This was a man

War
#1

This was a man.

I’m reading some of his speeches from his book Thoughts of a Philosophical Fighter Pilot.

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#2

Give us a sample?

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#3

Very interesting about his life and experience as a prisoner of war. Impossible to even imagine how our POWs survived those years of imprisonment and torture. Interesting that he credited his study of Stoicism to have helped him through it.

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#4

I believe he relied enormously on his readings of Epictetus.

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#5

I’ll try to send a sample …

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#6

James Stockdale’s son Taylor was headed Webb school, Claremont, California and just retired last year after 35 years of service. I never met Admiral Stockdale, but I did meet Taylor when he was assistant head of admissions in the early 90s. My father went to Webb, class of '32, we visited in the early 90’s and spoke with Taylor about his father. IMHO Taylor followed his father in excellence and commitment with his service to the school.

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#7

Wow, that’s interesting! A connection to history.

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#8

Here’s a small sample;
"Most of what I say today comes from where my interest lies, in what might be called the modes of thought and conduct set down by Epictetus to mould others to a Stoic life that they might reap its benefits. And if I were asked, “What are the benefits of a Stoic life?” I would probably say, “It is an ancient and honorable package of advice on how to stay out of the clutches of those who are trying to get you on the hook, trying to give you a feeling of obligation, trying to get moral leverage on you, to force you to bend to their will.” Because I first reaped its benefits in an extortionist prison of torture, I could go on and say, “It’s a formula for maintaining self-respect and dignity in defiance of those who would break your spirit for their own ends.”

…"“The same message comes through in the writings of Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Arthur Koestler, and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. They’ve been where I’ve been. So had Miguel Cervantes. This future author of Don Quixote was a young officer in the Spanish army taken prisoner after the Battle of Lepanto in the sixteenth century. He spent seven years in an Algiers political prison. Same story: “Confess your crimes,” “Discredit yourself,” “Disavow your roots.”” (from “Thoughts of a Philosophical Fighter Pilot (Hoover Institution Press Publication Book 431)” by James B. Stockdale)

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#9

Thank you, Cogito.

I suspect that very few people would be able to remain stoic in an “extortionist prison of torture”. All honor to those who could and did!

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#10

I humbly bend my knee to these giants.

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