US Navy VADM James Stockdale - Vietnam War POW and Medal of Honor Recipient

VADM James Stockdale

Welcome back everyone.  On this episode of Duty & Valor, you’ll hear the story of a man who was an accomplished, and highly decorated, naval aviator.  A man whose plane was shot down over North Vietnam, where he was taken prisoner for over 7 years.  A man who refused to break in the face of heavy physical and mental torture.  A man who would be credited by other American POWs with leading steadfast resistance against their captors.  This is the story of Medal of Honor recipient VADM James Stockdale.  

Early Life

James was born on Dec. 23rd 1923 in Abingdon, IL to parents Vernon and Mabel Stockdale.  Following high school, where he lettered in three sports and was ranked second of his class, James would briefly attend Monmouth College in IL before attending the US Naval Academy.  Where he would be one of the 821 graduates in 1946.

Following graduation he would be given the role of assistant gunnery officer aboard the USS Carmick, the USS Thompson and then the USS Charles H. Roan, all of which were destroyers. 

His military career would pivot in 1949 when he was selected to attend flight training at Naval Air Station Pensacola in FL.  Upon successfully completing his training, James would be assigned to Naval Air Station Corpus Christi in TX and would go on to receive further training in Norfolk, VA.  Early in his flying career, he had the reputation as an elite pilot and would be selected into the US Naval Test Pilot School where he excelled.  He would remain in that position from 1954 to 1957, before the Navy sent him to Stanford University to study International Relations.  

Vietnam

As the US military presence in SouthEast Asia was increasing exponentially, Stockdale would find himself assigned to Fighter Squadron 51 aboard the USS Ticonderoga on August 2nd, 1964 when the USS Maddox was attacked by three North Vietnamese P-4 torpedo boats.  The Maddox was not able to inflict any direct hits on the boats, so the attackers disengaged and made an attempt to return to a North Vietnamese port.    Stockdale was piloting one of four F-8 Crusaders jets that were launched from the Ticonderoga to intercept the retreating torpedo boats.  Along with another aircraft, he would score direct hits on torpedo boats T-333 and T-336 with their 20mm cannons, while two other pilots hit the third retreating boat.  

Two days later, on August 4th, there were reports of new naval attacks against American forces by the North Vietnamese.  Stockdale was flying above the area where these attacks claimed to have happened, but as he later said  “there was nothing but black water and American fire power”... “There was absolutely no gunfire except our own, no PT boat wakes, not a candle light let alone a burning ship.  In what would be called the Gulf of Tonkin incident, it was believed to be a false engagement meant to justify the increase of US military involvement in the Vietnam war.  And the very next day, Stockdale was flying his F-8 in combat missions against North Vietnamese oil refineries.

Stockdale’s next deployment would find himself as the Commander of the Carrier Air Wing Sixteen aboard the USS Oriskany, where he flew the A-4 Skyhawk.  On Sept. 9th 1965 Commander Stockdale was near his target in North Vietnam when his Skyhawk suffered a mechanical failure.  Some reports say it was caused by anti-aircraft fire, while others have said it was caused by an ordinance malfunction on his wingman’s jet.  Regardless, the damage to the aircraft was so severe that he had no choice but to eject over hostile territory.  In doing so, he suffered a broken bone in his back and a severely dislocated knee before he even made it to the ground.  

When he finally did land, he was immediately set upon by angry villagers.  They would mercilessly beat him and he would sustain a broken leg and paralysis of one arm.  The attack on him would only stop when he was taken into custody by a military policeman.

In what would be the start of a seven and a half year confinement, Commander Stockdale was imprisoned at the infamous prison Hanoi Hilton.  American POWs there gave the prison that sarcastic name.  The conditions and treatment they received there was notoriously brutal.

Stockdale was denied medical treatment for the injuries he suffered during his capture.   Also, he was immediately faced with torture and malnourishment.  He would sustain beatings of all kinds and it was reported that he was near asphyxiation when ropes were tied tightly around his neck.  In addition to the physical torture, he would have to endure mental abuses as well.  All of which were an attempt to break and force him to divulge secrets and admit to US war crimes.  But Commander Stockdale never broke and he refused to cooperate.  He credited his resolve with Stoic philosophy, and its four virtues of wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance.      

During his confinement, Commander Stockdale’s resistance was an inspiration to the other men.  He was credited with organizing and enforcing a code of conduct among the POWs, which guided their defiance and set up ways to communicate with each other.  This led to the sustained levels of unity and elevated morale.

Stockdale’s resistance leadership was not lost on his captors and in 1969 his legs were shackled and he was locked in a bath stall where he would be tortured repeatedly.  But still he didn’t break.   

At one point, Commander Stockdale was told that he would be brought downtown where they would parade him around.  Knowing that the North Vietnamese didn’t want photos released showing American POWs with visible injuries, he cut his scalp with a razor which disfigured him enough to temporarily thwart their plan.  His captors then attempted to hide his injuries with a hat, so he repeatedly hit himself with a wooden stool which caused his face to be swollen badly.  Their attempt to use him as propaganda failed.  

Later he was identified as one of eleven men who were still leading a resistance among the men, so they were all moved to solitary confinement.  They were brought to a facility at the North Vietnamese Ministry of Defense, about a mile away from the Hanoi Hilton.  At the facility, called Alcatraz by the POWs, the men were placed into individual concrete cells with no windows and only measuring three by nine feet.  The cells had one  lightbulb that was left on at all times and their legs were shackled during the night.  

 Another time, VADM Stockdale cut his own wrists when he knew that they wanted to torture him further, in an attempt to implicate other men in forbidden activities.  He did this to show them that he would choose death over their beatings.  They would eventually stop the torture of POWs and prison conditions were improved, if only slightly.  Commander Stockdale’s actions have been credited with the improved conditions.  Throughout his confinement he had had his legs shackled for two years, spent four years in solitary confinement and would have his leg broken twice due to the severe torture he endured.  But still he resisted.

Release and Later Life

Commander Stockdale, along with 590 other POWs, were finally released in 1973 during Operation Homecoming, which was part of the ceasefire agreement between North Vietnam and the US.  All of the remaining men were released upon the complete withdrawal of US forces from South Vietnam. 

On March 4th, 1976, President Gerald Ford presented James Stockdale the Medal of Honor.  In the citation for the award it notes his leadership in the POW camp, and refusal to participate in propaganda exploitation by risking his own life rather than capitulate as two of the main reasons he was awarded the medal.  As well as crediting his actions with the improved treatment of fellow prisoners. 

Due to his physical condition caused by his confinement, Stockdale was not able to continue his flying career with the Navy.  But he did remain on active duty until Sept. 1st, 1979 when he retired at the rank of Vice Admiral.  

Following his retirement, he was the President of The Citadel in Charleston, SC for a short time.  And later on he would spend twelve years as a research fellow at Stanford University.  

In 1992, Ross Perot chose Admiral Stockdale as his running mate.  And although they had a strong showing for an Independent ticket, with 19% of the vote, they would fail in their attempt to win the White House.            

On July 5th, 2005, Admiral James Stockdale passed away at the age of 81.  He is buried at the United States Naval Academy Cemetery in Annapolis Maryland. 

You can learn more about his time in the POW camp in the book co-authored by Admiral Stockdale, and his wife Sybil,  titled In Love and War:  the Story of a Family’s Ordeal and Sacrifice During the Vietnam War.  

Outro

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