James Stockdale
Stockdale was a candidate for vice president of the United States in the 1992 presidential election, on Ross Perot's independent ticket.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.[10] On September 9, 1965, while flying as the Carrier Air Wing Sixteen Commander from USS Oriskany on a mission over North Vietnam, Stockdale ejected from his Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, which had been struck by enemy fire and completely disabled.Because they had been resistance leaders they were separated from other captives and placed in solitary confinement in "Alcatraz", a special facility in a courtyard behind the North Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense, located about one mile away from Hỏa Lò Prison.In Alcatraz, each of the prisoners was kept in an individual windowless and concrete cell measuring 3 by 9 feet (0.9 by 2.7 m) with a light bulb kept on around the clock, and locked in leg irons each night.[21][non-primary source needed] When Collins asked which prisoners didn't make it out of Vietnam, Stockdale replied: Oh, that's easy, the optimists.You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.Collins called this the Stockdale Paradox.Stockdale filed charges against two other officers (Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Edison W. Miller and Navy Captain Walter E. "Gene" Wilber) who, he felt, had given aid and comfort to the enemy.In deference to his previous service, the navy kept him on active duty, steadily promoting him over the next few years before he retired as a vice admiral on September 1, 1979.His primary focus was ancient Stoicism and the Roman slave-turned-philosopher Epictetus, whose lessons captured in The Enchiridion Stockdale credited with providing him strength during his ordeals as a prisoner in the Hanoi Hilton.Their story was later made into an NBC television movie under the name In Love and War, starring James Woods and Jane Alexander.[26] Stockdale became acquainted with businessman and presidential candidate Ross Perot through his wife's work in establishing an organization to represent the families of Vietnam POWs.He had no formal preparation for the debate, unlike his opponents Al Gore and Dan Quayle, and did not discuss any political issues with Perot beforehand.However, his unfocused manner through the rest of the debate (including asking the moderator to repeat one question because he did not have his hearing aid turned on) made him appear confused and disoriented.In a 1999 interview with Jim Lehrer, Stockdale explained that the statements were intended to introduce himself and his personal history to the television audience:[28] It was terribly frustrating because I remember I started with, "Who am I?Perot and Stockdale received 19 percent of the vote in the 1992 presidential election, one of the best showings by an independent ticket in U.S. electoral history, although they did not carry any states.Sensing the start of another purge, and aware that his earlier efforts at self-disfiguration to dissuade his captors from exploiting him for propaganda purposes had resulted in cruel and agonizing punishment, Rear Adm. Stockdale resolved to make himself a symbol of resistance regardless of personal sacrifice.He was subsequently discovered and revived by the North Vietnamese who, convinced of his indomitable spirit, abated in their employment of excessive harassment and torture toward all of the Prisoners of War.[34] At the Naval Air Station North Island in Coronado, California, the main gate (inaugurated on August 30, 2007) and the headquarters building for the Pacific Fleet's Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) school were both named in his honor.[40] In October 2014, Airbase Arizona of the Commemorative Air Force placed on display a restored Grumman AF-2S Guardian (BuNo 126731) flown by vice admiral Stockdale early in his navy career with his name on the canopy rail and all markings as they were when he flew the aircraft in the 1950s.
Abingdon, IllinoisCoronado, CaliforniaUnited States Naval Academy CemeteryAnnapolis, MarylandUnited States of AmericaUnited States NavyVice admiralCarrier Air Wing 16Vietnam WarMedal of HonorNavy Distinguished Service MedalSilver StarLegion of Merit"V" deviceDistinguished Flying CrossBronze Star MedalPurple HeartAir MedalStrike/FlightAlma materUnited States Naval AcademyStanford UniversitySybil Bailey Stockdaleaviatorprisoner of warNorth VietnamUSS Ticonderoga (CVA-14)Gulf of Tonkin incidentCarrier Air Wing SixteenUSS Oriskany (CV-34)A-4 Skyhawkpresident of the Naval War CollegeThe Citadelvice president of the United States1992 presidential electionRoss PerotMonmouth CollegeBachelor of ScienceU.S. Naval AcademyWorld War IIgunnery officerdestroyer minesweeperUSS Carmick (DD-493)USS Thompson (DD-627)USS Charles H. Roan (DD-853)Naval Air Station PensacolaNaval AviatorNaval Air Station Corpus ChristiNaval Air Station NorfolkVirginiaUnited States Naval Test Pilot SchoolNaval Air Station Patuxent RiverSouthern MarylandU.S. Marine CorpsJohn Glennmathematicsphysicstest pilotMaster of Artsinternational relationsfighter pilotStoic philosophyDESOTO patrolTonkin GulfUSS Maddox (DD-731)P-4 torpedo boatsF-8 CrusaderUSS Ticonderoga (CV-14)commanderLieutenantZuni rocketssea battlePT boatsPresident JohnsonUSS OriskanyHỏa Lò PrisonTorturedSybil StockdaleThe League of American Families of POWs and MIAsParis Peace TalksAlcatraz GangGeorge Thomas CokerJeremiah DentonSam Johnsonleg ironsJames C. CollinsGerald FordOperation HomecomingJohn Warnerletters of censureNaval War CollegeNewport, Rhode IslandHoover InstitutionStoicismEpictetusThe EnchiridionHanoi HiltonReagan administrationHarper and Rowtelevision movieIn Love and WarJames WoodsJane AlexanderRockford InstituteChronicles: A magazine of American CultureAtlantaAl GoreDan QuayleHal BrunoABC Newsrhetorical questionshearing aidSaturday Night LivePhil HartmangridlockJim LehrerDennis MillerindependentU.S. electoral historyNaval Aviator insignia5⁄16" Gold StarsSilver Star MedalCombat "V"Strike/Flight NumeralCombat Action RibbonNavy Unit Commendation