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Books > Humanities > History > American history > From 1900 > Postwar, from 1945
The decade that followed James Stockdale's seven and a half years
in a North Vietnamese prison saw his life take a number of
different turns, from a stay in a navy hospital in San Diego to
president of a civilian college to his appointment as a senior
research fellow at the Hoover Institution. In this collection of
essays he offers his thoughts on his imprisonment. Describing the
horrors of his treatment as a prisoner of war, Stockdale tells how
he discovered firsthand the capabilities and limitations of the
human spirit in such a situation. As the senior officer in
confinement he had what he humbly describes as 'the easiest
leadership job in the world: to maintain the organization,
resistance, and spirit of ten of the finest men I have ever known.'
His reflections on his wartime prison experience and the reasons
for his survival form the basis of the writings reprinted here. In
subject matter ranging from methods of communication in prison to
military ethics to the principles of leadership, the thirty-four
selections contained in this volume are a unique record of what
Stockdale calls a 'melting experience' - a pressure-packed
existence that forces one to grow. Retired Vice Admiral James B.
Stockdale, a Hoover Institution fellow from 1981 to 1996, was Ross
Perot's 1992 presidential running mate and a recipient of the Medal
of Honor after enduring seven and a half years as a prisoner of war
in North Vietnam. He died in 2005 at the age of 81.
As a linguist with the U.S. Navy Fleet Support Detachment in Da
Nang, Herb Shippey was assigned to air reconnaissance during the
Vietnam War. Flying with fellow "spooks" over the Gulf of Tonkin
and Laos, his duty was to protect American aircraft and ships
threatened by MiG 21 fighter jet activity. Shippey's introspective
memoir recounts dangerous missions aboard non-combat aircraft
(EC-121 Warning Star, P-3 Orion, A-3 Sky Warrior), rocket attacks
and typhoons, and the details of his service, some of them
classified for forty years.
The 'missile with a man in it' was known for its blistering speed
and deadliness in air combat. The F-104C flew more than 14,000
combat hours in Vietnam as a bomber escort, a Wild Weasel escort
and a close air support aircraft. Though many were sceptical of its
ability to carry weapons, the Starfighter gave a fine account of
itself in the close air support role. It was also well known that
the enemy were especially reluctant to risk their valuable and
scarce MiGs when the F-104 was escorting bombers over North Vietnam
or flying combat air patrols nearby. The missions were not without
risk, and 14 Starfighters were lost during the war over a two-year
period. This was not insignificant considering that the USAF only
had one wing of these valuable aircraft at the time, and wartime
attrition and training accidents also took quite a bite from the
inventory.
While the F-105 Thunderchief and F-4 Phantom got most of the glory
and publicity during the war in Vietnam, the Lockheed F-104
Starfighter was not given much chance of surviving in a 'shooting
war'. In the event, it did that and much more. Although built in
small numbers for the USAF, the F-104C fought and survived for
almost three years in Vietnam. Like its predecessor the F-100, the
Starfighter was a mainstay of Tactical Air Command and Air Defence
Command, with whom it served with distinction as an air superiority
fighter and point defence interceptor. This small, tough and very
fast fighter, dubbed 'The Missile with a Man in It', was called
upon to do things it was not specifically designed for, and did
them admirably. Among these were close air support and armed
reconnaissance using bombs, rockets and other armaments hung from
its tiny wings, as well as its 20 mm Vulcan cannon, firing 6000
rounds per minute. The jet participated in some of the most famous
battles of the war, including the legendary Operation "Bolo," in
which seven North Vietnamese MiGs went down in flames with no US
losses. Even as it was fighting in Vietnam, the Starfighter was
being adopted by no fewer than six NATO air forces as well as Japan
and Nationalist China. It was later procured by Jordan, Turkey and
Pakistan. The latter nation took the Starfighter to war with India
twice in the 1960s, and it also saw combat with Taiwan.
The story of the Starfighter in Vietnam is one of tragedy and of
ultimate vindication. For decades the F-104's contribution to the
air war in Vietnam was downplayed and its role as a ground attack
machine minimised. Only in recent years has that assessment been
re-evaluated, and the facts prove the Starfighter to have been able
to do its job as well or better than some of the other tactical
aircraft sent to the theatre for just that purpose.
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