Jul. 11—When the USS Pueblo was seized by North Korean warships and aircraft in international waters on Jan. 23, 1968, Stillwater resident Stu Russell was one of the crew members aboard. One crew ...

The USS Pueblo, originally a WWII light freighter, was recommissioned by the U.S. Navy as an environmental research vessel - but in truth, it was a spy ship conducting surveillance near North Korea.

The 82 crewmen of the USS Pueblo who had been held captive in North Korea for 11 months walked across a bridge to freedom at Panmunjom -- smiling and weeping for joy. They were freed after the U.S.