[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 25, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E232]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ``PUEBLO'' RESOLUTION

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. W. TODD AKIN

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 25, 2004

  Mr. AKIN. Mr. Speaker, on 28 January 1968, the U.S.S. Pueblo, under 
the command of Cmdr. Lloyd ``Pete'' Bucher was attacked by four North 
Korean torpedo boats while in international waters. The attack resulted 
in the death of one Navy sailor and the capture of Cmdr. Bucher and his 
crew.
  Held in concrete cells, the Pueblo crew was starved and tortured for 
11 months. Fed mostly turnips, many of the malnourished crewmembers 
began to lose their sight. They were repeatedly beaten and burned on 
steam radiators.
  By all accounts Cmdr. Bucher bore the brunt of the North Korean's 
wrath. Crewman James Kell explained it this way: ``We were all beaten, 
we all were tortured. But [Bucher] had it double, triple, quadruple 
what we got.''
  Stu Russell, another crewman, echoes Kell's praise of Cmdr. Bucher: 
``The man was a giant. No matter who did what, he was always punished. 
I simply don't know where he got the strength and courage to go through 
what he did.''
  In January 2004, Cmdr. Lloyd ``Pete'' Bucher passed away and was 
subsequently buried with honors at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in 
Point Loma, San Diego, California. He died an American hero.
  Today, joined by 15 bi-partisan colleagues, I introduce this 
Resolution to honor Cmdr. Lloyd ``Pete'' Bucher and the crew of the 
U.S.S. Pueblo who served our country, and suffered while doing so. They 
sacrificed that each of us may enjoy the liberty for which so many 
others have given the ultimate sacrifice.

                          ____________________