← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · Sertorius
Thread ID: 18998 | Posts: 15 | Started: 2005-07-06
2005-07-06 14:21 | User Profile
washingtonpost.com James Stockdale Dies; Won Medal of Honor, Ran for Vice President
By Martin Weil Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, July 6, 2005; B04
James B. Stockdale, 81, the retired Navy vice admiral, teacher and thinker whose heroism in Vietnamese captivity won him the Medal of Honor and who later ran for vice president, died July 5 at his home in Coronado, Calif.
A statement released by the Navy said he had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
Embodying the virtues of both warrior and philosopher, Adm. Stockdale, an aviator, credited the tenets of Epictetus, one of the ancient Stoics, with helping him survive 7 1/2 years of abuse as the highest-ranking U.S. Navy officer to be held captive in Vietnam.
As Adm. Stockdale's character and conduct in desperate circumstances became known after the war, he won praise as a national hero who transcended the divisiveness of the times.
His selection as the vice presidential candidate on the third-party ticket headed by Ross Perot in 1992 raised expectations.
"The brainy, selfless and distinctly unegotistical Stockdale, will make both Vice President [Dan] Quayle and Sen. Albert Gore Jr., the Democrats' No. 2 man, seem like callow youths" in their debate, David Broder wrote in The Washington Post.
However, Adm. Stockdale's debate experience reminded many of the dangers of the format.
"Who am I?" he asked. "Why am I here?" The rhetorical nature of those questions was lost; they seemed amusing rather than thought-provoking.
If anyone was suited to withstand such a setback, it may have been Adm. Stockdale. The Navy once sent him to Stanford University; he later said that from a philosophy course there, he learned of Epictetus, the crippled former slave whose motto has been given as "bear and forbear."
Whatever hardships he bore in politics, they appeared to pale in comparison to Vietnam.
On Sept. 9, 1965, his A-4 fighter-bomber was hit by antiaircraft fire, and he ejected over a small coastal village. A beating on the ground broke his left knee. It was broken again in prison, and he never regained its full use. In prison, he was tortured and suffered other injuries. He was placed in leg irons for two years and held in solitary confinement for four.
As recounted in the citation for his Medal of Honor, the military's highest award for valor, he mutilated himself to stay out of propaganda photographs. Later, he managed to slash his wrists, coming close enough to death to convince his captors that he would not give in. The Navy said the torture of other prisoners then abated.
In prison, Adm. Stockdale recalled these words of Epictetus: "Lameness is an impediment to the leg but not to the will."
Secretary of the Navy Gordon R. England said in a statement last night that Adm. Stockdale's "courage and life stand as timeless examples of the power of faith and the strength of the human spirit."
Adm. Stockdale was born Dec. 23, 1923, in Abingdon, Ill. He graduated from the Naval Academy in the Class of 1947.
During a long career as a carrier pilot, he led the first air attack on North Vietnamese targets after the Tonkin Gulf incident, flew scores of other missions and received 26 combat decorations.
At various times he was a test pilot, head of the Naval War College and the Citadel and a fellow of the Hoover Institution. He retired from the Navy in 1979. He and his wife, Sybil, wrote a book, "In Love and War." It was made into a television movie.
He is survived by his wife, four sons and eight grandchildren. é 2005 The Washington Post Company [url]http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/06/AR2005070600231.html[/url]
RIP
2005-07-06 14:24 | User Profile
Wasn't Stockdale also a big wheel at the Rockford Institute?
2005-07-06 15:48 | User Profile
The VP debate was unfortunate, but unbeknownst to me until I heard about it this morning was the stainless-steel balls this guy had in captivity. He would intentionally injure/disfigure himself so as to avoid being a Viet Cong propaganda toy. This in turn seemed to help with our guys' morale, and convinced the captors to leave him be. This white man was not taking shit off Marxist gooks.
Salute!
2005-07-07 18:13 | User Profile
I guess he's the anti-McCain, Hugh.
2005-07-07 18:16 | User Profile
[B][SIZE=6][COLOR=Red]R.I.P.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]
2005-07-07 18:38 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Hugh Lincoln]The VP debate was unfortunate, but unbeknownst to me until I heard about it this morning was the stainless-steel balls this guy had in captivity. He would intentionally injure/disfigure himself so as to avoid being a Viet Cong propaganda toy. This in turn seemed to help with our guys' morale, and convinced the captors to leave him be. This white man was not taking shit off Marxist gooks.
Salute![/QUOTE]To illustrate how out of touch I am in the America of today I confess to believing that of all the candidates for national public office in the past 25 years, I believe James Stockdale was the man I wanted to make the toughest of decisions. From my book: [QUOTE]Vice Admiral James Stockdale recalled McNamara's bragging about the United States developing the ability to go to war without arousing the public ire, and then he questioned why a country, especially one espousing democratic ideals, should want to commit the ultimate public endeavor of going to war without any shared sacrifice[B].[1][/B] Stockdale, who to his sorrow was thrust into the national political spotlight when running with Ross Perot, revealed himself as a thoughtful man committed to a society which would honor courage and other qualities of manliness, but his political naivete would insure censure by the national press.
A humiliating example of how the prisoners of Vietnam have been treated was the joke Jackie Mason told on his television show. When referring to James Stockdale, who was then the running mate of Ross Perot, Mason said he had been in jail for two years during the 1960's. Because of deafness he did not hear his jailers tell him of his release and stayed an extra three years. This comment brought the desired sneering laugh from the New York audience[B].[2][/B] That Stockdale had been shot down and then tortured by the North Vietnamese was of no concern to Mason or his kinfolk. The tenacity and courage which Stockdale displayed in his imprisonment brought him the Medal of Honor, another one of the relics of the once powerful WASP class which brings disdain. At the onset of the Gulf War in 1991 Jackie Mason, a rabbi, flew to Tel Aviv to be with the Israelis to show his solidarity with the Jews of Israel during the missile attacks[B].[3][/B] Why Mason did not bother to show his solidarity with American troops who were under fire at the same time should be obvious. He could have personally counseled the very few Jews in American uniform.
The rules of present day America have been that Mason would be allowed his vicious jokes with no countering blast. One wonders if a James Stockdale, by himself, in the Warsaw ghetto could have inspired the Jews to a more spirited resistance so they did not die like sheep. Further reflection brought the thought that if the Jews of Warsaw were like Mason and his audience, a budding admiration for SS troops must be admitted. How Mason and his audience would have held up under Vietnamese torture or German police sweeps should bring a small sneer and a slight desire that they be tested. The supposition has been they would have behaved like cowards. Another joke by Mason was that if he had to choose between a situation comedy on television or a prison camp in Vietnam, he would opt for the prison camp in a second[B].[4][/B] This has passed for macho talk among the Jews of New York. Hearing this childish swill on television for long can derange those who have nothing better to do than watch and learn from the tube.
The political arena was not for a man who had been tortured and displayed courage beyond what the average American could possibly envision. To see Stockdale become the object of scorn and derisive ridicule by snot-nosed comedians, particularly New York Jews, was excruciating. 1. [I]Vital Speeches of the Day[/I], June 15, 1989, pp519-24, speech by James Stockdale in Chicago on April 19, 1989 2. [I]Jackie Mason Show[/I], Nov 8, 1992 3. [I]NYT[/I], pB20, Nov 12, 1991 4. New York [I]Post[/I], p6, Oct 12, 1993[/QUOTE]His obituary in the New York Times was of size that they assign to a Rabbi leading a minor cult.
2005-07-07 19:00 | User Profile
I often wonder what must go through the mind of a man born in 1923 who's lived long enough to watch the entire decline and fall of the USA. I suppose you learn not to think about it and find your treasure in your family.
Somehow, though, I think the USA is now out of the business of turning out officers who can name the Stoics, let alone quote them. Never gonna promote enough blacks and women to satisfy Uncle Shmuel by insisting on a classical education, or a thorough grounding in Western Civilization, for our warriors. As Adm. Stockdale learned to his chagrin, those sorts of things just f**k up your sound bites.
RIP.
2005-07-07 23:03 | User Profile
[QUOTE=il ragno]I often wonder what must go through the mind of a man born in 1923 who's lived long enough to watch the entire decline and fall of the USA. I suppose you learn not to think about it and find your treasure in your family.
Somehow, though, I think the USA is now out of the business of turning out officers who can name the Stoics, let alone quote them. Never gonna promote enough blacks and women to satisfy Uncle Shmuel by insisting on a classical education, or a thorough grounding in Western Civilization, for our warriors. As Adm. Stockdale learned to his chagrin, those sorts of things just f**k up your sound bites.
RIP.[/QUOTE] There, in his grave, lies a Man. When shall come another?
2005-07-07 23:22 | User Profile
edward gibbon,
You know Jackie Mason is Neocon too. He is a regular guest on the Sean Hannity Show.
2005-07-08 06:04 | User Profile
[url=http://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/cgi-bin/hardright.cgi/2005/07/06/James_Stockdale,_R.]Link to Chronicles article[/url]
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
James Stockdale, R.I.P. by Dr. Thomas Fleming
The death of Admiral James Stockdale on July 5th robs America of one of the best men of our time. A soldier and a patriot, Admiral Stockdale also possessed the kind of inquiring mind and thirst for virtue that is the mark of a true philosopher.
Born and raised in Illinois, Stockdale attended Monmouth College before receiving an appointment to the Naval Academy, from which he graduated in 1946. As a Navy pilot, he flew virtually every kind of airplane they had in the 1950ââ¬â¢s. Graduating from the Test Pilot School, he rose to become a squadron commander in Vietnam. Shot down in 1965 and suffering from a broken bone in his back, Stockdale was beaten mercilessly and imprisoned for 7 years, four of them spent in solitary confinement. During that time he was repeatedly tortured.
Upon his release Stockdale received the Congressional Medal of Honor, and campaigned tirelessly on behalf of POWââ¬â¢s and their families. He served briefly as president of the Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina. In solitary confinement he had time to think about the ethics of the military profession, and the fruits of that thinking, combined with his careful reading of Stoic philosophers, resulted in several books of essays. In Love and War, his memoir of the Vietnam War years (co-written with his wife Sibyl) was widely read and turned into a creditable made-for-television film, improbably starring James Woods.
When I presumed to chaff him once about the lack of resemblance between the robust and virile Stockdale and the neurasthenic Woods, Jim told me that both he and Sibyl liked the film and thought Woods put in a splendid performance, which in fact he did. But that was just like Jim. He was as generous as he was skeptical and always more interested in the deeper truth than in the surface. For him, Ross Perot was not simply a funny little guy who had made big money from dubious government contracts, but an American patriot willing to spend his money on expensive and fruitless efforts to recover American MIAââ¬â¢s in Vietnam. When Perot asked to use his name, only temporarily of course, as his vice presidential candidate, Jim naturally agreed, never expecting to find himself in a vice presidential debate with Dan Quayle and Al Gore, neither of whom were fit hold his bathrobe.
Jimââ¬â¢s manifest bewilderment at the situation in which he found himself led to his famous questions, ââ¬ÅWho am I? Why am I here?ââ¬Â If any of the columnists and TV commentators who poked fun at Jim had ever read a book or thought a thought in the course of their foolish lives, they would have understood the questions. How did it happen that a serious man who served his country now finds himself in the public pillory reserved for the fools who seek political power? I later told the candidate that for all the torment the campaign must have been, it was good for the public to have had a glimpse of an American with integrity.
I got to know Jim Stockdale first through his books, which I read and reviewed. More than once he accepted my invitation to write for Chronicles, and he served for several years on the board of the Rockford Institute. Although we met several times in those years and corresponded, I cannot claim to have known him well, but I did get to know him well enough to admire the clarity of his mind and the force of his character. A few anecdotes will have to suffice.
Although kind and diplomatic in his dealings with people, Jim was under no illusions. He could size people up from across the room and could spot a fool at 20 yards. It would be unkind of me, after his death, to repeat some of his judgments, but I vividly recall our conversations about the Citadel. Jim had wanted to hire M.E. Bradford in the English department, and during his trip to Charleston I taken Mel over to the Citadel. Although some faculty members were eager to hire Bradford, others were smart enough to realize how they would suffer by comparison. This was only one of many petty failures Stockdale faced as President. He suffered his biggest defeat in trying to reform what he regarded as the unfair and inhuman hazing system. The old boys simply would not allow any changes. When I asked him why he left so abruptly, he told me: ââ¬ÅWhen youââ¬â¢ve been tortured by professionals, you do not have to put up with amateurs.ââ¬Â
Jim was very fond of Richard Nixon, because of President Nixonââ¬â¢s respect for Americaââ¬â¢s fighting men. It was Nixonââ¬â¢s bombing in the later stages of the war, he insisted, that forced the North Vietnamese to release the POWââ¬â¢s. He once told me that Nixonââ¬â¢s respect for the uniform sometimes seemed excessive. Once, after a National Security meeting, the President came upon Brent Scowcroft, who had recently been promoted to general, picking up all the papers from the floor, which was the routine. Nixon scolded him, saying ââ¬ÅYou shouldnââ¬â¢t be doing that, general,ââ¬Â and bent over and began scooping up the papers, himself. This is a side of Nixon one rarely hears about.
Jim, as diplomatic as he was, was also blunt and to the point, even on small matters. Once we were walking after lunch, on a cold and blustery day on Michigan Avenue, when he felt the call of nature. I could not think of where we could go except perhaps to a café or to the Art Institute, where we might first have to pay an entry fee. Nonsense, said Jim crossing the street. We followed him into the Chicago Athletic Association, a private club. He nodded benignly to the doorman and directed us all to the menââ¬â¢s room. ââ¬ÅI didnââ¬â¢t know you were a member, ââ¬Å I remarked as we walked out. ââ¬ÅIââ¬â¢m not, but I was taken to lunch here years ago.ââ¬Â It is a very small thing, of course, but at the time I was impressed by the way he took it for granted that an officer and gentleman was welcome anywhere.
Jim faced a number of moral crises. As a POW his captors tortured him so hard they broke his will, temporarily. Agreeing to denounce the United States in front of the TV cameras, he said he needed to get cleaned up. Once in the bathroom, he took the opportunity to mutilate his face to the point that he was useless for their propaganda. Perhaps an even graver crisis, one he thought about often over the years, was his experience at the Gulf of Tonkin. Although the Johnson administration used the so-called ââ¬Åincidentââ¬Â to justify his war with North Vietnam, Jim, in charge of his squadron, knew that nothing had happened. As he said later, he flew so low that there was salt spray on his windshield and yet he saw nothing. It seemed an outrage that brave men should have to die in a war being waged by cowardly bureaucrats like Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, and he spent his seven years of captivity worrying that the North Vietnamese, with the help of their antiwar friends in the United States, would put two and two together and force him to tell the truth. But Communists are politicians, too, and they wanted only lies.
Jim Stockdaleââ¬â¢s story belongs to the history of republican virtue, and it would take the talents of Livy to do justice to him. He was a brave man who served in a war he did not entirely believe in but refused to take the easy way out. Put in charge of investigating cases of officers who collaborated with the enemy, he might have been expected (considering his own suffering) to have been severe. Stoic philosophy is also the most judgmental and black-and-white in its treatment of human frailties. Stockdale, however, looked at the reality. Some collaborators were simply weak or dishonest, but many were too naïve to understand that POWââ¬â¢s have a difficult game to play. They may be justified in giving up trivial information to keep from being tortured to the point that they will give up something vital. Whenever he spoke of these matters, he displayed deep compassion for most of the collaborators, reserving his anger only for those who gained personal privileges at the expense of their countryââ¬â¢s interest and to the detriment of their fellow prisoners.
In a better age, this great warrior and patriot would be mourned publicly by the nation. In this age he does not merit even a reference on the Drudge Report.
2005-07-08 20:41 | User Profile
[Numeous links in the original]
VDARE.COM - [url]http://www.vdare.com/bevens/050707_stockdale.htm[/url]
July 07, 2005 In Memoriam: Admiral James Bond Stockdaleââ¬âAnd Perotââ¬â¢s Great Chance
By Bryanna Bevens
As a young girl hoping to embark on a career in politics,I watched the first 1992 Vice Presidential debate with great interest. Al Gore (D) and Dan Quayle (R) were joined by Admiral James Stockdale, the candidate of Ross Perotââ¬â¢s Reform Party. A viable third-party ticket was uncommon in national elections. It might hopefully revitalize an otherwise fading process.
Of course it wouldââ¬âStockdale (who died this week) was a great American war hero, a Medal of Honor winner and one of the most highly decorated officers in the history of the U.S. Navy, a prisoner of war in Vietnam for seven and a half years.
Theoretically, this was an ideal leadership team. But more than anything, I just wanted to hear what Admiral Stockdale had to say.
Admiral James Bond Stockdale was a name Iââ¬â¢d first heard much earlier, from my father, a career Navy man. Stockdale was the keynote speaker at my fatherââ¬â¢s graduation from Officer Candidate Schoolââ¬âand one of the few people about whom my father speaks with reverence.
I thought Stockdaleââ¬â¢s heroism would somehow set him apart from the pack.
The debate certainly set him apart but sadly not in the most flattering manner. Here is the text of the debate that night, where Stockdale uttered his much-derided opening remarks: "Who am I? Why am I here?"
He was clearly addressing the large portion of the viewing audience who likely had not heard of him.
Side note: The idea that there is an American alive unaware of Stockdale and his valor makes me sick.
But Iââ¬â¢m not at all surprised. A few years later, when I was actually in politics, I had a conversation with a woman in her late 30s who worked for-then California Governor, Pete Wilson.
We were tossing around names as possible speakers for an upcoming Republican fundraiser. I said "How about Admiral Stockdale?"
And it happened: The abrupt pause; the rapid eye-blinking that reveals a certain level of confusion.
She had no idea who I was talking about.
I remembered rule #2 of my Political Minion Survival Handbookââ¬Â¦appearing more knowledgeable than senior staff could land me a two-year stint behind the constituent mail desk at the Caucus.
I suggested a different, well-known speaker for the event and quickly fled the scene.
Still, every cloud has a silver liningââ¬Â¦
After the 1992 debate, while I watched in horror, as this champion of freedom was eviscerated by media dogs, I gained what I consider invaluable political insight:
Americans donââ¬â¢t want leadership, they want entertainment.
Americans donââ¬â¢t want war heroes who promote national unity through wise, experienced discourse to inhabit the White House. They want men who discuss their underwear preferences and pot-smoking predicaments on MTV.
Roughly 20 million people voted for Perot/Stockdale. More than twice as many voted for Clinton/Gore. The proof is in the pudding.
Nevertheless, the Perot movement was a definite footnote in history. Itââ¬â¢s the sort of thing that historians may one day cite as evidence that our national two-party duopoly was coming under fatal strainââ¬âespecially if veteran Reagan operative Lyn Nofziger is right in his little-noticed but shocking suggestion that "open borders and illegal immigration" could provoke a successful Third Party movement as early as 2008. (Nofzigerââ¬â¢s blog doesnââ¬â¢t have permalinks, scroll down to his May 19, 2005 entry).
Indeed, the Perot movement was one of those moments when it appeared that immigration might break into politics. In a Wall Street Journal article on the furor following Peter Brimelowââ¬â¢s 1992 National Review "Time To Rethink Immigration?" cover story, Tim Ferguson actually predicted (presumably advisedly) that Perot would run on the immigration issue.
In the event, Perot confined himself to denouncing NAFTA. But Peter tells me that Reform Party groups provided him with some of his most successful venues when he was promoting Alien Nation in 1995.
Perot chose not to seize his great chance. And look what happened to him.
Rest in peace, Admiral Stockdale. My children at least will know your name.
Bryanna Bevens [email her] is a political consultant and former chief of staff for a member of the California State Assembly.
The articles on VDARE.com are brought to you by The Center for American Unity. We are supported by generous donations from our readers. Contributions are tax deductible and appreciated. Contribute...
Sadly, I have to agree with her conclusion. I saw the debate and remember with a certain amount of disgust and contempt for the keyboard commandos and the media scribblers who took joy in mocking their obvious better.
In a better age, this great warrior and patriot would be mourned publicly by the nation. In this age he does not merit even a reference on the Drudge Report.
Kevin,
Nor did he warrant a mention on those bastions of "Conservatism" that I listen to including this fraud: [img]http://www.turnwrightgallery.com/gallery/lgcovers/9-00.jpg[/img] If Patton to come back and see this sorry draft dodger there would be another slapping incident. I'd like to slap him myself for showing such arrogance. What a dick. [url=http://www.turnwrightgallery.com/gallery/gal4.html]http://www.turnwrightgallery.com/gallery/gal4.html[/url]
2005-07-08 20:54 | User Profile
Sertorius,
I can not agree with this. Perot did attack mass immigration.
[QUOTE]Indeed, the Perot movement was one of those moments when it appeared that immigration might break into politics. In a Wall Street Journal article on the furor following Peter Brimelowââ¬â¢s 1992 National Review "Time To Rethink Immigration?" cover story, Tim Ferguson actually predicted (presumably advisedly) that Perot would run on the immigration issue. In the event, Perot confined himself to denouncing NAFTA. But Peter tells me that Reform Party groups provided him with some of his most successful venues when he was promoting Alien Nation in 1995. Perot chose not to seize his great chance. And look what happened to him. [/QUOTE]
The reason Perot failed is because he quit and said Bush I and Clinton are both good! And then he came back and attacked Bush I and Clinton. Then he talked Pat Buchanan into running on Reform Party ticket in 2000 and then endosed Bush II. One thinks he is not all there sometimes.
2005-07-08 21:20 | User Profile
Faust,
To be honest with you I don't remember if he did or not. I take your word on this one. What I do remember was Perot making a fool out of himself arguing with Al Gore over NAFTA, an extremely hard feat when one considers Gore. I thought Perot would destroy him. Damn, I was embarrassed for him and me.
2005-07-08 22:10 | User Profile
R.I.P. to that man and his balls of forged 4150 steel.
The sad fact is that modern America, the Jewnited States, isn't worthy of people like that. The current military no longer fights communism or anything other than what the Jews want it to fight.
If there are Americans out there as brave as Stockdale, then I hope to God they're not wasting their courage in the current US military (at least not one of the divisions serving Israel, especially in Iraq). No one, least of all any white man, has any business getting so much as a blister for the sake of Israel or other Zionist interests. And while draft-dodging is something to be frowned on if your country is in danger, every youth will have a solemn duty to dodge the draft if it's reinstated in order to send more troops to the Middle East. Otherwise they might as well go join the IDF. They'll be serving the Jew either way.
2005-07-08 23:58 | User Profile
Rest in peace Admiral, I fear that as a nation we were woefully unworthy of your suffering.
If we lived in a saner age, men the caliber of Mr. Stockdale would have been in great demand as advisors to our elected politicians. Or at least their wisdom would have been sought to educate the next generations.