Vice Admiral James Stockdale (retired), a Medal of Honor recipient and Ross Perot's running mate in 1992, died Tuesday at the age of 81. According to a statement by the Navy Department, Stockdale has suffered from Alzheimer’s disease for several years.
Stockdale received his Medal of Honor in 1976 for resisting his captors while being held prisoner by the North Vietnamese. He helped to organize fellow prisoners to do the same. Stockdale was a POW for seven years after his A-4 Skyhawk was shot down over North Vietnam.
According to his Medal of Honor citation, 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.'
'He was subsequently 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.'
In 1992, Stockdale once more took the national stage when he was announced as Ross Perot's vice presidential candidate. He opened his vice presidential debate by asking 'Who am I? Why am I here?'
While these were appropriate questions for a political unknown, Stockdale became the butt of jokes after his performance in the vice presidential debate.
'The questions were relevant in terms of the evening's purpose, which was to introduce myself and let the American people know where I was coming from,' he wrote in 1995. 'But I also chose them for their broader relevance to my life: I am a philosopher.'
Admiral Vern Clark, chief of naval operations, released a statement describing Stockdale as 'a giant among heroes and a patriarch of ethical leadership.'
'Admiral Stockdale challenged the human limits of moral courage, physical endurance and intellectual bravery, emerging victorious as a legendary beacon for all to follow,' Clark said.
Stockdale was born December 23, 1923 in Abingdon, Illinois and graduated the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1947. He is survived by his wife, Sybil and four sons. Funeral arrangements are pending.
