Prisoner at War — The Death of an American Hero
By: William J. Luti (The American Spectator USA News and Politics)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Navy Capt. Richard Stratton, who survived six brutal years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, was quietly laid to rest last month in his hometown of Quincy, MA. He was 93.
He was an authentic American hero right out of central casting. Born in 1931 to poor, working-class Boston Irish parents, he grew up during World War II in a neighborhood under the flight pattern of Quincy's Squantum Naval Air Station.
As a teenager, his deep Catholic faith moved him to become a priest. But the priesthood turned out not to be his calling. So, after six years, he left the seminary, worked his way through Georgetown University, and headed off to Navy flight school.
As recounted in the late journalist Scott Blakey's riveting and aptly titled book, Prisoner at War — the Survival of Commander Richard A. Stratton (1978), he became a self-described hot jet ace and an opinionated, loudmouthed naval aviator.
His most distinguishing feature was his nose. Dubbed "the Beak" by his squadron mates, he quipped, as the Irish would say, he had a good handle to his face. He marveled at how he squeezed his large frame into the cramped A4-E Skyhawk cockpit. He mused what would happen to his limbs in a high-speed ejection.
But that was the least of his concerns. On Jan. 5, 1967, he was shot down on an armed coastal reconnaissance mission. Ejecting a few short miles from the safety of the sea instead turned into immediate capture and 2,251 excruciating days in the capital of Hell.
Called the "mad bomber of Hanoi" by his communist captors, he endured unspeakable torture in their depraved effort to extract a forced confession to "war crimes." It was immaterial that he never bombed Hanoi. They wanted a confession and set about sadistically to obtain it.
As Blakey recounts, after three agonizingly painful sessions spanning over several days, James Bond died in that ugly torture room. Instead, Stratton — beaten, bloody, limbs contorted and blackened — now a broken man, succumbed to a false confession.
But the humiliation of Richard Stratton was not yet complete. In what became known as the "Stratton incident," the North Vietnamese prepared to parade him in front of the international press as proof of American bombing atrocities.
Wracked with guilt that he had betrayed his country, he devised a plan to discredit his confession and expose the shocking treatment of American POWs. When hauled in front of the cameras, his taped confession playing in the background, Beak, ordered to bow only once and leave, "boxed the compass" with deep robotic bows in cardinal directions.
The late American photojournalist Lee Lockwood was there on assignment for Life magazine. Shaken by Stratton's appearance, Lockwood was barely able to take pictures. But with one snap of the shutter, he captured one of the most iconic photographs of the Vietnam War. And Beak — ever the prisoner at war — had turned the table. The photo and chilling article created an international uproar.
"As Hanoi had made Stratton a symbol of its charges of genocide and terror bombing," Blakey wrote, "it had equally made him a symbol of Vietnamese cruelty, intemperance, and duplicity."
I first met Beak at the U.S. Naval Academy in the 1980s, a mere ten years after his 1973 repatriation. His favorite libation was Irish Whisky, so we'd occasionally meet at the Officer's Club where I mostly listened to his tales.
His wrists still bore the scars from endless days locked in manacles. With some discernment, his voice betrayed the invisible wounds of his ordeal. He, at times, seemed bemused but not angry that his captors were not held accountable for the state-sanctioned torture of American POWs.
I would see him again a few years later when he and his wife Alice, then a deputy assistant secretary of the Navy, accepted my invitation to speak at a formal squadron dinner. He spoke of Alice's struggle to hold the family together and her courageous effort to ensure the plight of American POWs was publicized during his captivity.
But the occupational hazard of naval service intervened. Frequent moves, uprooting children from school, and long deployments tend to put friendships on hold. And so, we drifted apart, out of sight but never out of mind. I would follow at a distance his post-Navy career with deep admiration. He earned a degree in clinical social work and spent years counseling veterans struggling with addiction and trauma.
Beak's long life lived well was marked by faith in God, devotion to family, love of country, and fidelity to traditions honoring naval service. One of those is relieving the shipboard watch. Steeped in tradition but practical in execution, it symbolizes the passing of responsibility from one sailor to another.
So, it's fitting, even more so in death, to render a salute to one who has stood the watch: Capt. Stratton, you stand relieved of your earthly duties. Your shipmates have the watch. Well-done Beak, well-done.
William Luti is a retired U.S. Navy captain.
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“As Hanoi had made Stratton a symbol of its charges of genocide and terror bombing,” Blakey wrote, “it had equally made him a symbol of Vietnamese cruelty, intemperance, and duplicity.”
RIP Cap ….. we have the watch.
Trump just had the Arlington Cemetery website remove all mention of other brave soldiers like the Tuskegee Airmen, brave soldiers of color and women soldiers who were heroes.
They removed the name and bio of Colin Powell who served under Bush.
All "DEI" soldiers are no longer honored by the Trump administration. People who want to look up the graves of heroes can no longer find anyone deemed "DEI" which is just open discrimination.
Honor all of them who served America honorably regardless of sex or color.
Show me the link(s) 'cause I call that comment BS.
Good for you! It is good to see that you disapprove of those acts.
Now, what if the claims are true?
Quite highly doubt it.
"IF" the claims are true???
[✘] Just show the link(s) supporting 3.0 and we'll go from there.
When those claims are made, there shouldn't be a question of "what if."
The left has tossed more shit out there than a manure factory.
Those who appear to applaud every bone-headed act by Trump have no leg to stand on.
Deflection.
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Those who oppose every pro-American action taken by President Trump only have a vile pile of lies about "Trump."
The evidence is all around us here.
Do you support Trump creating a trade war and increasing consumer prices when he was (naively) elected primarily to address high consumer prices?
I support reciprocal tariffs.
Do you have the (entirely wrong) impression that a trade deficit with a particular nation is necessarily wrong? That is, do you simply believe the bullshit Trump is spewing?
Do you support publicly threatening tariffs rather than sitting down privately and negotiating (given the threat of tariffs is still an option in a private venue)?
Tariffs are a strategic tool used to provide a temporary buffer to allow a specific domestic industry to become more competitive. For example, imposing a tariff on steel to allow the US domestic steel industry to get stronger. Further, tariffs are typically used for strategic goods — those which are considered of strategic importance to the nation's well-being. Across-the-board tariffs are idiotic and a demonstrable, irresponsible misuse of the tool.
Do you recognize that Trump started this trade war ... that it was Trump who initiated this unnecessary burden on consumers and damaged international relationships?
Do you recognize that Trump thinks that tariffs are a way to generate revenue ... do you recognize that the revenue they generate are essentially a consumption tax on domestic consumers?
So you support Mexico, Canada and the EU and UK reciprocal tariffs?
interesting...
Why don't you look before you leap?
Arlington National Cemetery removed links to webpages about Black, Hispanic and female veterans
How DEI rollback prompted the scrubbing of Arlington National Cemetery’s website - WTOP News
'Civil War is too woke': Trump's anti-DEI crusade comes for Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington Cemetery Website Loses Pages on Black Soldiers, Women in Military and Civil War - The New York Times
Even Arlington National Cemetery’s fallen suffer Trump's DEI dishonor | Opinion
They enjoyed the high tariffs on US goods.
The party is over.
You mean the Tariffs going into immediate effect on April 2
unless they do not?
There is no party. Now we know how the Israelite's felt when King Saul was going mad....
When the Romans tried to escape Rome as Nero played a fiddle.
How the Berliners felt when two Russian Armies encircled them.
and how the Romans began to feel numb or elated, as the case may be by Caligula's madness in the Coliseum and the Senate.
Rule by chaos and intimidation.
lol …. You should write a screenplay
It's still a free country; I know many actors, I know more vets, many Blue Angels, a few astronauts, a former Commandant and maybe someday
when I stop my real job, IF we can pool our millions and maybe create something as good as Band of Brothers, I will give it serious consideration.
As a historian, all of the best movies of Rome, Wellington, Spartacus, Alexander and Mehmet have already corrupted the truth
and we all know how difficult it can be to put the lies back into the bottle...once the lies become more popular than the truth.
High tariffs are paid by the consumers Vic. So all Trump can do is raise prices for USA consumers.
Raising prices for domestic consumers will not cause other nations to magically buy our goods. Especially the way Trump is handling things. They will seek other trade partners. He is fucking things up in the short and the long-term. He is a buffoon.
Trump cannot force other nations to buy our products. What he can do, and will do with support from people like you, is spike inflation, harm our economy and damage international relationships.
Across-the-board (and especially punitive, threatening) tariffs are not something the USA has done and for a very good reason ... they accomplish nothing good.
If they choose to buy a foreign good.
There is no good reason for allowing so many nations to have a trade surplus with us.
Well, there is one “reasonable” reason. If we are a bigger market. Which we are with countries like Canada.
Without the surplus Canada depended upon, they may be facing a recession next year. If I was the Canadian leader, I'd be looking to work out some kind of deal with Trump that might spare Canada a devastating economic blow.
Sure there is. It allows US consumers lower prices for goods.
We want a trade surplus in aggregate. A trade deficit with a particular nation is not necessarily bad. The details matter.
Don’t just listen to Trump; he is a buffoon. Read about tariffs from those who understand the intent and how they work. Google!
Do you prefer lower prices to good paying US union jobs?
You are oversimplifying to an extreme.
US consumers want lower prices. You know this, you see this. It is obvious.
There are plenty of good paying USA union jobs. It would be great to have more because the USA is facing a very difficult long-term situation where technology is obsoleting more jobs than generating new employment opportunities.
But manufacturers are not going to just return operations to the USA en-masse because of tariffs. Building facilities and the workforce, working through the supply chain, etc. is a very complex and very expensive process. It would be a strategic decision that considers where the USA is heading. So unless Trump and successive presidents continue these tariffs (not going to happen and executives know this), it would make no sense for manufacturers to make this move ... if strictly in response to tariffs.
Further, Trump and gang keep trying to make excuses for these tariffs. Trump has all along stated that his main reason for tariffs is to generate revenue. That is utterly ridiculous since tariffs are paid by USA consumers, not the foreign nation. He used drugs as an excuse to impose his destructive tariffs on Canada and Mexico via an EO rather than an act of Congress. He is also trying to justify tariffs by this 'they are ripping us off' nonsense under the false notion that trade with each nation needs to be balanced or someone is getting ripped off. THAT IS ENTIRELY WRONG. You should learn about tariffs and trade and stop listening to Trump.
Trump is driving prices up and damaging (short and long-term) international relationships. Tariffs alone will NOT bring back manufacturing because labor costs in the USA are much higher than overseas and tariffs are temporary measures with a life too short for such a strategic, expensive move.
Use Google and do some research. This is far more complex than the overly-simplistic notions that Trump supporters seem to accept as truth.
From the end of World War II through the cold war to now we allowed these trade surpluses to help our allies rebuild and become prosperous and strong. The EU now has an economy comparable to our own.
It is time for FAIR trade.
You clearly have still NOT done any research on the concept of trade and tariffs.
US consumers choose to buy from foreign nations. This is a choice made collectively by US consumers. You know, free market and all that?
Trump imposing tariffs takes choices away from the USA consumers (on optional items) and raises consumer prices (on items that are necessarily imported).
If Trump, for example, wants to focus on the automobile industry, then that would be a perfectly reasonable topic for negotiation. He could sit down and demonstrate his superhero negotiating skills in a private venue and then emerge victoriously with some super deal which will cause Europe, for example, to buy more USA vehicles. During the negotiation, he can note that the USA is in a position to impose reciprocal tariffs and put forth whatever brilliant negotiating move he has in his espoused bag of tricks.
Across-the-board tariffs is brain-dead-stupid.
Trade deficits with a particular nation are not necessarily bad ... or them 'ripping us off'. Trump is full of shit.
Make it simple. Neither Canada nor the US should impose tariffs on one another. That means eliminate all existing tariffs.
What say you?
That would be a logical starting point. Wipe the slate clean. Now, with that, discuss the most important trade issues. Attempt to work out a deal that serves both sides sufficiently and emerge with a sensible, mature deal which does not artificially inflate consumer prices.
Tariffs should be a last resort.
Why only a starting point? Neither Canada nor the US impose tariffs on the other.
Canada is the one country the US should not have tariffs on.
Shouldn't it be the same for Canada?
Don't tell me that Canada depends on that trade surplus.
It is a starting point because I assume, being observant, that the parties would have terms they would seek to hash out as an agreement. If (unlikely as that is) both parties are satisfied with having no trade agreement other than no tariffs then the starting point would be the end point too.
Another aspect of close trading partners is that, during manufacturing, parts and materials cross the border multiple times. Currently USMCA rules apply which exempt specific parts that qualify for its rules, but this expires on April 2. If this is not renewed or new exemptions placed then each crossing imposes the tariff. In result, the costs would occur transactionally during the manufacturing process. The tariffs are not merely applied to a finished product.
This is idiotic and wasteful.
Tariffs imposed on an integrated international supply chain with a close partner like Canada are amazingly stupid.
Good. And that is the way it should be between Canada and the US.
Then you totally disagree with Trump's actions against Canada.
No. Canada had tariffs on the US.
The USMCA (negotiated by Trump) was in effect and the only substantial tariff from Canada was on dairy ... exempted from the USMCA.
So they were operating per the agreement negotiated by Trump. Instead of starting a trade war, Trump should have sat down the Canada and renegotiated USMCA (aka CUSMA).
Also, I did not notice that this thread is off topic since I have been just replying to your comments. If you want to continue this in a more appropriate venue then let's do that.
And yet, you keep going ….. What does this have to do with Captain Stratton?
Are you being deliberately obtuse and ignoring Bush'sNAFTA and Trumps USMCA?
Canada started nothing. They are abiding by Trump's own treaty!
And yet, Vic, the author is involved and actively replying, making it "on topic".
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who is Captain Stratton?
Yeah, the NTers shuffle and yet that doesn’t even touch the level of disrespect being shown here towards the topic.
For someone who claims to rub elbows with Commandant's and Astronauts i find that attitude wanting. Very wanting …..
The article is about the passing of one of the heroes of the Hanoi Hilton POW at age 93.
Lol, I could care less either way and if you think I give a rats ass what you think. You have another thing coming.
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How pathetic does one have to be to come on an article about a Service Member dying and make it about Trump?
Vic, why are you allowing this seed to become about Trump?
Clean the garbage out of it man. 90% of it is callously off topic
I tend to allow an open forum, but you may be right. This started with a sacred subject.
I'm not sure I can call it off topic now.
You can start with my off topic posts. You have my permission.
Yeah, I let myself get pulled into their bullshit as well. Shame on me.
It will come down to a ruling and we will lose because I let it go on and I myself got into it. Beyond that, I myself fought against people being able to declare a something off topic at the last minute.
Blame me. I should have done it right away.
The difference is you did it unintentionally.[✘]
I understand.[✘]
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My apologies to the members who served in the military..
I let this one get away from me.