Former Alabama Sen. Jeremiah Denton, Vietnam war hero, dies at age 89

The Washington Times ^ | March 28, 2014 | Seth McLaughlin

[jazusamo]

He became further immortalized when he spoke

Amen to that...He'd just visited Hell and spoke selflessly, he walked the walk.

[jch10]

Here is one to name a ship after. Rest in peace, American hero.

[jazusamo]

BTTT!

[Labyrinthos]

I spent the afternoon educating some of the young bucks and buckettes in my office about Adm. Denton and the men and women who served in Viet Nam. They know very little about the war and nothing about Adm. Denton or the POWs. I told them that they need to spend time meeting and talking to these heros because each and every one of them has a story to tell and they are not going to live forever. If one of them hears my message, then I will be happy.

[jazusamo]

Thanks for talking to them, the younger generations know little about it because it’s not a subject in public schools and libs have been denigrating patriots for some time.

[Rome2000]

Heard Levin today get us younger folks up to speed on this American hero.

Godspeed Admiral!

[boycott]

A true hero. RIP.

[Jet Jaguar]

Active Duty/Retiree ping.

[fieldmarshaldj]

One of the giants. RIP.

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

I’ve lost two friends during the past year, Jerry Denton and Col. Budd Day.

They suffered terribly at the hands of the communists but they never gave in, never gave up, led the other POWS in resisting and proclaimed their undying love for America.

They will be up there in that Great Sky with other heroes like Jim Stockdale, Don Rander, Robbie Reiser and Robin Olds. More honor there than in the whole damned Congress and the White House combined.

I, for one, wouldn’t want the Marxist in Chief to say anything about Adm. Denton. It would only serve as a cover for Obie’s treason and cowardice.

[cva66snipe]

I spent the afternoon educating some of the young bucks and buckettes in my office about Adm. Denton and the men and women who served in Viet Nam. They know very little about the war and nothing about Adm. Denton or the POWs. I told them that they need to spend time meeting and talking to these heros because each and every one of them has a story to tell and they are not going to live forever. If one of them hears my message, then I will be happy.

My first Captain I served under on the ship had been in The Hilton since about July 67 till their release. You could clearly see the NV's handy work. People need to learn those men were hero's.

OTOH Some being called hero's by the media today like our current Sec of State were Traitors and broke faith with these POW's while they were captive. It's called giving aid to the enemy. How many extra beatings did the POW's get thanks to John F Kerry? He should have been thrown in Leavenworth for the duration of the war.

[southland]

Do u fly often?

[Clintonfatigued]

Admiral Denton was a giant. He wasn’t all that concerned about winning a second term, but he almost did and he had a worthwhile post-Senate life. RIP

[Gay State Conservative]

This old soldier salutes you,Sir.RIP.....

[ConorMacNessa]

IN MEMORIAM
RADM. JEREMIAH A. DENTON, USN



R.Adm. Jeremiah A. Denton, USN
15 July 1924 – 28 March 2014



I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith.
2 Timothy 4:7 (KJV)

"Arm yourselves, and be ye men of valour, and be in readiness for the conflict; for it is better for us to perish in battle than to look upon the outrage of our nation and our altar. As the Will of God is in Heaven, even so let it be." (1 Maccabees 3:58–60)

Eternal Father, Strong to Save
(Click)



Rest in Peace, fallen brother, rest in peace!
We who remain hold you in high honor.
Rest, fallen brother, in this sacred precinct;
We who remain keep this place sacred.
Rest, fallen brother, among these, your comrades;
We who remain keep the watch.
Rest, fallen brother, amid these who heeded the Nation’s call;
We who remain press the fight forward in your name.
Rest, fallen brother, lay down thy burden;
We who remain have taken up the torch.
Rest in Peace, fallen brother, rest in eternal peace!



Taps
(Click)

"Riamh nár dhruid ó sbairn lann!"

Genuflectimus non ad principem sed ad Principem Pacis!

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[Jemian]

Not really. But when we do fly, it is about 50 hours from door to final tarmac.

[jazusamo]

Thank You, my FRiend!

[ConorMacNessa]

The National Colors fly at half-mast at Castle MacNessa in observance of the passing of this genuine American Hero.

"The reported cleared his throat. The smile, which I thought had been glued on, left his face. "What was that you said?" "Whatever the position of my government is, I support it. I'm a member of that government, and it is my job to support it, and I will as long as I live."

"By the fifth morning, I was nearing despair. I offered myself to God with an admission that I could take no more on my own. Tears ran down my face as I repeated my vow of surrender to Him. Strangely, as soon as I made the vow, a deep feeling of peace settled into my tortured mind and pain-wrecked body, and the suffering left me completely. It was the most profound and deeply inspiring moment of my life."

"Others were beaten nearly to death. Air Force Lieutanant Colonel Norm Schmidt went to quiz in an angry mood, and in the context of the times I knew that was dangerous. He never returned, and his remains were brought to the States in the summer of 1973.."

"I thought at one point that the title of this book should be Under God, Indivisible, because that was my view of the performance of most of the prisoners in North Vietnam. It was difficult to achieve because imprisonment tends to breed resentment, suspicion, jealousy, hatred, and disunity, and in Hanoi our captives fostered these emotions. But most of the prisoners, finding themselves in desperate circumstances, quickly rediscovered God and became indivisible in their resistance and with the understanding that our way of life, with all its imperfections, is incomparably greater than anything offered by Communism."

"Our coin bears the inscription: In God We Trust. And our Bible reassures us: The Lord is just and merciful. With the Lord thence our protector, whom or what shall we fear?"

God Bless him and his valiant Brothers-in Arms who lived through such a punishing ordeal yet kept their belief in America and the Lord shining bright! God Bless them all! God Bless them good!

America demands Justice for the Fallen of Benghazi!

O stranger, tell the Lacedaemonians that we lie here, obedient to their command.

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[ConorMacNessa]

From Wikipedia:

"Denton served as United States Naval Aviator during the Vietnam War and was the Commanding Officer (CO) of Attack Squadron Seventy-Five (VA-75) aboard the aircraft carrier USS Independence (CVA-62). On 18 July 1965, then-Commander Denton was flying an A-6A Intruder (Bureau Number 151577) off the Independence with Lieutenant Bill Tschudy, his navigator/bombardier, leading twenty-eight planes on a bombing mission. They ejected when their jet was shot down over the city of Thanh Hoa in North Vietnam, and they were captured and taken prisoner by the North Vietnamese.

Denton and Tschudy were both held as prisoners of war for almost eight years, four of which were spent in solitary confinement. Denton is best known for the 1966 televised press conference that he was forced into as an American POW by his North Vietnamese captors. He used the opportunity to communicate successfully and to confirm for the first time to the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence and Americans that American POWs were being tortured in North Vietnam. He repeatedly blinked his eyes in Morse code during the interview, spelling out the word, "T-O-R-T-U-R-E". He was also questioned about his support for the U.S. war in Vietnam, to which he replied: "I don't know what is happening, but whatever the position of my government is, I support it fully. Whatever the position of my government, I believe in it, yes sir. I am a member of that government, and it is my job to support it, and I will as long as I live."[4] While a prisoner, he was promoted to the rank of Captain. Denton was later awarded the Navy Cross and several other decorations, mostly for heroism while a prisoner of war.

Denton was put in the "Hanoi Hilton" and the "Zoo" prison and prison camp and "Little Vegas" and "Alcatraz" prisons. In "Alcatraz", he became part of a group of American POWs known as the "Alcatraz Gang". The group consisted of James Mulligan, George Thomas Coker, George McKnight, James Stockdale, Harry Jenkins, Sam Johnson, Howard Rutledge, Robert Shumaker, Ronald Storz, and Nels Tanner. They were put in "Alcatraz" and solitary confinement to separate them from other POWs because their strong resistance led other POWs in resisting their captors. "Alcatraz" was a special facility in a courtyard behind the North Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense, located about one mile away from Hoa Lo Prison. Each of the American POWs spent day and night in windowless 3-by-9-foot (0.91 m × 2.74 m) cells mostly in irons.[5][6][7][8][9]

On February 12, 1973, both Denton and Tschudy were released in Hanoi by the North Vietnamese along with numerous other American POWs during Operation Homecoming. Stepping off the jet back home in uniform, Denton said: "We are honored to have had the opportunity to serve our country under difficult circumstances. We are profoundly grateful to our Commander-in-Chief and to our nation for this day. God bless America." The speech has a prominent place in the 1987 documentary, Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam.

OPERATION HOMECOMING
12 February – 4 April 1973

Newly freed prisoners of war celebrate as their C-141A aircraft lifts off from Hanoi, North Vietnam, on Feb. 12, 1973, during Operation Homecoming. The mission included 54 C-141 flights between 12 February and 4 April 1973, returning 591 POWs to American soil.

"Riamh nár dhruid ó sbairn lann!"

Genuflectimus non ad principem sed ad Principem Pacis!

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[Textide]

I agree. I grew up in Mobile. He spoke at my high school several times, relating the importance of freedom. Sad to see a giant like him pass on.