Duane Hodges was killed during the attack on & capture of USS Pueblo; not during captivity. CDR Pete Bucher was a shipmate of my father's back in the day, and according to Navy57, there was no Naval Officer better suited to withstand & lead his crew through the horrors of what the Norks put Bucher's men through. He was "one tough, brave [SOB] and a true salt-of-the-earth kinda guy".

FWIW, the Old Sea Dog didn't often heap praise like that on his fellow officers, but he had great respect for Pete Bucher & Jim Lovell.

12th Man said:

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Duane Hodges was killed during the attack on & capture of USS Pueblo; not during captivity. CDR Pete Bucher was a shipmate of my father's back in the day, and according to Navy57, there was no Naval Officer better suited to withstand & lead his crew through the horrors of what the Norks put Bucher's men through. He was "one tough, brave [SOB] and a true salt-of-the-earth kinda guy".

FWIW, the Old Sea Dog didn't often heap praise like that on his fellow officers, but he had great respect for Pete Bucher & Jim Lovell.

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Thank you for the information. Jack Carr used the USS Pueblo as part of the story in Cry Havoc

📜 Today in Roman History- 27 January, AD 98, Trajan takes the purple!

Imperator Caesar Nerva Traianus Augustus Germanicus Dacicus

When Trajan became emperor after Nerva’s death, Rome didn’t just change rulers-it found its tempo. Trajan was the second of the Five Good… pic.twitter.com/kSxMF70jZ9

— Legions & Shadows (@GeorgeMPetru) January 27, 2026

Meant to post this on the 24th.

Jan 24th, 1972 - Japanese Sgt Sohichi Yokoi was captured by locals in Guam after hiding out since the end of WW2. He wasn't even the last one to surrender.

ABATTBQ87 said:

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I was in 6th grade. Mrs. Clarin's math class at East Avenue Middle School. The principal announced it over the PA. My mom had the TV on when I got home (which was unusual, because us kids were limited to 1 hour a day, unless it was a baseball or football game. Priorities.)

I rarely post about deaths, but given this is our 250th, this felt timely for Thoughtful Thursday.

On this day, January 29, in 1820, King George III of Great Britain died at Windsor Castle at the age of 81.

George III ruled for nearly 60 years, making him one of Britain’s… pic.twitter.com/iut9nil7R5

— History Dame (@history_dame) January 29, 2026

On this day in 1968 the TET offensive in the Vietnam war began. Major escalation and largest military campaign in the war.

Many men died
Many were disabled for life
My first company commander received a silver star and his Staff Sergeant Karl Taylor received the Medal of Honor… pic.twitter.com/7pzm6kmCa7

— USMC Lady Vet 🇺🇸 (@Arkypatriot) January 30, 2026

On this day in 1945 – Pvt. Eddie Slovik becomes the first American soldier since the Civil War to be executed for desertion-and the only one who suffered such a fate during World War II.

Pvt. Eddie Slovik was a draftee. Originally classified 4-F because of a prison record… pic.twitter.com/PlsqrZ3wvR

— Christopher Wipper (@SGTWipper1Each) January 31, 2026

Wasn't General Rudder involved in the trial somehow?

CanyonAg77 said:

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Wasn't General Rudder involved in the trial somehow?

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Not part of the trial but his unit

Grok:

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Slovik was executed on January 31, 1945, near Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, France.
At that time, then-Lt. Col. (later promoted to Col.) James Earl Rudder commanded the 109th Infantry Regiment (Slovik's regiment) in the 28th Division. He took command of the regiment in late October 1944, after Slovik's desertion incidents (August and October 1944) but before the trial in November. Rudder was not part of the court-martial panel, did not preside over or participate in the trial, and was not in the chain of approval for the sentence (which went through division and higher levels).
Rudder did issue a message to the regiment on the day of Slovik's execution (January 31, 1945), referencing the event to emphasize discipline and the consequences of desertion, something like: "The person that is not willing to fight and die, if need be, for his country has no right to life." This was in the context of ongoing heavy fighting (e.g., Colmar Pocket). He was aware of and referenced the execution as regimental commander, but he had no direct involvement in the trial itself.

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Thanks

Slovik and all the Americans executed in World War I are buried behind the visitor's center at the Oise-Aisne American cemetery. The visitor center is across the road from the main cemetery. In October I lowered and folded the flag at the cemetery. The French caretaker of the cemetery said that some of the families of the executed visit their loved ones graves regularly.

I highly recommend Brian Kilmeade book Sam Houston and the Alamo Avengers: The Texas Victory That Changed American History if you want to learn more about Sam Houston the book touches on this subject at the end.

On this day in 1861, Texas secedes from the United States. As lawmakers vote to join the Confederacy, an angry Governor Sam Houston storms out of the state house in disgust. "I love Texas too well to bring civil strife and bloodshed upon her," he reportedly remarks. pic.twitter.com/q6EkZUHtKw

— Military History Now (@MilHistNow) February 1, 2026

58 yrs ago today Western Pennsylvania photographer Eddie Adams captured the execution of a Vietcong prisoner, Nguyễn Văn Lém, on a Saigon street during the opening stages of the Tet Offensive. pic.twitter.com/Wq7jBlXDPO

— ZitoSalena (@ZitoSalena) February 1, 2026

CanyonAg77 said:

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I seem to recall that the VC was a spy directly responsible for the deaths of several men under the command of the executioner.

Doesn't make it right, but in the middle of warfare, understandable.

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Yes he deep into killing others. Grok responded with this

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Nguyn Vn Lm (also known as Captain By Lp or Bay Lop) was a captain in the Viet Cong (National Liberation Front). Before his summary execution on February 1, 1968, during the Tet Offensive, he was involved in covert operations and guerrilla activities against South Vietnamese forces.
According to multiple historical accounts, including reports from South Vietnamese authorities, photojournalist Eddie Adams (who captured the famous execution photo), and later confirmations (including from Lm's widow):
He and his wife operated undercover in Saigon as arms traffickers, using a tire trading business as a front.
As a Viet Cong officer, he led or was part of a death squad/sabotage/revenge unit targeting South Vietnamese National Police officers, their families, and other perceived "traitors" or opponents.
Immediately before his capture, he was accused of participating in (or leading) the killing of several people associated with the police. Accounts vary on the exact number and victims, but common claims include:
His squad killing dozens (e.g., up to 34 people, including civilians, police officers, and possibly Americans) in targeted assassinations.
Specifically, leading or taking part in the murder of Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Tuan (or a similar high-ranking officer), his wife, their six children, and the officer's 80-year-old mother by slitting their throats after the officer refused to cooperate (e.g., by teaching tank operation to VC forces during an assault on an armor base in Go Vap).
These actions occurred amid the chaos of the Tet Offensive, when Viet Cong units conducted widespread targeted killings in Saigon and elsewhere. Lm was captured (in civilian clothes, hands bound) near the n Quang Pagoda and brought to South Vietnamese National Police Chief Nguyn Ngc Loan, who executed him on the spot without trial.
Note that while the South Vietnamese narrative (backed by some Western sources and Adams himself) emphasizes these atrocities to contextualize the execution, the iconic photo of his death (showing him unarmed and restrained) became a powerful anti-war symbol, often portraying him as an innocent victim. The full backstory highlights the brutal realities on both sides during the war.

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I don't read AI responses

CanyonAg77 said:

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I don't read AI responses

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Ok then here is one of the resources used for the response:

Article

I too don't read AI. Doing all I can to keep history organic.

On this day in history:

Groundhog Day 2014

NYC Mayor de Blasio dropped Staten Island Chuck. The groundhog died a few days later.

RIP Chuck pic.twitter.com/Jwg9pO55kQ

— KayGee1 (@Gee1Kay) February 2, 2023

It was also filmed in grotesque footage that Walter Cronkite, Huntley and Brinkley and Frank Reynolds showed as America was sitting down to dinner. The film was more devastating than the photograph.

OTD 150 years ago: The National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs (a.k.a. National League) was formed in New York.

The teams were located in Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Hartford, Louisville, New York, Philadelphia, & St. Louis.

The foundation of modern baseball was born. pic.twitter.com/9JlCSooFDw

— Extra (@extrastats) February 2, 2026

This is a neat history. Looks like the Cards, Cubs, Pirates, and Phillies are still standing as NL teams. But I'm curious about the Braves and Orioles. Are the Atlanta Braves the same as the Boston Braves, like the San Fran Giants = NY Giants? Was Baltimore an NL franchise that switched to the AL like the Astros did years later?

With a brief stay in Milwaukee, it is the same Braves club.

The only two franchises that have participated in every NL season are Chicago and Boston that eventually found their way to Atlanta via Milwaukee (1952 -1965). Some of the franchises were expelled for not following league rules and others folded. Philadelphia and New York got new franchises in the 1883 or 84 and the other "Classic Eight" NL teams (Dodgers, Reds, Cardinals and Pirates) joined as the competing the American Association collapsed. The Baltimore Orioles of today have absolutely no connection to the the 19th century team. The present day Orioles were in Milwaukee when the Ban Johnson declared his Western League as a competing "major" league to the NL and renamed it the American League. In 1902 that team moved the St. Louis (was known as the Brown)s and moved to Baltimore in 1954.