James Stockdale | |
---|---|
Birth name | James Bond Stockdale |
Nickname(s) | "Jim" |
Born | Abingdon, Illinois, U.S. | December 23, 1923
Died | July 5, 2005 Coronado, California, U.S. | (aged 81)
Buried | |
Allegiance | United States of America |
Service/ | United States Navy |
Years of service | 1946–1979 |
Rank | Vice admiral |
Commands held | VF-51 Carrier Air Wing 16 |
Battles/wars | Vietnam War |
Awards |
|
Alma mater | Monmouth College (attended) U.S. Naval Academy (BS) Stanford University (MA) |
Spouse(s) | |
Other work | Vice presidential candidate, 1992 |
James Bond "Jim" Stockdale (December 23, 1923 – July 5, 2005) was a United States Navy vice admiral and aviator who was awarded the Medal of Honor in the Vietnam War, during which he was a prisoner of war for over seven years.
Stockdale was the most senior naval officer held captive in Hanoi, North Vietnam. He led aerial attacks from the carrier USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14) during the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident. On his next deployment, while commander of Carrier Air Wing Sixteen aboard the carrier USS Oriskany (CV-34), his A-4 Skyhawk jet was shot down in North Vietnam on September 9, 1965. He served as president of the Naval War College from October 1977 until he retired from the navy in 1979. As vice admiral, Stockdale was the president of The Citadel from 1979 to 1980.
Stockdale was a candidate for vice president of the United States in the 1992 presidential election, on Ross Perot's independent ticket.
Stockdale was born in Abingdon, Illinois, on December 23, 1923, the son of Vernon Beard Stockdale (1888–1964) and Mabel Edith Stockdale (née Bond; 1889–1967).[1][2] Following a brief period at Monmouth College, he entered the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, in June 1943.
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. On March 30, 1992, Perot announced that he had asked Stockdale to be the provisional vice presidential candidate on his 1992 independent ticket.[27] Perot intended to replace Stockdale with another candidate, but did not do so before dropping out of the race in July 1992.[28]
Perot re-entered the race in the fall of 1992, with Stockdale still in place as vice presidential candidate. Stockdale was not informed that he would be participating in the October 13 vice presidential debate held in Atlanta, Georgia, until a week before the event. 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.[28]
Stockdale opened the debate by saying, "Who am I? Why am I here?", as a response to the request for an opening statement from debate moderator, Hal Bruno, the political director of ABC News.[29][30] At first the rhetorical questions drew applause from the audience. However, his unfocused manner through the rest of the debate (including asking the moderator to repeat one question because he didn't have his hearing aid turned on) made him appear confused and disoriented. A humorous caricature of the debate on Saturday Night Live later that week, with Phil Hartman as Stockdale, cemented a public perception of Stockdale as slow-witted. He was also often parodied for his repeated use of the term "gridlock" to describe slow governmental policy.
As his introduction to the large segment of American voters who had not previously heard of him, the debate was disastrous for Stockdale. He was portrayed in the media as elderly and confused, and his reputation never recovered. 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? Why am I here?" and I never got back to that because there was never an opportunity for me to explain my life to people. It was so different from Quayle and Gore. The four years in solitary confinement in Vietnam, seven-and-a-half years in prisons, drop the first bomb that started the...American bombing raid in the North Vietnam. We blew the oil storage tanks of them off the map. And I never—I couldn't approach—I don't say it just to brag, but, I mean, my sensitivities are completely different.
In a 1994 HBO comedy special, Dennis Miller gave an impassioned defense of Stockdale's debate performance:[31]
Now I know (Stockdale's name has) become a buzzword in this culture for doddering old man, but let's look at the record, folks. The guy was the first guy in and the last guy out of Vietnam, a war that many Americans, including your new President, chose not to dirty their hands with. He had to turn his hearing aid on at that debate because those fucking animals knocked his eardrums out when he wouldn't spill his guts. He teaches philosophy at Stanford University, he's a brilliant, sensitive, courageous man. And yet he committed the one unpardonable sin in our culture: he was bad on television.
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.
Stockdale's decorations and awards include:
Naval Aviator insignia | |||||||||||
Medal of Honor | Navy Distinguished Service Medal w/ two 5⁄16" Gold Stars | ||||||||||
Silver Star Medal w/ three 5⁄16" Gold Stars |
Legion of Merit w/ Combat "V" |
Distinguished Flying Cross w/ one 5⁄16" Gold Star | |||||||||
Bronze Star Medal w/ Combat "V" and one 5⁄16" Gold Star |
Purple Heart w/ one 5⁄16" Gold Star |
Air Medal w/ Strike/Flight Numeral 10 | |||||||||
Combat Action Ribbon | Navy Unit Commendation w/ one 3⁄16" bronze star |
Prisoner of War Medal | |||||||||
American Campaign Medal | World War II Victory Medal | Navy Occupation Service Medal | |||||||||
National Defense Service Medal w/ one 3⁄16" bronze star |
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal w/ two 3⁄16" bronze stars |
Vietnam Service Medal w/ three 3⁄16" silver stars and one 3⁄16" bronze star | |||||||||
Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation | Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal | Navy Pistol Marksmanship Medal w/ "E" device |
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. Recognized by his captors as the leader in the Prisoners' 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 Prisoners of War. 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.[13]
Stockdale retired to Coronado, California, as he slowly succumbed to Alzheimer's disease.[32] He died from the illness on July 5, 2005. He was 81. Stockdale's funeral service was held at the Naval Academy Chapel and he was buried at the United States Naval Academy Cemetery.
The Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale Award for Inspirational Leadership is a United States Navy award established in 1980 by United States Secretary of the Navy Edward Hidalgo to honor the inspirational leadership of Stockdale. The award was first made in 1981.[33]
The U.S. Navy has named a number of structures after Stockdale, including the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Stockdale (DDG-106), christened on May 10, 2008.[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. In July 2008, a statue of him was erected in front of Luce Hall at the U.S. Naval Academy; the hall which houses the Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership.[35]
In 1976, he received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.[36][37]
Stockdale Center, the student center at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois, which he attended prior to transferring to the Naval Academy, was dedicated in his honor in 1989.[38]
He was enshrined in the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2002.[39]
The Admiral James & Sybil Stockdale Arena at South Kent School was named after Stockdale and his wife in April 2014.[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.
Stockdale's naval experiences and his leadership decisions while senior naval officer in prison in North Vietnam are an integral part of every midshipman's educational experience at Annapolis.
A luxury suite at the Loews Annapolis Hotel, where Perot announced his candidacy, was named in Stockdale's honor.
The Abingdon-Avon High School Auditorium in Abingdon, Illinois, has been named "Stockdale Auditorium" in his honor.