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Naval History and Heritage Command

Naval History and Heritage Command

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Topic
  • Awards and Medals
  • Medal of Honor
Document Type
  • Artifact
Wars & Conflicts
  • Vietnam Conflict 1962-1975
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Location of Archival Materials

Medal of Honor awarded to James Bond Stockdale, Vietnam War POW


Display copy of Medal of Honor Obverse with Ribbon

Title: Medal of Honor (Display Copy), James Bond Stockdale
Accession #: NHHC 2009-82-1
Location: Headquarters Artifact Collection, Naval History and Heritage Command
Size: 2 x 2
Medium: Bronze

Obverse: Five pointed bronze star tipped with trefoils containing a crown of laurel and oak. In the center is Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom and warfare, standing with left hand resting on fasces and right hand holding a shield blazoned with the escutcheon of the United States. She repulses discord, represented by a male figure holding snakes. It is made of solid red brass, oxidized and buffed.

Reverse: Blank

Citation for Award: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while senior naval officer in the Prisoner of War camps of North Vietnam. Recognized by his captors as the leader in the Prisoners' of War resistance to interrogation and in their refusal to participate in propaganda exploitation, Rear Adm. Stockdale was singled out for interrogation and attendant torture after he was detected in a covert communications attempt. Sensing the start of another purge, and aware that his earlier efforts at self-disfiguration to dissuade his captors from exploiting him for propaganda purposes had resulted in cruel and agonizing punishment, Rear Adm. Stockdale resolved to make himself a symbol of resistance regardless of personal sacrifice. He 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. By his heroic action, at great peril to himself, he earned the everlasting gratitude of his fellow prisoners and of his country. Rear Adm. Stockdale's valiant leadership and extraordinary courage in a hostile environment sustain and enhance the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.


Reverse view of Medal of Honor Display Copy if James Stockdale
Published: Tue Mar 31 11:30:32 EDT 2020