Word: bucher
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...example, was Bucher given as his first command so highly sensitive an assignment? And why, once he had been given command, was he not allowed access to the classified material for which he might ultimately be responsible? Why was an ancient rust bucket like Pueblo chosen for conversion into a spy ship? Why were Bucher's requests for essential gear and weaponry repeatedly turned down? Why, if the Navy lacked the money to equip the ship properly, was Pueblo stationed off North Korea in the first place? Why no air cover? And why did the Navy steadfastly assume that...
False Security. Even at a lower level of command, where operational difficulties are more apparent, Bucher received little help or guidance. Rear Admiral Frank L. Johnson, commander of U.S. Naval Forces, Japan, was made fully aware of Pueblo's limitations by Bucher. Yet he did nothing to upgrade the ship. Indeed, Bucher testified that Johnson had assured him that his guns would never be needed, and in fact advised the skipper not to show "any aggressive intent" if harassed by North Korean or Soviet vessels. This attitude seemed to lull Bucher into a false sense of security, which...
Finally, the inquiry also raises questions as to the validity of the Military Code of Conduct (see ESSAY), which requires brave men of conscience like Bucher to endure vicious treatment rather than sign false confessions that are of dubious value anyway. Fiercely loyal to his crew, orphanage-raised Bucher could only be made to sign such a document when he believed his men-his military family-would be shot one by one. Whatever the court of inquiry decides, it is clear that the Navy's investigation will not satisfy Congress. Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield predicted that both...
...choice that faced Commander Lloyd Bucher was between seeing his men shot one by one before his eyes or signing a false confession. He signed-and in that act illuminated the whole agonizing dilemma of weighing military duty against elementary humanity-and often against self-preservation...
...techniques used on prisoners by the Communists today have become painfully familiar, even though the beatings, threats and psychological pressures given Bucher and his crew were so horrifying as to stun the world anew last week. To some extent, the techniques consist of old-fashioned torture protracted and refined, in a mixture of mental and physical ordeals. The P.O.W. may be kept in utter isolation or thrust into a cell group without a shred of privacy. He may be forced to sit or stand in the same position for hours on end until his bodily functions go awry. His interrogators...