Admiral Stockdale (then a Commander), was the Commander of Carrier Air Wing 16, on board the carrier USS Oriskany (CVA-34), when he flew on a mission with Attack Squadron 163 on September 9, 1965. On that mission, Commander Stockdale's A-4E Skyhawk, BuNo. 151134, was hit by enemy AAA fire and he was forced to eject from the aircraft over enemy territory. He was captured by the North Vietnamese and imprisoned for 7˝ years, during which he suffered hideous torture, horrible abuse, debasement, and starvation. Promoted to the rank of Captain in absentia while a Prisoner of War, Stockdale was released from captivity at war's end in early 1973. Subsequently, he was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral, and then to Vice Admiral, the rank in which he retired from active duty. In 1992, Admiral Stockdale was a candidate for Vice-President of the United States of America.  "A truly great man died this week. In September 1965, when CDR Jim Stockdale was shot down over North Vietnam, my squadron commanding officer, Commander Tex Birdwell, one of the toughest men I'd ever known, who'd known Stockdale at the Navy Test Pilot School, said, “Jim'll do all right, he's the toughest guy I know.” Commander Bill Franke, a contemporary of Stockdale's when shot down, was the smartest human being I'd ever known. He served on the test pilot faculty with Jim Stockdale. Bill Franke told me, “Jim is the smartest human being I've ever known.” Those two endorsements - from the toughest and smartest men I've ever known say a lot about Jim Stockdale. A very tough guy who led others with his intellect. “CAG” (Commander of the Air Group) was the last of a breed and one of the great bargains Uncle Sam received in exchange for his Annapolis education. A brilliant man, Stockdale excelled in the primarily engineering curriculum of the Academy class of 1947. Stockdale ended up flying fighters, earning an MS in Engineering, and becoming head of academics at the Navy Test Pilot School where his students included the three Navy and one Marine earliest astronauts. But it wasn't the tailhook carrier Navy that excited Jim Stockdale the most. Working toward his doctorate in philosophy, he studied the classics under Stanford’s renowned Philip Rhinelander and became fascinated with the stoics. Particularly in Epictetus’s The Enchiridion Stockdale found his raison d’ętre as a leader of men in a POW environment. His nearly eight years in a communist prison with frequent torture, solitary confinement and endless mind games played by his captors made him stronger. He would later tell audiences that he believes his whole life directed him to be the inspirational leader for the 600 military POWs in Vietnam. He got through nearly five years of solitary confinement convinced that it was his purpose to be there. Stockdale's 2,713 days of leadership in isolation resulted in promotions to admiral and general, selections for choice assignments and a plethora of medals for the men he inspired. He was personally awarded the Medal of Honor in large part for refusing to be exploited by being forced to order Americans to violate their Code of Conduct. His brief foray into politics as the reluctant vice presidential candidate for Ross Perot in 1992 didn’t work out but one of the memorable moments of the campaign was the Vice Presidential debate with Dan Quayle, Al Gore and Admiral Stockdale. The pundits had a field day with the geezer against the hip, one-thought-equals-one-clever-bumper sticker Quayle and Gore. Admiral Stockdale looked at the camera and asked, “Why am I here?” Neither Quayle, Gore, the press nor the viewers understood what he was saying. But those of us who served with him in Hanoi did. He was imploring the spirit of Epictetus to wisk him away from these buffoons back to his destiny. Leading men under very difficult circumstances. A job, in his world, according to Epictetus for which he was destined his entire life." This tribute to VADM James Stockdale was provided by member Paul Galanti, who served under CAG Stockdale in Hanoi during his POW years. |
