SNAFUBAR
SNAFUBAR
Podcast Description
SNAFUBAR explores American military mistakes from the beginning of the country’s founding to the present day. Environmental Historian Jeff Crane and Professor of Religious Studies Sara Hart bring an honest and candid look and analysis at costly errors, victory culture and the fetishization of the military in the United States.
Presented by Cal Poly Humboldt's College of Art Humanities & Social Sciences.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast covers themes of military history, societal reflections on war, and critiques of the American military culture. Specific episodes explore George Washington's military decisions, such as his leading role at the Battle of Jumonville Glen and the implications of military failures, while addressing the tradition of romanticizing military actions and the support issues faced by veterans.
SNAFUBAR is a show about strategic and moral military errors and mishaps, and the myths that both lead to and then justify them. The histories they look at will make clear the degree to which the U.S. is a warful nation, contrary to the myth of a peaceful nation regularly compelled, against its will, to go to war. Through every episode, the show uncovers how we romanticize and fetishize the military while not always providing the support it needs to carry out its intended (or stated) goals, or to meet veterans’ needs when they return from combat.
“You come home and you don’t fit.”
Did you know that the only actively commissioned US naval vessel in captivity is docked in Pyongyang, North Korea? On January 23, 1968, the USS Pueblo, a former WW2 US Army cargo ship converted into a Navy intelligence-gathering vessel, was captured by the Korean People’s Army. Her crew of 82 men spent 11 months as prisoners during one of the most volatile periods of the Vietnam War and the Cold War. Don’t forget, the Korean War ended with an armistice and is technically still active to this day.
For this special three part series, we took our recording equipment on the road to explore the story of the USS Pueblo through the eyes of Navy veteran and Pueblo crewman John Mitchell, who turned 21 years old while in captivity. Throughout the series, John reflects with us on what has become known as the “Pueblo Incident.”
In this final episode in the Pueblo series, our story takes us back to the homefront, the United States. The Incident has ended and the crew is free. But what new trials await them upon their return? And what will it be like to reintegrate into civilian life after 11 months in captivity? We close our Pueblo series by following John from the moment he arrives back in the United States in December of 1968 to the present day. We discuss topics like reactions from the public, the January 1969 Pueblo Affair Naval Court of Inquiry, navigating the Veterans Affairs system, and how his emotions toward his captivity have changed over time.
Today’s episode is guest narrated and edited by SNAFUBAR Writer/Researcher Roman Sotomayor. John Mitchell is a member of the Arcata Veterans Hall, American Legion Post 274. Also present during the interviews with John are SNAFUBAR co-host Sara Hart, Writer/Researcher Liam Salcuni, and Producer Abigail Smithson.
SNAFUBAR is regularly hosted by Sara Hart, who is the Chair of the Applied Humanities Department at Cal Poly Humboldt, and Jeff Crane, who is an Environmental Historian and Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Cal Poly Humboldt. Research and writing for the show is done by Liam Salcuni and Roman Sotomayor.
SNAFUBAR is produced by Abigail Smithson and brought to you by the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Cal Poly Humboldt.
Sources and Resources
Welna, Remembering North Korea’s Audacious Capture of the USS Pueblo
Lerner, The Pueblo Incident: A spy ship and the failure of American foreign policy, 2002
The American Legion, Arcata Post 274, Manual for Veterans Dependents
The American Legion, Main Page
Veterans of Foreign Wars, Main Page
Disabled American Veterans, Main Page
Amvets National Service Foundation, Main Page
Paralyzed Veterans of America, Main Page
Disclaimer
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