35 Facts About James Stockdale

James Bond Stockdale was a United States Navy vice admiral and aviator who was awarded the Medal of Honor in the Vietnam War, during which he was a prisoner of war for over seven years.

James Stockdale served as president of the Naval War College from October 1977 until he retired from the navy in 1979.

James Stockdale was a candidate for vice president of the United States in the 1992 presidential election, on Ross Perot's independent ticket.

James Stockdale was accepted for flight training in June 1949 and reported to Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida.

James Stockdale was designated a Naval Aviator at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi in Texas, in September 1950.

James Stockdale was next assigned for additional training at Naval Air Station Norfolk in Virginia from October 1950 to January 1951.

James Stockdale preferred the life of a fighter pilot over academia, but he later credited Stoic philosophy with helping him cope as a prisoner of war.

Two nights later, on August 4,1964, James Stockdale was overhead during the second reported attack in the Tonkin Gulf.

James Stockdale parachuted into a small village, where he was severely beaten and taken prisoner.

James Stockdale was held as a prisoner of war in the Hoa Lo Prison for the next.

When James Stockdale was discovered with information that could implicate his friends' so-called "black activities", he slit his wrists so they could not torture him into confession.

Sybil James Stockdale personally made these demands known at the Paris Peace Talks.

James C Collins related a conversation he had with James Stockdale regarding his coping strategy during his period in the Vietnamese POW camp.

James Stockdale was released as a prisoner of war on February 12,1973, during Operation Homecoming.

On March 4,1976, James Stockdale received the Medal of Honor.

James Stockdale completed his career by serving as the president of the Naval War College at Newport, Rhode Island, from October 13,1977, until August 22,1979.

James Stockdale left The Citadel to become a fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University in 1981.

James Stockdale's primary focus was ancient Stoicism and the Roman slave-turned-philosopher Epictetus, whose lessons captured in The Enchiridion Stockdale credited with providing him strength during his ordeals as a prisoner in the Hanoi Hilton.

Between 1981 and 1988 James Stockdale served as chair of the White House Fellows under the Reagan administration.

James Stockdale was a member of the board of directors of the Rockford Institute, and he was a frequent contributor to Chronicles: A magazine of American Culture.

James Stockdale became acquainted with businessman and presidential candidate Ross Perot through his wife's work in establishing an organization to represent the families of Vietnam POWs.

On March 30,1992, Perot announced that he had asked James Stockdale to be the provisional vice presidential candidate on his 1992 independent ticket.

James Stockdale had no formal preparation for the debate, unlike his opponents Al Gore and Dan Quayle, and did not discuss any political issues with Perot beforehand.

James Stockdale was often parodied for his repeated use of the term "gridlock" to describe slow governmental policy.

James Stockdale was portrayed in the media as elderly and confused, and his reputation never recovered.

James Stockdale teaches philosophy at Stanford University, he's a brilliant, sensitive, courageous man.

Perot and James Stockdale received 19 percent of the vote in the 1992 presidential election, one of the best showings by an independent ticket in US electoral history, although they did not carry any states.

James Stockdale was singled out for interrogation and attendant torture after he was detected in a covert communications attempt.

James Stockdale resolved to make himself a symbol of resistance regardless of personal sacrifice.

James 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.

James Stockdale was 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.

James Stockdale retired to Coronado, California, as he slowly succumbed to Alzheimer's disease.

James Stockdale died from the illness on July 5,2005.

The Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale Award for Inspirational Leadership is a United States Navy award established in 1980 by United States Secretary of the Navy Edward Hidalgo to honor the inspirational leadership of Stockdale.

James Stockdale was enshrined in the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2002.