Via Naval History & Heritage Command
Navy Cmdr. James Stockdale exits an A-4 fighter-bomber weeks before being shot down over Vietnam (USNA)
In 1965, Cmdr. James Bond Stockdale was shot down over North Vietnam and was the senior U.S. naval officer captured by the North Vietnamese.
From the start, Stockdale refused to cooperate with his captors. After being caught urging other POWs to resist, he and 10 other senior POWs were taken to another jail block where they were frequently tortured. He spent two years in heavy leg irons and four years in isolation, but he didn't waver. He led the POWs' culture of defiance, finding ways to communicate and govern prisoner behavior that gave them all hope.In several instances, Stockdale deliberately disfigured his face with sharp objects or by beating it against the bars so that the Vietnamese could not use him in propaganda broadcasts.
Stockdale was awarded a Medal of Honor when he was released after over seven years in captivity.
The mental toughness of this man, is beyond comprehension.
ReplyDeleteTalk about a man, and then there's me.....:):( I would give in quickly and try to give information which sounded credible but was not.
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