Lloyd M. Bucher
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Image:CmdrBucher1969.jpg Commander Lloyd Mark "Pete" Bucher (September 1, 1927 – January 28, 2004) was an officer in the United States Navy, who is best remembered as the Captain of the USS Pueblo (AGER-2), which was captured in January 1968 by the North Koreans.
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Early life and education
Bucher was orphaned at an early age and attended high school at Father Flanagan's Boy's Town in Nebraska. He dropped out in his senior year to enlist in the Navy, serving at the tail end of World War II and for several years afterward (1945-1947). Bucher reached the rank of quartermaster second class and obtained a high school diploma. He then worked in construction and as a bartender before entering the University of Nebraska on a football scholarship in 1949. While attending university, he signed up for Naval ROTC. He graduated with a BS degree in 1953 and was commissioned an Ensign in the Naval Reserves.
Career as a submariner
In January 1954, Bucher was called to active duty and served as division and education officer on the USS Mount McKinley. It was in mid-1955 that Bucher was admitted to submarine school at New London, Connecticut.
After graduation, Bucher served as torpedo and gunnery officer of the submarine USS Besugo, operations officer of the USS Caiman, and assistant plans officer for logistics on the staff of Commander Mine Force, Pacific Fleet.
From 1961 to 1964 he served on the submarine USS Ronquil rising from third officer to executive officer, after which he became an assistant operations officer on the staff of Commander Submarine Flotilla Seven in Yokosuka, Japan. Bucher loved submarines and his greatest desire was to command one.
The Pueblo incident
While monitoring North Korea, the Pueblo came under attack by North Korean forces, even though U.S. Naval officials and the crew have affirmed the ship was in international waters at the time. North Koreans boarded the ship and took her to the port at Wonsan. For the next 11 months, Commander Bucher and his crew were held as POW's by the North Koreans, and were starved and tortured during this time.
Eventually the US issued a written apology, at which point Commander Bucher and his crew were released. The US then retracted the statement following the release. No combat operations have been attempted to retrieve the vessel, which remains in commission in the United States Navy's Naval Vessel Register
The Navy court of inquiry
Following the release, Commander Bucher was subjected to a court of inquiry by the Navy. A court martial was recommended. However the Secretary of the Navy, John H. Chafee, intervened on Bucher's behalf and no action was taken against Commander Bucher. Many believe that Bucher was treated badly by the government. Bucher followed his orders to not start any international incidents, and he felt that while a ship could be replaced, lives could not. Bucher succeeded in his task, as war did not result from the unprovoked attack on Pueblo. The US Government finally recognized the crew's sacrifice and granted Prisoner of War medals to the crew in 1989.
Aftermath of the Pueblo incident
Shortly after the court of inquiry, Lieutenant Edward R. Murphy, Bucher's second officer in command, published a book that was a scathing attack on his former skipper. Among other things, he charged that Bucher did not obey the "code of conduct" which limits the information captured military personnel can give. The young officer was brutally beaten by his captors for refusing to give information. He said he once lay for days in a pool of his own blood. Murphy pointed out in the book that the North Koreans were able to obtain over a ton of classified documents from the captured Pueblo because Bucher had forgotten to pick up the TNT that would be used for disposal in case the ship was captured. Murphy said Bucher was the worst commanding officer he ever had and compared him to the fictional "Captain Queeg" in Herman Wouk's book The Caine Mutiny Court Martial. Murphy reported that all throughout their captivity, Bucher would cajole, harangue and bully the crew into accepting his version of what happened. Murphy said Bucher's attempted "brainwashing" was as vile as any the North Koreans used.
Murphy further claimed Bucher had a very serious problem with alcohol that led him to be absent from duty at times and make irrational decisions. Sailors on the Pueblo reported that he was even drunk on duty and once nearly ran the ship aground. He said he had talked to other officers who previously served under this man and they claimed he was a master at "shifting blame" from himself to others. Lieutenant Murphy found working with Bucher so loathsome that at one point he drafted a letter resigning his Naval commission.
In rebuttal, it was Murphy himself that was totally incompetent, and Murphy's book was in retaliation to the bad marks given him by his skipper both in real life and in Bucher's book "Bucher: My Story" published only a few months before. The crew loved "Pete" Bucher and detested Murphy. Murphy did not know, and probably still doesn't know to this day that he was within inches of being shot and thrown overboard by members of his own crew well before the incident with the North Koreans. Bucher saved his crew, and said publicly for many years that "They were my men, and my responsibility..." and all but one came home alive because of one man's determination, and by saying afterward "I saw no point in sending men senselessly to their deaths."
Death and burial
Commander Bucher died on January 28, 2004. He was buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego. The Poway-Bernardo Mortuary, which is featured in the A&E television series Family Plots, handled the funeral services. One of the episodes of the series was dedicated to the Commander's funeral services.