James Stockdale

James Bond "Jim" Stockdale (December 23, 1923 – July 5, 2005) 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. Stockdale was the most senior naval officer held captive in Hanoi, North Vietnam. He led aerial attacks from the carrier during the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident. On his next deployment, while commander of Carrier Air Wing Sixteen aboard the carrier , his A-4 Skyhawk jet was shot down in North Vietnam on September 9, 1965. He served as president of the Naval War College from October 1977 until he retired from the navy in 1979. As vice admiral, Stockdale was the president of The Citadel from 1979 to 1980. Stockdale was a candidate for Vice President of the United States in the 1992 presidential election, on Ross Perot's independent ticket. Early life and education Stockdale was born in Abingdon, Illinois, on December 23, 1923, the son of Vernon Beard Stockdale (1888–1964) and Mabel Edith Stockdale (; 1889–1967). Following a brief period at Monmouth College, he entered the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, in June 1943.