Sid Stockdale's father, Admiral James Stockdale, was shot down during a bombing mission over Vietnam in 1965. Stockdale, then a Naval Aviator, would spend nearly eight years in the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" prison, suffering torture and deprivation. He was the highest-ranking Navy officer POW in Vietnam. James Stockdale's wife, Sybil Stockdale, would found the League of Wives, which became the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia. The League became a nati

A Symbol of Resistance: US Navy RADM James Stockdale Medal of Honor Recipient Vietnam War As the highest-ranking U.S. Navy officer held captive in North Vietnam, Rear Adm. James Stockdale, a Captain at the time, became the unwavering leader of POW resistance. Tortured repeatedly and targeted for propaganda, he refused to break. When he feared he would be exploited by his captors, he deliberately inflicted near-fatal wounds on himself to show he would rather die than betray his country. His sacri