Crew members stand at attention during the commissioning ceremony of the Navy's new missile destroyer Stockdale at Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme. The ship is named for the late Vice Adm. James Stockdale, who was a POW in Vietnam and Ross Perot's running mate in the 1992 presidential election.From The L.A. Times:
Missile destroyer is named for Vice Adm. James Stockdale, whose furtive philosophical messages helped fellow captives survive a Hanoi prison camp. He gained notoriety as Ross Perot's running mate.
As dozens of former POWs snapped to attention, the Navy on Saturday dedicated a warship to the late Vice Adm. James Stockdale, who was credited by many fellow captives in Vietnam with giving them the courage to survive.
Stockdale, a soft-spoken scholar best known for his short-lived foray into presidential politics, died at 81 in 2005. He was H. Ross Perot's running mate in 1992 -- but Perot, who spoke at the commissioning, did not mention the campaign. Instead he focused on Stockdale's ability to inspire prisoners in the infamous North Vietnamese prison camp known as the Hanoi Hilton.
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My Comment: This is a special ship.