On January 23, 1968, the USS Pueblo, a Navy intelligence
vessel, was engaged in a routine surveillance of the North
Korean coast when it was intercepted by North Korean
patrol boats.

According to U.S. reports, the Pueblo was in international
waters almost 16 miles from shore, but the North Koreans
turned their guns on the lightly armed vessel and demanded
its surrender.

The Americans attempted to escape, and the North Koreans
opened fire, wounding the commander 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.

These men were hailed as heroes and returned home to
the United States in time for Christmas.

Lloyd Mark "Pete" Bucher 
(September 1, 1927 – January 28, 2004)
    
   

   
The USS Pueblo is now on display at a North Korean war
museum.

   
In Annapolis, Maryland, the United States Naval Academy
admitted women for the first time in its history with the
induction of 81 female midshipmen in 1975.

  
Elizabeth Anne Rowe

                                               
 
Kristine Holderied

NAVAL AIR STATION WHIDBEY ISLAND, Wash. —Lt. Cmdr.
Lyndsay P. Evans, 31, left, a naval flight officer, and Lt. 
Serena N. Wileman, 31, a naval aviator, were killed Tuesday
afternoon, Oct. 15, when their EA-18G Growler crashed near
Mount Rainier during a routine training flight at around 3:30
PM Pacific time. 

On June 4, 1942, the Battle of Midway—one of the most decisive
U.S. victories against Japan during World War II—began.

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

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 crew of USS Pueblo at a press conference in North
Korea in 1968. (Korea News Service via AP Images)