Charles R. “Joe” Sterling

Charles R. “Joe” Sterling, raised near Weeping Water, Nebraska, joined the U.S. Navy in the late 1950s. In January 1968 he was a crew member on the USS Pueblo, a navy vessel on an intelligence mission off the coast of North Korea, which was attacked and captured by North Korean forces. One sailor was killed and the remaining eighty-two, including Sterling, were incarcerated in North Korea for eleven months. After his release, Sterling continued his naval career, retiring after nearly thirty years of active and reserve service. He died in 2002 in Lincoln, Nebraska. The items pictured here are part of a larger collection relating to Sterling’s career and his experiences as a USS Pueblo crewmember, which History Nebraska has recently acquired.