The Other Harris

While much of the testimony has been confused and contradictory, the investigation into the capture of U.S.S. Pueblo seems to have settled on its villain. Witness after witness has portrayed Lieut. Stephen R. Harris, officer in charge of the ship's supersecret research center spaces, as incompetent or cowardly, or both.

Harris' looks are unfortunate. Pale and skinny, he is the antithesis of the recruiting-poster image of a Navy officer. His face has a furtive cast to it, his chin is narrow, and when he takes his glasses off, he has a wide-eyed, rabbity look. Harvard-educated Harris, 30, gives the appearance of being a timorous man, one who might well lose control under fire. While he now shows few signs of the brutal treatment he received at the hands of the North Koreans, Harris was hospitalized and confined to a wheelchair following the crew's release last December.

While most of the testimony concerning Harris and his operation has been delivered in closed session, the fragmentary evidence that the Navy has made public indicates that the lieutenant neglected to post required plans for destroying classified data; never gave the order to destroy the ship's secret documents even when Pueblo came under attack; and failed to supervise or help in the destruction effort once it was initiated at an enlisted man's order.

Harris has a different story. He maintains that during most of the period when he was reported to be standing around doing practically nothing, he was in fact aft, destroying classified material for which he was personally responsible. Other crew members saw him doing this, Harris told a TIME correspondent, but either they have not been called to testify as yet, or their testimony was completely classified.

No Rift. Harris also denies the widely held belief that there was ill feeling between him and Pueblo's skipper, Commander Lloyd ("Pete") Bucher. The security officer claims that there never was any rift. He has nothing but praise for his commanding officer, whom he views as one of the most honest, responsible officers he has ever come across, a man he would feel "privileged to serve under in the future."

If Harris is disliked by his fellow officers and men of Pueblo, none of it shows during their off-duty hours. No one shuns the lieutenant at the barracks at North Island Naval Air Station, where the crew is quartered. Harris and his wife, Esther, see Bucher and his wife, Rose, socially "even more now than we did before the capture." Last week the four of them went to a concert and two nightclubs.

Unlike Bucher, Harris has never been warned that unfavorable testimony before the court of inquiry could lead to a court-martial. If what has been released on Harris' conduct were the full story, it seems impossible that he would not be accused of violating regulations. In fact, however, Harris is up for a promotion, which should come some time in July. Last week Bucher joined the rest of Pueblo's officers for a "wetting down" party in his honor.

While he has every right to do so, Harris does not intend to request another chance to testify before the court. Says he: "I've had my say and I'll let it stand. The old image has been bruised a bit in the press this past week or so. But the people who really count know the truth and they're going to weigh what they heard in court."

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