Country loses great American hero

Published Dec. 1, 2006
By Jim Malachowski
71st Flying Training Wing Historian

Vance Air Force Base, Okla. -- America lost a hero Tuesday.
Navy Vice Admiral James Stockdale died at his home at the age of 81.
In addition to being the only 3-star admiral ever to wear both the wings of a Naval aviator and the Medal of Honor, Admiral Stockdale continues to be an inspiration to generations of Americans for his extraordinary leadership, legendary courage and intellectual bravery.
The 1947 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy could have been remembered in history as the commander who led the first air raid of the Vietnam War on Aug. 6, 1964; however fate demanded more of him. At the age of 40, he served as the VF-51 commanding officer and the commander of Carrier Air Group 16. Flying an A-4 Skyhawk from the U.S.S. Orinskany, he was shot down returning from a mission on Sept. 9, 1965.
Commander Stockdale managed to eject, breaking a small bone in his back and badly dislocating his knee in the landing. He spent the next seven and one-half years in the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" prison camp, facing severe deprivation and repeated, brutal torture. Despite being kept in solitary confinement for four years and in heavy leg irons for two years, he provided his fellow prisoners specific rules of resistance forbidding bowing, making recordings or admitting to "crimes." Vance Air Force Base student pilots today learn about Commander Stockdale's experiences during their survival training.
I am reminded of a popular POW tap-code acronym, GBU, used as a universal sign-off. It was shorthand for "God Bless You."