James Stockdale, Perot Running Mate, Dies

[jAZ]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/05/AR2005070501304.html

James Stockdale, Perot Running Mate, Dies

The Associated Press
Tuesday, July 5, 2005; 8:06 PM



WASHINGTON -- Retired Vice Adm. James Stockdale, a former prisoner of war and Ross Perot's running mate in 1992, has died, the Navy announced Tuesday. He was 81.

The Navy did not provide a cause of death but said he was suffering from Alzheimer's disease. He died at his home in Coronado, Calif.

In the 1992 presidential election, Stockdale became independent candidate Perot's vice presidential running mate, initially as a stand-in on the ticket but later as the candidate.

Stockdale gave a stumbling performance in the nationally televised vice-presidential debate against Dan Quayle and Al Gore and later said he didn't feel comfortable in the public eye.

During the debate, he commented on an exchange between Quayle and Gore:

"I think America is seeing right now the reason this nation is in gridlock. The trickle-downs and the tax-and-spends, or whatever you want to call them, are at swords point."

When Perot ran again in 1996 as the candidate of his Reform Party, Stockdale had rejoined the Republican Party.

Stockdale was born in Abingdon, Ill., and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1947.

During the Vietnam War, he was a Navy fighter pilot based on the USS Oriskany and flew 201 missions before he was shot down on Sept. 9, 1965. He became the highest-ranking naval officer captured during the war, the Navy said.

He endured more than 7 1/2 years as a prisoner, spending four of them in solitary confinement, before his release in 1973. He was tortured repeatedly, according to the Navy.

Stockdale received 26 combat decorations, including the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest medal for valor, in 1976. A portion of his award citation reads: "Stockdale ... 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 their employment of excessive harassment and torture of all prisoners of war."

He retired from the military in 1979.

Survivors include his wife, Sybil, and four sons.

[Cochise]

Too bad, I admired him.

From Wiki:

Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale (December 23, 1923-July 5, 2005) was one of the most highly decorated officers in the history of the United States Navy. He was the highest ranking naval officer held as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. Stockdale led the U.S. air squadron during the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident. He wears 26 personal combat decorations, including four Silver Star medals and the Medal of Honor. Stockdale is also remembered as a Vice Presidential candidate in the 1992 election on Ross Perot's independent ticket.

Stockdale was born in Abingdon, Illinois. During World War II, he was appointed to the Naval Academy, where he graduated in 1946. Shortly thereafter, Stockdale reported to Pensacola, Florida for flight training.

In 1954, Stockdale was accepted into the Test Pilot School at Patuxent River, Maryland. Among his classmates there was John Glenn.

On August 4, 1964, squadron commander Stockdale was one of the U.S. pilots flying overhead during the Gulf of Tonkin Incident. About which he said in the early 1990's: "[I] had the best seat in the house to watch that event, and our destroyers were just shooting at phantom targets -- there were no PT boats there.... There was nothing there but black water and American fire power."

On a mission over North Vietnam on September 9, 1965, Stockdale ejected from his A-4E Skyhawk, which had been disabled from anti-aircraft fire. Stockdale parachuted into a small village where he was severely beaten and taken into custody.

He was held as a prisoner of war in the Hoa Lo prison for the next seven years. Locked in leg irons in a bath stall, he was routinely tortured and beaten. When told by his captors that he was to be paraded in public, Stockdale slit his scalp with a razor to purposely disfigure himself so that his captors could not use him as propaganda. When Stockdale heard that other prisoners were dying under the torture, he slit his wrists and told them that he preferred death to submission.

Stockdale was released as a prisoner of war in 1973. He received the Medal of Honor in 1976.

Debilitated by his captivity and mistreatment, Stockdale could hardly walk or even stand upright upon his return to the U.S. The Navy, out of respect for his courage, kept him on the active list, steadily promoting him over the next few years before permitting him to retire as a vice admiral.

During his run for the Vice-Presidency, Stockdale was perceived as incoherent and disoriented by the American public. Though Ross Perot stauchly defended and supported his choice, the aging Stockdale was widely seen to be a drag on the Perot campaign. This was further highlighted in the Vice-Presidential debate when Stockdale's opening comments were "Who am I? Why am I here?" Stockdale had limited time to prepare for the debate, having been informed just two days prior to the debate that he would be a participant. In a subsequent interview with Jim Lehrer, Stockdale explained that the statements were intended as an introduction of him and his record to the television audience:

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, 7½ years in prisons, drop the first bomb that started the ... American bombing raid in the North Vietnam. We blew the oil storage tanks of then 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.

Books by James Stockdale

* Thoughts of a Philosophical Fighter Pilot, ISBN 0817993924.
* Courage Under Fire: Testing Epictetus's Doctrines in a Laboratory of Human Behavior
* A Vietnam Experience: Ten Years of Reflection
* In Love and War: The Story of a Family's Ordeal and Sacrifice During the Vietnam Years

[Calcountry]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/05/AR2005070501304.html

James Stockdale, Perot Running Mate, Dies

The Associated Press
Tuesday, July 5, 2005; 8:06 PM



WASHINGTON -- Retired Vice Adm. James Stockdale, a former prisoner of war and Ross Perot's running mate in 1992, has died, the Navy announced Tuesday. He was 81.

The Navy did not provide a cause of death but said he was suffering from Alzheimer's disease. He died at his home in Coronado, Calif.

In the 1992 presidential election, Stockdale became independent candidate Perot's vice presidential running mate, initially as a stand-in on the ticket but later as the candidate.

Stockdale gave a stumbling performance in the nationally televised vice-presidential debate against Dan Quayle and Al Gore and later said he didn't feel comfortable in the public eye.

During the debate, he commented on an exchange between Quayle and Gore:

"I think America is seeing right now the reason this nation is in gridlock. The trickle-downs and the tax-and-spends, or whatever you want to call them, are at swords point."

When Perot ran again in 1996 as the candidate of his Reform Party, Stockdale had rejoined the Republican Party.

Stockdale was born in Abingdon, Ill., and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1947.

During the Vietnam War, he was a Navy fighter pilot based on the USS Oriskany and flew 201 missions before he was shot down on Sept. 9, 1965. He became the highest-ranking naval officer captured during the war, the Navy said.

He endured more than 7 1/2 years as a prisoner, spending four of them in solitary confinement, before his release in 1973. He was tortured repeatedly, according to the Navy.

Stockdale received 26 combat decorations, including the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest medal for valor, in 1976. A portion of his award citation reads: "Stockdale ... 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 their employment of excessive harassment and torture of all prisoners of war."

He retired from the military in 1979.

Survivors include his wife, Sybil, and four sons."Who am I and why am I here?"

I fell out of my chair when I heard that opening. At least he was honest.

RIP

[jAZ]

"Who am I and why am I here?"

I fell out of my chair when I heard that opening. At least he was honest.

RIP
I was waiting for that reference... especially given that he had Alzheimer's disease.

[WilliamTheIrish]

SNL skit:

GRIDLOCK!!!!!

I too, admired Admiral Stockdale.

I remember his opening remarks in a debate:

"Who am I and why am I here?"

[WilliamTheIrish]

And may he rest in peace.

[WilliamTheIrish]

I was waiting for that reference... especially given that he had Alzheimer's disease.

Blame Perot. He's the one who put Stockdale in that situation.

[jAZ]

Blame Perot. He's the one who put Stockdale in that situation.
Oh yeah, I know. It was the first "joke" that came to my mind when I heard the news. I just didn't have the balls to post it given his condition. It certainly gives the phrase a whole new meaning, and makes you wonder (in a Reagan-esque way) if he was experiencing any symptoms at the time.

[jAZ]

Too bad, I admired him.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/debatingourdestiny/interviews/stockdale.html

[WilliamTheIrish]

Oh yeah, I know. It was the first "joke" that came to my mind when I heard the news. I just didn't have the balls to post it given his condition. It certainly gives the phrase a whole new meaning, and makes you wonder (in a Reagan-esque way) if he was experiencing any symptoms at the time.

I didn't follow him after the election. TBH, I had no idea was falling victim to Alzheimer's disease.