Admiral James Bond Stockdale made a lifetime of serving his country honorably -- first int he military and then in academia. Following his passing, the decision was made to honor him by naming one of our nation's warships after him -- and yesterday the USS Stockdale was christened by his widow.

The Navy's newest guided missile destroyer was christened Saturday with the name of a fighter pilot who spent 7 1/2 years in captivity in North Vietnam, received the Medal of Honor and served as presidential candidate Ross Perot's running mate.

Four Medal of Honor recipients and seven former prisoners of war attended the ceremony at Bath Iron Works that marked a milestone in construction of the 9,200-ton ship named for Vice Adm. James Stockdale.

Stockdale's widow, Sybil, who suffers from Parkinson's disease and uses a wheelchair, let loose a champagne bottle propelled by rope that swung across the Stockdale's bow. On the second try, the bottle exploded, the band broke into "Anchors Aweigh" and red, white and blue streamers filled the air.

Stockdale, who died nearly three years ago at age 81, flew 201 carrier-based missions before being shot down in 1965, becoming the highest-ranking naval officer captured during the war.

His endurance under torture and years of solitary confinement during his captivity in Hanoi became the stuff of legend. After his release in 1973, he received 26 combat decorations, including the Medal of Honor.

Sybil Stockdale, who founded an organization to draw the public's attention to the plight of American POWs in Southeast Asia, was accompanied at the ceremony by the couple's four sons.

He was, by all accounts, an exemplary human being. And while he is so often remembered for one of the great lines of political debate history, it is his service to this nation for which he ought to be remembered.

And on a side note, I cannot help but note that USS Stockdale is an Arleigh Burke class destroyer, named for Admiral Arleigh Burke, one of America's greatest naval officers of the twentieth century. It was my great privilege to meet the admiral when I was a boy, when he walked over to talk to a young Navy wife and her two sons while they were all waiting to be seen at Bethesda Naval Hospital in the during the Vietnam War. As I look back, remain struck by the man's kindness and gentleness -- and the strength of personality in a man already into his 70s. He told my brother and I to be proud of our father who was, like him, a destroyer officer, because our father was doing some of the most important work there was -- defending our country. I am therefore touched to see two men who I have always held in high esteem connected through this ship.

UPDATE: I missed this story of another Arleigh Burke class destroyer being named for another American hero -- the USS Michael Murphy.

Posted by: Greg at 02:55 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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