Navy

USS Pueblo spy ship crew tell Trump to bring vessel home from North Korea

Some of the surviving crewmembers of an American spy ship captured by North Korean forces 50 years ago have a message for President Trump: bring our warship home.

“The crew of the USS Pueblo would like to get our ship returned,” Ron Berens, the lead helmsman onboard and at the wheel on January 23, 1968 when North Korean MiG fighter jets and patrol boats opened fire on the American spy ship, leading to the first capture of a U.S. Navy ship since the War of 1812.

“We would like them to deliver it to Lake Pueblo,” said Bob Hill, a 19-year-old deck seaman at the time and one of the youngest on board.

One crewmember was killed, 82 others taken captive and held for 11 months in North Korean prisons enduring hours of torture roughly 10 days after departing from Japan on espionage missions against the Soviet Union and North Korea.