Admiral Stockdale dies at 81
For those of you who don't know who Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale is, educate yourself. And go beyond 1992 when he was Ross Perot's running mate for the presidential election. Stockdale was one of the finest Americans of our time. He was a Navy fighter pilot and on his last scheduled mission in Vietnam (his 201st mission) before he was supposed to rotate back home for a while, he was shot down over N Vietnam. He spent nearly 8 years (4 years of that in solitary confinement) as a POW in the Hanoi Hilton as the senior officer and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery and leadership there. At one point, the N. Vietnamese stopped beating and torturing him for a short time because they wanted to use him for propoganda videos showng how well the POWs were being treated. They gave him a razor to shave and clean himself up so he used it to cut a huge bloody swath down the middle of his head. They decided they would just put a hat on him so he bashed himself in the face with a wooden stool to make himself unsuitable. They tried again another time and he inflicted a near fatal wound on himself with a piece of broken glass, essentially telling the NV's "Fuck you. You don't scare me anymore. I did this to myself, so what can you possibly do that can break me." He also provided leadership and structure to the dozens of other Americans in the prison. And when you are stuck in solitary confinement being tortured and beaten on a daily basis, that leadership means everything.
That's just a thumbnail. I recommend to anyone to educate yourself a little more. He was a true hero. It's ashame so many people only remember him as Perot's running mate.
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