Stockdale wound up in Hoa Lo Prison the infamous Hanoi Hilton where he spent the next seven years under unimaginably brutal conditions. Stockdale opened the debate by saying, "Who am I? Theres no we to it. By his heroic action, at great peril to himself, he earned the everlasting gratitude of his fellow prisoners and of his country. A thundering herd was coming down on me. A report will be written. Among the well-known names in the cast are Rob James-Collier of Downton Abbey, Suranne Jones of Scott & Bailey, Bronagh Waugh of The Fall and the comedian Kevin McAleer. Then you get so you know them all. They would go up and they would have target areas that they would shellac in the middle of the night and then they would head back down. I have a degree in business studies and marketing, but I knew pretty soon after graduating that Id made a mistake, he says. The guards took my clothes out and washed them. He led aerial attacks from the carrier USSTiconderoga(CVA-14) during the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident. I was getting occasional letters from my wife, Sybil. We pretty well can stand anything. (While wrenching, the scene in which soldiers carry out these executions is far less traumatizing than an equivalent massacre in last years The Zookeepers Wife, although nothing in McIvors film could be said to match the impact of that remarkable film, also inspired by true events, in which empty cages were used to hide Jewish refugees.). As his introduction to the large segment of American voters who had not previously heard of him, the debate was disastrous for Stockdale. And I said, You speak like youve been to college. A plane piloted by Commander James Stockdale joined the action, flying at low altitude to see the enemy ships. [4] He was a test pilot until January 1957. He came to acting via an unconventional route and says that he knows better than most how precious that first screen credit is. Thats why Im named Jim, because he made my dads life full. Stockdale preferred the life of a fighter pilot over academia, but he later credited Stoic philosophy with helping him cope as a prisoner of war. Admiral, wouldnt that make you an easy target for ground fire? He next served aboard the USSThompson(DD-627) from October 1946 to February 1947, the USSCharles H. Roan(DD-853) from February 1947 to July 1948, and the USSDeming(PCS-1392) from July 1948 to June 1949. I said, Yeah.. It turned out to be the year after I graduated, so I had a year to go to college first and was accepted at Carleton College, which is still one of the best small colleges in America. GB, dom, dom, dom, dom, dom, dom, dom, U. G-B-U-J-S. So I got more I was more moved by that than many other things. War Hero. I really didnt want to do a real job. You can die or you can submit. Tortured routinely and denied medical attention for the severely damaged leg he suffered during capture, Stockdale created and enforced a code of conduct for all prisoners which governed torture, secret communications, and behavior. Every time you take a shot in the Vietnam hospital theyd bring out a big, long needle. James Stockdale: No. Hes got his ducks in line. Aside from your own personal sacrifice, how do you look back on it? He and my mother were kind of at odds about my future. And then the fourth night he had a truck ready to take me to the hospital. There will be dirge music in the streets tonight. He served as president of the Naval War College from October 1977 until he retired from the navy in 1979. We were a good freshman football team. I can help you with that but youre going to have to teach me to fly jets. And he said, Its a deal. It was a very good friendship and we started making permanent friends. Admiral, how did you survive psychologically? We were right across the walk from their Pentagon, but we were the only Americans in there and there were only 11 of us. Naval Academy; the hall which houses the Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership. Two officers were working me over. There was blood running down my shoulders and there were secretaries in the courtyard that we went by and they were looking. I was then called back to the test pilot school to be an instructor. They will finish the project with a wealth of skills, experience and, most importantly, their first credit on a feature film.. The next morning, he was ordered to lead a raid on North Vietnamese oil refineries. cm. Born In 1923. As soon as I could I got my head wet and lathered up, I started with that safety razor, just cutting a track down the top of my head that I judged would make it impractical for them to take me downtown. Stockdale's decorations and awards include: Stockdale's official Medal of Honor citation reads: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while senior naval officer in the Prisoner of War camps of North Vietnam. Sen Ronan from Dublin, who has appeared in Fair City on RT, as well as in several short films, hopes to emulate the screen success of his cousin Saoirse Ronan. [6], Stockdale (commander VF-51 (Fighter Squadron 51)), with Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Richard Hastings attacked torpedo boats T-333 and T-336, while Commander R. F. Mohrhardt and Lieutenant Commander C. E. Southwick attacked torpedo boat T-339. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. [12] In the summer of 1969, he was locked in leg irons in a bath stall and routinely tortured and beaten. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. And we knew we had eight guys that died in the ropes. You cannot accept a favor. Along with 17 others including future astronaut John Glenn he made the cut. They just roughly doubled the strength of everything. The scene-stealer here is James Stockdale, who plays Petes brother Mickey, a not-quite-three-foot teen with an unspecified disability and preternatural charm (he gets all the films best lines), hidden from public view at a time when families were ashamed of special-needs children. Register of Alumni, United States Naval Academy, 1991. But the role of Pat's son Junior, who was raised in the US, could have been written for him. I got my wings in 50 and then I got four years of many kinds of small ships and it was 54. They told me, We think theyre going to put you in the mint pretty soon. And that was kind of the end of the line. Retrieved on July 2, 2008, from, Last edited on 26 February 2023, at 21:55, The League of American Families of POWs and MIAs, Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation (Gallantry Cross), Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale Award for Inspirational Leadership, Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, Courage Under Fire: Testing Epictetus's Doctrines in a Laboratory of Human Behavior, Stockdale on Stoicism I: The Stoic Warrior's Triad, Stockdale on Stoicism II: Master of My Fate, List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Vietnam War, List of United States presidential candidates (1856present), List of United States Naval Academy alumni (Medal of Honor), "Essay: 40th Anniversary of the Gulf of Tonkin Incident", "William B. Bader, official who helped uncover CIA, Defense abuses, dies at 84", "Admiral James B. Stockdale, USN, Biography and Interview", http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19920331&slug=1483968, "Honor Bound: American Prisoners of War in Southeast Asia, 19611973", "Notes on People, Mao Meets Mobutu in China", "Our POWs: Locked up for 6 years, he unlocked a spirit inside", "The Alcatraz Gang: Eleven American POWs in Hanoi's Notorious Camp", "Families of Vietnam POWs confront a painful set of anniversaries", http://www.jimcollins.com/lab/brutalFacts/, "POW mate calls McCain 'liar' over 'turncoat' charge", "President of the Citadel Quits In Controversy Over 'Reform', "Hal Bruno, former ABC News political director, dies at 83", "Hal Bruno, Director of Election Coverage at ABC, Dies at 83", "Dennis Miller talks about Admiral James Stockdale", "Navy Legend Vice Adm. Stockdale Led POW Resistance", "Welcome to Navy Forces Online Public Sites", "Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership", "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement", "Our History Photo: Pioneering Women of Achievement: Captain Grace Murray Hopper, USN, famed inventor, and developer of COBOL computer programming language, receives the Academy's Golden Plate Award from Admiral James B. Stockdale, USN, Medal of Honor recipient, during the 1983 Summit in San Diego", "New Rink Named The Admiral James & Sybil Stockdale Arena", Interview with Jim Lehrer on 1992 Vice-Presidential debate, "James Stockdale, Perot's Running Mate in '92, Dies at 81", Admiral Stockdale's Personal Webpage (archived), Memorial Service for Admiral James B. Stockdale (archived), United States Navy Announces the Death of Retired Vice Adm. James B. Stockdale (archived), Oil Portrait of James B. Stockdale (archived), "Son of Navy POW Recounts Father's Heroism in Vietnam", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=James_Stockdale&oldid=1141802016. He sat down and he said, Stockdale, do you want a cup of coffee? I said, Yes. I dont think I had leg irons on. As they walked me over to the other side of the camp and put me in a little privy-like place Id never seen before thats just full of cobwebs it would only accommodate one man and I think they were just doing something to get me out of that camp so that I knew Id go in Room 18 the next morning. I had a feeling that ever since Id started this self-defacement they had a suicide watch on me. Their story was later made into an NBC television movie under the name In Love and War, starring James Woods and Jane Alexander. Whatever challenges we may face in the years to come, Americans and all freedom-loving peoples can fortify themselves with the example of Admiral James Bond Stockdale, an American hero for our time, and for all times. By 1968, she and her organization, which called for the president and the U.S. Congress to publicly acknowledge the mistreatment of the POWs (something that had never been done despite evidence of gross mistreatment), gained the attention of the American press. "[22] Both Miller and Wilber received letters of censure. Im going to be back leading six A-4s in flak suppression. Approaching his target, his plane was riddled with anti-aircraft fire. And who knows whats going to happen? No further hope for Tom Sizemore after brain aneurysm, actors family says, Fair play to Paul Mescal. James Stockdale: We had some smart guys that were shot down ahead of me. Ill go ahead of them and bomb and shoot the gunner, see. We got out and everything worked. Did you receive any kind of medical attention after you were captured and transported? We didnt realize how dangerous it was to get shot down over Laos. One of our kids knew just enough to put a tape in, and we used that in the movie. Upon his release in 1973, Stockdales extraordinary heroism became widely known, and he received the Medal of Honor in the nations bicentennial year. James Stockdale, seated, with production crew and fellow actors from Delicate Things, a new short film. So they said,Weve got to get a code going. So what it came down to was a five-by-five matrix. I grabbed the plane captain and said, Call up there and get that pilot out and tell him Im getting in. Meantime on the bridge, the captain was saying I learned this in prison because one of the guys was on the bridge he said, What the hell is Stockdale doing out there? and they said, Hes getting in because he wants to take the flight. And he said, Well, I guess Id do the same if it was me. To hear that years later was kind of pleasant. I think were going to have to satisfy ourselves with just getting it under you enough that you can walk with crutches. And, he effectively did that. 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