A Final Salute for War Hero

Military officials and family remembered retired Vice Adm. James Stockdale in a tribute memorial Saturday atop the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan, portraying him as a thoughtful and strong war hero with no mention of his fumbling 1992 campaign for vice president.

Stockdale’s four sons spoke of his early lectures arguing that “entitlement and privilege corrupt” and of how he valued his wife Sybil’s weekly letters while held in a North Vietnamese prison for 7 1/2 years.

“Words were worth gold and could help sustain him for years,” Sidney B. Stockdale said of his mother’s notes, some of which his father received.

He said Sybil, who wore all black and was taken to the tribute in a wheelchair, always concluded her letters with the same phrase: “May God keep you dearest all the lonely nights. The wind is still, the moon shines down on Western hills. God keep you dearest till the light.”

Stockdale, awarded the Medal of Honor for his valor in the war, died July 5 at age 81 at his home in Coronado. The military said he had suffered from Alzheimer’s disease.

On Saturday, Stockdale’s flag-draped casket sat before flags from all 50 states and a massive American flag atop the carrier docked at Naval Air Station, North Island. A Marine and Navy band played “Battle Hymn of the Republic” and “God Bless America,” and buglers played “Taps” after the service. He is to be buried with full honors July 23 at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

No mention was made at the tribute of his single venture into politics, serving as Ross Perot’s running mate in a campaign that featured a televised debate where he asked “Who am I? Why am I here?”

During the Vietnam War, Stockdale was a Navy fighter pilot based on the aircraft carrier Oriskany and flew 201 missions before he was shot down Sept. 9, 1965. The highest-ranking naval officer captured during the war, he aided other prisoners at Hoa Lo Prison, known as the Hanoi Hilton.

“He was an inspiration to all of us, with leadership hard to describe under these conditions,” said retired Vice Adm. Edward H. Martin, who was in the prison with Stockdale and attended the tribute.

Stockdale’s shoulders were wrenched from their sockets and his back was broken, yet he still became a leader among fellow inmates, establishing rules of conduct and goals of “unity before self” and “home with honor,” Martin said.

“Jim Stockdale is a true American hero at a time when we really needed one. He was a quiet hero but an incredibly effective one,” he said.

Son Taylor Stockdale said he was 10 when he first met his father, who took him on a camping trip and talked with him for the first time about baseball and friends.

“The little boy in the shadows, I am remembering and honoring a great dad who showed me what trust and love and devotion were all about,” he said.

Adm. John Nathman said Stockdale “found unity in the discipline and integrity of the ship,” while Secretary of the Navy Gordon England praised his “legacy of courage and commitment.”

“He told his men we must take control over our own destiny,” England said, quoting Stockdale as saying, “Other people can’t hurt you inside, which is where it counts, if you don’t let them.”