblo Incident and present the USS PUEBLO Veteran's Association.
Welcome This site is sponsored by the USS Pueblo Veteran's Association. THIS IS THE ONLY OFFICIAL USS PUEBLO (AGER-2) WEBSITE

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Please be aware that the text of this post are NOT my words. It is from an old file, of which, unfortunately, I did not take note of where the information originated. A Google search indicates that it probably came from http://www.history.com/: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=6785

19680123 SDOSM 20090123 USS Pueblo captured

Kevin Dayhoff www.kevindayhoff.net http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

20070718 Lady Bird Johnson - Steel Magnolia

My Tentacle column is up on the web site.

July 18, 2007

Lady Bird Johnson - Steel Magnolia

Kevin E. Dayhoff

A week ago today, Lady Bird Johnson, the celebrated wife of former President Lyndon Baines Johnson, passed away at age 94.

A Texan, she was born Claudia Alta Taylor on December 22, 1912, but her family called her "Lady." In her teenage years her classmates called her "Bird." It has been reported that she did not care for that nickname at that time, but it did stick. Later, her husband also referred to her as "Bird."

There are many reasons to celebrate the life and accomplishments of this steel magnolia of first ladies. Her husband was president at a tumultuous time in our nation's history. For many younger readers, President Johnson's term of office - from November 22, 1963 to January 20, 1969 - might very well be characterized as "ancient history;" but many of us baby boomers remember it well.

(For an excellent first hand personal account of Mrs. Johnson, be sure to read Roy Meachum's "Claudia Alta Taylor Johnson" published on The Tentacle July 13.)

The outpouring of public affection for the former first lady, associated by many as part of the 1960s of long ago history, has caught many younger people by surprise.

Many have read, since her death, about how she championed conservation issues. Interestingly enough, she did not use the word environmentalist, but as much as anyone, she was an environmental pioneer.

Her lasting legacy of cleaning-up roadside America, her interest in wildflowers, conservation, and public beautification are only a small part of her rightful place in history as one of America's great public servants.

Other reports recall how she worked tirelessly for her husband's political career. One adjective that has frequently been used is "tenacious." That is certainly an appropriate way to characterize her support of her husband, whom history has appropriately remembered as one of the more "cantankerous," (to put it politely) political actors of all time.

What isn't as well reported was her incredible influence upon her husband and her advocacy for civil rights, education and housing initiatives, and welfare programs, including Head Start. Remember, it was President Johnson who signed the Civil Rights Act in 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law. You should also know that then-Senate Majority Leader Johnson was largely responsible for passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

Read the rest here: Lady Bird Johnson - Steel Magnolia

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

20070611 Lady Bird Johnson passes away

July 1, 2007

Photo credit: Robert Knudsen /Lyndon B. Johnson Library

Lady Bird Johnson, wife of latePresident Lyndon B. Johnson,is pictured at the White Housein an Oct. 20, 1967 file photograph.

MSNBC is carrying an Associated Press story that Lady Bird Johnson has passed away.

Lady Bird Johnson passes away

Former first lady, 94, succumbs to natural causes, spokeswoman says

BREAKING NEWS

The Associated Press

Updated: 6:02 p.m. ET July 11, 2007

AUSTIN, Texas - Lady Bird Johnson, the former first lady who championed conservation and worked tenaciously for the political career of her husband, former President Lyndon B. Johnson, died Wednesday, a family spokeswoman said. She was 94.

Lady Bird Johnson returned home late last month after a week at Seton Medical Center, where she'd been admitted for a low-grade fever. Her husband died in 1973.

She died at her Austin home of natural causes about 4:18 p.m. CDT, said Elizabeth Christian, the spokeswoman. She said she was surrounded by family and friends.

Read the rest of the article.

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