James B. Stockdale papers (MSC-085)

Biographical note

Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale (1923-2005), USN was born on 23 December 1923 in Abingdon, Illinois. He attended Knox College and Monmouth College before entering the U.S. Naval Academy, Class of 1947. Due to World War II, he graduated in 1946 in the accelerated course and was commissioned an ensign.

Following graduation, he served on USS Carmick (DMS-33), USS Thompson (DMS-38), USS Charles H. Roan (DD-853), and USS PCS 1392. Stockdale underwent flight training at several air stations in Florida and received his wings in 1950. He went on to further training and joined Air Antisubmarine Squadron Twenty-Seven in 1951. In 1951, he had landing signal officer training in Pensacola, Florida, and returned to his squadron after completing the course.

In 1954, he underwent test pilot training at Patuxent River, Maryland and remained on staff as an instructor. He joined Fighter Squadron Two Hundred Eleven and in 1959 became executive officer of Fighter Squadron Twenty-Four. He was the first pilot to fly one thousand hours in an F-8 Crusader.

The years 1960 to 1962 found him at Stanford University, where he studied for a master’s degree in International Relations. There he took a philosophy course with Professor Rhinelander that would have a profound impact on his life. After receiving his M.A., he joined Fighter Squadron Fifty-One in USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14), where he served as commanding officer. In 1964, he joined the USS Oriskany (CVA-34) and Air Wing Twelve. The following year he took command of Carrier Air Wing Sixteen off the coast of Vietnam. On 9 September 1965, his plane was shot down over North Vietnam and he was taken prisoner. He was the highest ranking military officer imprisoned. Incarcerated in Hoalo Prison, he endured seven and a half years of captivity and was released on 12 February 1973. Stockdale relied on his military background and his study of philosophy to help him through these long and difficult years. He received the Navy’s John Paul Jones Award for inspirational leadership.

In January 1974, he took command of Antisubmarine Warfare Wing, Pacific, followed by two years in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations as director of strategy, plans, and policy. In 1977, as a vice admiral, he assumed the presidency of the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. There he taught a course in Foundations of Moral Obligation, with Professor Joseph G. Brennan (1910-2004), formerly chairman of the Philosophy Department at Barnard College. This was one of the most popular elective courses at the college and remained part of the electives program.

In September 1979, Stockdale retired from the U.S. Navy and became president of The Citadel, Charleston, South Carolina. After a stormy period when his proposed reforms did not win the support of the Board of Trustees, he resigned in 1981 and accepted an appointment as Senior Research Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. He remained there until he moved to Coronado, California. In 1992, he accepted the vice presidential slot as an independent candidate with Ross Perot as president. Perot garnered 19% of the vote, but he did not carry any state.

VADM Stockdale died on 5 July 2005 at his home in Coronado, California. He left his wife, Sybil (1924-2015), and sons: James, Sidney, Stanford, and Taylor and eight grandchildren.

James and Sybil Stockdale co-authored In Love and War: The Story of a Family’s Ordeal and Sacrifice during the Vietnam Years, published by the Naval Institute Press in 1990. He also wrote Thoughts of a Philosophical Fighter Pilot; Military Ethics: Reflections on Principles—the Profession of Arms, Military Leadership, Ethical Practices, War and Morality, Educating the Citizen Soldier; A Vietnam Experience: Ten Years of Reflection; and The Ethics of Citizenship.

His twenty-six medals include two Distinguished Flying Crosses, three Distinguished Service Medals, two Purple Hearts, four Silver Stars, and the Congressional Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award.

In 2008, the USS Stockdale (DDG-106) was christened in Bath, Maine, by Admiral Stockdale’s widow, Sybil. The Arleigh Burke–class guided-missile destroyer was commissioned on 18 April 2009 at Port Hueneme and is homeported in San Diego.

In 2007, the main gate at Naval Air Station North Island in Coronado was named after Stockdale, as was the headquarters building for the Pacific Fleet’s Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape School at the air station. In 2008, a statue of Stockdale was placed in Luce Hall at the U.S. Naval Academy, where the Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership is located. The Loews Annapolis Hotel has a suite named in his honor as it was where Perot announced his candidacy for president.

Chronology

Date		Event
1923		Born 23 December in Abingdon, Illinois
1946		Graduated from U.S. Naval Academy
1946		USS Carmick (DMS-33), Assistant Gunnery Officer; USS Thompson (DMS-38), Assistant Engineer
1947		USS Charles H. Roan (DD-854), Communications Officer
1948-1949		USS PCS 1392, Executive Officer
1949-1950		Naval Aviator
1951		Air Antisubmarine Squadron Twenty-Seven
1951		NAAS, Corry Field, Pensacola, F.L., Carrier Qualification Training
1954		Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, M.D., Test Pilot Training
1954-1957		Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, M.D., Instructor
1957-1958		Fighter Squadron Two Hundred Eleven, Maintenance and Operatinos Offiver
1960-1962		M.A. Stanford University
1962-1963		USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14), Fighter Squadron Fifty-One, Executive Officer and Commanding Officer
1964		USS Oriskany (CVA-34), Carrier Air Wing Twelve, Operations Officer
1965		USS Oriskany (CVA-34), Carrier Air Wing Sixteen, Commanding Officer
1965-1973		Prisoner of War, Hoalo Prison, North Vietnam
1974		Antisubmarine Warfare Wing, Pacific, Commanding Officer
1975-1977		Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Strategy, Plans and Policy Division, Director
1977-1979		President, Naval War College, Newport, R.I.
1979		Retired from naval service
1979-1981		President, The Citadel, Charleston, S.C.
1981		Stanford University, Palo Alto, C.A., Senior Research Fellow
1992		Independent Candidate for Vice President of the United States
2005		Died 5 July in Coronado, C.A.