Remember the passing of an American hero
"In Love And War" by James and Sybil Stockdale is one of my favorite books and I was saddened to learn of Admiral Stockdale's death on July 5.
I am also saddened by mainstream (liberal) media's all but ignoring the passing of this hero. Small spaces with but a few short sentences in back pages of second and third sections of newspapers is all afforded a man who offered his life, so ours would be free.
Admiral James B. Stockdale spent seven-and-a-half years in North Vietnamese prisons, four of those years in solitary. He snuck out the first list of prisoners of war. Top of the page read "Torture Experts".
Stockdale organized prisoners in defiance of regulations forbidding communication. He improvised a cohesive set of rules governing prisoner behavior and Codified in the acronym, BACK U.S. (Unity over Self). These rules gave prisoners a sense of hope, which many credited with giving them the strength to endure their ordeal.
When the Viet Cong told the world they were going to put Admiral Stockdale on television, he took a razor to his face so they could not use him for propaganda. They tried again, he slit his wrists and arms so deeply, they found him all but dead.
In a life dedicated to the service of the United States, Stockdale received 26 combat decorations, including the Medal of Honor. The citation reads:
Rank and organization: Rear Admiral (then Captain), U.S. Navy. Place and date: Hoa Lo prison, Hanoi, North Vietnam, 4 September 1969. Entered service at: Abingdon, Ill. Born: 23 December 1923, Abingdon, Ill.
Citation: 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. Recognized by his captors as the leader in the prisoner-of-war resistance to interrogation and in their refusal to participate in propaganda exploitation, Rear Adm. Stockdale was singled out for interrogation and attendant torture after he was detected in a covert communications attempt. 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 deliberately inflicted a near-mortal wound to his person in order to convince his captors of his willingness to give up his life rather than capitulate. 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 POWs. By his heroic action, at great peril to himself, he earned the everlasting gratitude of his fellow prisoners and of his country. Rear Adm. Stockdale's valiant leadership and extraordinary courage in a hostile environment sustain and enhance the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
Thank You Admiral. Fair Winds and Following Seas
Sally Chaney
Fairfield