Veteren's Day 2005 II
Nov. 13th, 2005 07:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cinema_babeI tend to eschew phrases or sayings; experience has taught me the merry steeplechase we call life is too rich and complex to be reduced to a couple of dozen words. However, to every rule there is an exception and mine is The Stockdale Paradox.
Most people who remember Adm. James Stockdale at all, remember him as the (seemingly) doddering old man who was Ross Perot's running mate. This image is a grave disservice to a man who embodied traits like courage, honor and strength. He was captured and taken as a prisoner of war and subjected to both physical and mental torture. He was the highest ranking office held in the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" and as such took on the responsibility of organizing the men and creating a protocol that helped many of the men survive their torture. When he was asked how he got through the ordeal, he related what became known as The Stockdale Paradox:
Retain faith that you will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties.
and at the same time
Confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.
I learned about this in a management class but this idea kept me afloat through my cancer diagnosis and treatment and and continues to keep me focused through my separation and divorce. I suspect that I'll fall back on it a few more times in my life.
No matter how you feel about the Vietnam War, it's hard to read his story and not walk away thinking Admiral Stockdale was a hero. I hope I can be a heroic and brave in the face of adversity.
Below are a couple of links that tell Adm Stockdale's harrowing story in detail.
On September 9, 1965 at the age of 40, Stockdale, Commanding Officer, VF51 and Carrier
Air Group Commander (CAG-16) was catapulted from the deck of the USS Oriskany for
what would be the final mission. While returning from the target area, his A-4 Skyhawk was
hit by anti-aircraft fire. Stockdale ejected, breaking a bone in his back. Upon landing in a
small village he badly dislocated his knee, which subsequently went untreated and eventually
left him with a fused knee joint and a very distinctive gait.
Stockdale wound up in Hoa Lo Prison, the infamous “Hanoi Hilton”, where he spent the next
seven years as the highest ranking naval officer and leader of American resistance against
Vietnamese attempts to use prisoners for propaganda purposes. Despite being kept in solitary
confinement for four years, in leg irons for two years, physically tortured more than 15 times,
denied medical care and malnourished, Stockdale organized a system of communication and
developed a cohesive set of rules governing prisoner behavior. Codified in the acronym
BACK U.S. (Unity over Self), these rules gave prisoners a sense of hope and empowerment,
which many credited with giving them the strength to endure their lengthy ordeal. Drawing
largely from principles of stoic philosophy, notably Epictetus’ The Enchiridion, Stockdale’s
courage and decisive leadership was an inspiration to POWs.
The climax of the struggle of wills between American POWs and their captors came in the
spring of 1969. Told he was to be taken “downtown” and paraded in front of foreign
journalists, Stockdale slashed his scalp with a razor and beat himself in the face with a
wooden stool knowing that his captors would not display a prisoner who was disfigured.
Later, after discovering that some prisoners had died during torture, he slashed his wrists to
demonstrate to his captors that he preferred death to submission. This act so convinced the
Vietnamese of his determination to die rather than to cooperate that the Communists ceased
the torture of American prisoners and gradually improved their treatment of POWs. Upon
his release from prison in 1973, Stockdale’s extraordinary heroism became widely known,
and he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor by President Gerald Ford in 1976.
He was one of the most highly decorated officers in the history of the Navy, wearing twenty
six personal combat decorations, including two Distinguished Flying Crosses, three
Distinguished Service Medals, two Purple Hearts, and four Silver Star medals in addition to
the Medal of Honor. He was the only three star Admiral in the history of the Navy to wear
both aviator wings and the Medal of Honor.
When asked what experiences he thought were essential to his survival and ultimate success
in the prison, Admiral Stockdale referred to events early in his life: his childhood experiences
in his mother’s local drama productions which encouraged spontaneity, humor, and theatrical
timing; the lessons of how to endure physical pain as a football player in high school and
college; and his determination to live up to the promise he made to his father upon entering
the Naval Academy that he would be the best midshipmen he could be. It was the uniquely
American ability to improvise in tight situations, Stockdale believed, which gave him the
confidence that the POWs could outwit their captors and return home with honor despite their
dire situation.
Discussion of 'The Stockdale Paradox' by Jim Collins.
Most people who remember Adm. James Stockdale at all, remember him as the (seemingly) doddering old man who was Ross Perot's running mate. This image is a grave disservice to a man who embodied traits like courage, honor and strength. He was captured and taken as a prisoner of war and subjected to both physical and mental torture. He was the highest ranking office held in the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" and as such took on the responsibility of organizing the men and creating a protocol that helped many of the men survive their torture. When he was asked how he got through the ordeal, he related what became known as The Stockdale Paradox:
Retain faith that you will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties.
and at the same time
Confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.
I learned about this in a management class but this idea kept me afloat through my cancer diagnosis and treatment and and continues to keep me focused through my separation and divorce. I suspect that I'll fall back on it a few more times in my life.
No matter how you feel about the Vietnam War, it's hard to read his story and not walk away thinking Admiral Stockdale was a hero. I hope I can be a heroic and brave in the face of adversity.
Below are a couple of links that tell Adm Stockdale's harrowing story in detail.
On September 9, 1965 at the age of 40, Stockdale, Commanding Officer, VF51 and Carrier
Air Group Commander (CAG-16) was catapulted from the deck of the USS Oriskany for
what would be the final mission. While returning from the target area, his A-4 Skyhawk was
hit by anti-aircraft fire. Stockdale ejected, breaking a bone in his back. Upon landing in a
small village he badly dislocated his knee, which subsequently went untreated and eventually
left him with a fused knee joint and a very distinctive gait.
Stockdale wound up in Hoa Lo Prison, the infamous “Hanoi Hilton”, where he spent the next
seven years as the highest ranking naval officer and leader of American resistance against
Vietnamese attempts to use prisoners for propaganda purposes. Despite being kept in solitary
confinement for four years, in leg irons for two years, physically tortured more than 15 times,
denied medical care and malnourished, Stockdale organized a system of communication and
developed a cohesive set of rules governing prisoner behavior. Codified in the acronym
BACK U.S. (Unity over Self), these rules gave prisoners a sense of hope and empowerment,
which many credited with giving them the strength to endure their lengthy ordeal. Drawing
largely from principles of stoic philosophy, notably Epictetus’ The Enchiridion, Stockdale’s
courage and decisive leadership was an inspiration to POWs.
The climax of the struggle of wills between American POWs and their captors came in the
spring of 1969. Told he was to be taken “downtown” and paraded in front of foreign
journalists, Stockdale slashed his scalp with a razor and beat himself in the face with a
wooden stool knowing that his captors would not display a prisoner who was disfigured.
Later, after discovering that some prisoners had died during torture, he slashed his wrists to
demonstrate to his captors that he preferred death to submission. This act so convinced the
Vietnamese of his determination to die rather than to cooperate that the Communists ceased
the torture of American prisoners and gradually improved their treatment of POWs. Upon
his release from prison in 1973, Stockdale’s extraordinary heroism became widely known,
and he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor by President Gerald Ford in 1976.
He was one of the most highly decorated officers in the history of the Navy, wearing twenty
six personal combat decorations, including two Distinguished Flying Crosses, three
Distinguished Service Medals, two Purple Hearts, and four Silver Star medals in addition to
the Medal of Honor. He was the only three star Admiral in the history of the Navy to wear
both aviator wings and the Medal of Honor.
When asked what experiences he thought were essential to his survival and ultimate success
in the prison, Admiral Stockdale referred to events early in his life: his childhood experiences
in his mother’s local drama productions which encouraged spontaneity, humor, and theatrical
timing; the lessons of how to endure physical pain as a football player in high school and
college; and his determination to live up to the promise he made to his father upon entering
the Naval Academy that he would be the best midshipmen he could be. It was the uniquely
American ability to improvise in tight situations, Stockdale believed, which gave him the
confidence that the POWs could outwit their captors and return home with honor despite their
dire situation.
Discussion of 'The Stockdale Paradox' by Jim Collins.
