Thanks again.
Posted on 06/11/2003 3:23:49 AM PDT by snippy_about_it
Admiral Stockdale (then a Commander), was the Commander of Carrier Air Wing 16, on board the carrier USS Oriskany (CVA-34), when he flew on a mission with Attack Squadron 163 on September 9, 1965. On that mission, Commander Stockdale's A-4E Skyhawk, BuNo. 151134, was hit by enemy AAA fire and he was forced to eject from the aircraft over enemy territory. He was captured by the North Vietnamese and imprisoned for 7½ years, during which he suffered hideous torture, horrible abuse, debasement, and starvation. Promoted to the rank of Captain in absentia while a Prisoner of War, Stockdale was released from captivity at war's end in early 1973. Subsequently, he was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral, and then to Vice Admiral, the rank in which he retired from active duty. In 1992, Admiral Stockdale was a candidate for Vice President of the United States of America.
James B. Stockdale
Rank and organization: Rear Admiral (then Captain), of U.S. Navy Attack Squadron 163, operating from the USS Oriskany (CVA-34)
Place and date: Hoa Lo prison, Hanoi, North Vietnam, 3 September 1969
Entered Service at: Abingdon, Illinois
Born: 23 December 1923, Abingdon, Illinois
Citation:
For conspicous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while senior naval officer in the Prisoner of War camps of North Vietnam.
Recognized by his captors as the leader in the Prisoners' of War resistance to interrogation and in their refusal to participate in propaganda exploitation, Rear Admiral Stockdale was singled out for interrogation and attendant torture after he was detected in a covert communications attempt.
Sensing the start of another purge, and aware that his earlier efforts at self disfiguration to dissuade his captors from exploiting him for propaganda purposes had resulted in cruel and agonizing punishment, Rear Admiral Stockdale resolved to make himself a symbol of resistance regardless of personal sacrifice. He 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 in their employment of excessive harassment and torture toward all of the Prisoners of War.
I was given the above book by exemplary son-in-law otherly-named who attained his lifelong dream graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy Class of 1994.
Admiral Stockdale was later invited to share the ticket with Ross Perot in 1992.
I had occasion to help build a home for Perot's partner Mort Myerson thereby meeting an EDP security person, "Duke".
Duke indicated by anecdote that Ross Perot is precisely the intrepid spirit apt to mount the rescue mission depicted in On Wings of Eagles.
Return With Honor is a very moving special. The tape is an open your eyes and shut your mouth experience--was for me.
Aid and Comfort: Jane Fonda in North Vietnam is a treason indictment for the piece of sewage known as Hanoi Jane.
I was honored to help my friends Hank and Erika Holzer in preproduction work.
Hank was invited by O'Reilly to square off with Fonda's ex-husband Tom Hayden--and cleaned Hayden's clock on-air.
The book makes it clear book, chapter and verse that Fonda committed treason, fulfilling all legal criteria.
The Holzers are lawyers; Hank is professor emeritus of Brooklyn Law and was Army Intel in Korea [Chief Order of Battle Analyst (Chinese Communist Forces) for Eighth Army].
They discussed their new book Fake Warriors on John Kasich's show on Fox recently.
The importance of the Vietnam War--in my opinion--cannot be overstated.
The Soviet Union and the Peoples Republic of China were stopped in their aggression.
Those who scoffed at the Domino Theory were struck dumb by the genocide in Cambodia and the invasion of Afghanistan.
The so-called Powell Doctrine of overwhelming force is a direct development of Vietnam.
Mike McGrath spent five years and nine months as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. He was captured after a failed reconnaissance mission sent his aircraft to the ground. His captors transported him to the Hanoi Hilton where he endured a life of isolation, torture and misery. The beatings were frequent and the living conditions deplorable. As the war came to an end, Mike and other prisoners who survived were released. The images etched in Mike McGrath’s memory from his time spent in Hanoi were put to paper and published in the book Prisoner of War: Six Years in Hanoi. The following drawings and excerpts are from that book.
Here, I tried to depict the "Vietnamese rope trick." The arms are repeatedly cinched up until the elbows are forced together. Sometimes at this point the "hell cuffs" are applied. The "hell cuffs" are handcuffs which are put on the upper arms and pinched as tightly as possible onto the arms, cutting off the circulation. The resulting pain is extreme. If the prisoner has not broken down by this time, his arms are rotated until shoulders dislocate. Words could never adequately describe the pain, or the thoughts that go through a man's mind at a time like this.
Some men were tied to their beds, sometimes for weeks at a time. Here, I have drawn a picture showing the handcuffs being worn in front, but the usual position was with the wrists handcuffed behind the back. A man would live this way day and night , without sleep or rest. He could not lie down because his weight would cinch the already tightened cuffs even tighter, nor could he turn sideways.
The cuffs were taken off twice a day for meals. If the cuffs had been too tight, the fingers would be swollen and of little use in picking up a spoon or a cup.
Hopefully, a man could perform his bodily functions while the cuffs were momentarily removed at mealtimes. If not, he lived in his own mess.
I am looking forward to buying Ann Coulter's Treason, the account of the American Left's tireless efforts for the enemy from the Cold War to the War on Terror.
Behold the outrageous abuse of our prisoners and contrast it with the Left's bitching about the X-ray detainees.
Let's see Alec Baldwin and Barbara Streisand in the "rope trick" or let's see them drink a big glass of STFU.
Behold the outrageous abuse of our prisoners and contrast it with the Left's bitching about the X-ray detainees.
Let's see Alec Baldwin and Barbara Streisand in the "rope trick" or let's see them drink a big glass of STFU.
A virtual slap in the face to the left, no one can do that as good as you do it.
Every now and then I'm compelled to stop and tell you how much we appreciate your contributions of insight,education, and wonderful way with words that you provide the Foxhole. Thanks Phil.
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