2018 will be a bumper year for anniversaries, especially with regard to 1968. If ever there was a year in the modern ear that was packed with more earth shattering events, you will struggle to find another one. Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King were both assassinated, the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia and North Vietnam launched the Test Offensive in the South.Oh yes, US President Lyndon Johnson announced that he would not stand for re-election.

One of the events that may gain some attention will be the capture of the US Navy Pueblo spy ship by North Korea In January 1968. The ship was attacked by North Korean war planes as they claimed it entered their territorial waters. The ship's crew were help captive for almost a year. During which time they were beaten, interrogated and threatened with execution.

Technically, the war in Korea was never officially ended, so the crew were treated as prisoners of war. The crew were forced to make "confessions" that they were spies which North Korea made public. In December, the crew were released. Believe it or not, the Pueblo is still in North Korea. It is now a tourist site!The crew of the ship were awarded Prisoner of War medals when they returned to the United States.

What a complete contrast to the previous year, 1967, when another US Navy spy ship was attacked in international waters.

USS Liberty was attacked by Israeli warplanes just before the Six Day War began in June. Despite having a large American flag, the ship was strafed by cannon fire. 37 crewmembers were killed. Many more injured.The Pentagon claimed that it was an accident, but the crew's accounts all point towards a deliberate attempt to damage the ship. The war planes made more than one strafing run. This from America's ally.

What was the reason? It was just before the attack on the Golan Heights and Israel did not want any communication picked up. The Liberty was a spy ship after all. The crew were forbidden to talk about the incident, as it was seen as best for US-Israeli relations if the matter was hushed up. The crew members who speak out were labelled anti-Semites!The American media has more or less ignored this event.

Guess which one of these two incident was made into a Hollywood TV movie?