Remembering the Pueblo
Captain Carl J. Triebes Jr., U.S. Navy (Retired)
I would like to express my gratitude to Lieutenant F. Carl “Skip” Schumacher for his contribution regarding the anniversary of the USS Pueblo incident (“Hell and Back,” February, pp. 42–47). In it he recounts firsthand the capture of the Pueblo (AGER-2) by the North Koreans on 23 January 1968 while the ship was sailing in international waters. His article helped prevent the 50th anniversary of this event from going completely unnoticed.
My interest in the Pueblo is twofold. I was born in Pueblo, Colorado, and call it my hometown. I also served with Pete Bucher, the commanding officer of the Pueblo, on board the USS Ronquil (SS-396) and was proud to call him a friend. My wife and I remained good friends with Pete and his wife, Rose, until their passing.
The capture of the Pueblo was not our Navy’s finest hour. She was not equipped to go in harm’s way, and no help was sent when a demented dictatorship inflicted harm. Knowing Pete as well as I did, his decision not to sacrifice his crew in a senseless display of bravado was in character and, given the circumstances, commendable. He lived with his decision in a dignified and professional manner. There are wives, children, and grandchildren who are thankful for his choice.
The media mostly overlooked the 50th anniversary of the Pueblo’s capture. The late editor of the ship’s newspaper established a “Committee for the Return of the USS Pueblo” on which I was proud to be an honorary member. However, this gesture was largely symbolic because of higher national priorities.
Thank you, Skip Schumacher, for helping us not to forget.
The Lone A-12
Steve Dumovich
I was very pleased to see the “Historic Aircraft” article about the A-12 Avenger II (“The Avenger That Couldn’t Avenge,” February, p. 53). I am an early member of the first Marine A-6 Intruder squadron, VMA(AW)-242 (1965–67). If things had turned out differently, Marine A-12s might have replaced the A-6s.
Not many naval aviation enthusiasts know much, if anything, about the A-12. I am sure that is because the aircraft never flew and never reached production. And few people, even those in military aviation museum circles, know that there is one lone survivor of the A-12 program: a full-scale mock-up of the plane. It is owned by the city of Fort Worth, Texas, where the airplane would have been manufactured. Several years ago, the A-12 was moved from the General Dynamics plant there to the Fort Worth Aviation Museum (FWAM) adjacent to Meacham Airport. There is substantial restoration work that needs to be done, but a plan is in place to preserve this not-so-famous airplane for future generations. A few of the docents at FWAM worked on the A-12 project prior to it being canceled.
Links to Article, Benefactor
Commander John B. Tata, U.S. Naval Reserve (Retired)
The April issue has two personal connections for me. Recently, board members of the O’Callahan Society at Holy Cross College gave kudos to Captain Brendan O’Donnell for his article “ROTC under Siege” (pp. 28–34) during our monthly teleconference. As an engineer from neighboring Worcester Polytechnic Institute, I am honored to be a member of the society, which has contributed both time and funds to the betterment of the Holy Cross NROTC Crusader Battalion over many years. Recently the college’s “Crusader” moniker has been under fire, but in February trustees voted to retain it as the school nickname. Ironically, the day after our teleconference, the school announced it would eliminate from the school’s logo the image of a knight in armor holding his sword. O’Donnell’s story about 1970 events could not have been more timely, as history may be repeating itself at Holy Cross.
Second, I note the kind words regarding the gift of Captain David Judson Gray’s family estate to The Fund for Naval History. I served with Captain Gray for several years, the last two as his unit executive office at the Naval War College. He was an enthusiastic historian and a good skipper. Under his command, the unit was a recipient of the Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation for its contributions to Gulf War I. A copy of Alfred Thayer Mahan’s Seapower that David presented to me upon my retirement resides on my bookshelf. Thank you for your kind acknowledgment of his bequest.
Appreciating Black Ponies
Micah Kerr
My father, Paul Jack Kerr, is a retired U.S. Army major who served as an adviser to the South Vietnamese in the U-Minh Forest, Rach-Gia area of South Vietnam, during 1970 and 1971. The “Historic Aircraft” article in the April 2018 issue (“A Low, Slow Plane for Limited War,” pp. 12–13) mentions many of the same aircraft that my father talks about on those rare occasions when he discusses Vietnam. During his tour, he worked closely with two Navy aircraft squadrons: the VAL-4 Black Ponies, included in the article, and the HA(L)-3 Seawolves.
There was also a very mysterious figure known as the “Sheriff,” who silently flew around providing real-time information on enemy troop movements. Several years later, my father realized that his plane was probably an ultra-quiet YO-3. When asked who he was, the Sheriff would only reply, in his best Deep South sheriff voice, “Boy, just be glad I’m on your side.” My father considers himself a very satisfied customer of the close-air support provided by these brave men, and strongly feels that he would not have made it home from that tour without them.
One night my dad was at an outpost, manned by no more that 15 men, when the Sheriff reported a very large number of enemy troops headed in his direction. Initial calls for air support went unanswered, and my dad and his men were planning on bugging out, but to where? Having recently seen John Wayne in Back to Bataan, the plan was to follow the “Duke’s” lead by cutting some reeds and using them as snorkels to try to evade the enemy while hiding underwater in the swamps. They were handing out the reeds when the Black Ponies came up on the radio.
The Black Ponies stayed overhead all night, conducting repeated, highly accurate air strikes that broke up the enemy’s attack. The communist force was hit so hard that it left its dead behind when it withdrew.
A few years ago, all my dad wanted for Christmas was a model of a Black Pony OV-10. I built one for him, and managed to a find a couple of VAL-4 caps on the Black Pony website. My daughter gave my dad the model for Christmas, and he gave her one of the hats. Together they are the founding members of the “Lake Jericho Black Pony Appreciation Society.”