Years ago, during the Vietnam conflict in the 1960’s, Vice Admiral James Stockdale, a fighter pilot in the Navy, was shot down over North Vietnam and captured as a prisoner of war. In fact, James Stockdale was the highest ranking naval prisoner of war who ended up in solitary confinement for more than 4-1/2 years and total time served at the Hanoi Hilton (the common name for the Hoa Lo Prison) exceeded 7-1/2 years.
He was born on December 23, 1923 and finally died at the age of 81 on July 5, 2005. In many ways, Stockdale was an anomaly. He attended the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland and graduated from there with the class of 1947. His career was filled with promotions and accomplishments – from his first position as a gunnery officer to a commander on raids during the Vietnam conflict – to eventually becoming the president of the Naval War College at Newport, Rhode Island from late 1977 until August, 1979.
After his retirement, he ascended the presidency of The Citadel, serving several years from 1979 until 1981. He contributed to academia by teaching and was involved with Stanford University among other notable accomplishments. He eventually joined Ross Perot’s presidential ticket by becoming Perot’s vice-presidential running mate in 1992. Although the pair did not carry any states in the general election, they gained more than 19% of the popular vote, one of the most impressive independent presidential runs in history.
All in all, Admiral Stockdale is best known for his indomitable spirit after being shot down over North Vietnam while leading several planes on a bombing run. He was captured and held by North Vietnamese troops after ejecting over enemy territory. During his tenure as a prisoner of war, he was violently tortured at least fifteen times – including enduring broken legs several times during his incarceration. As the highest ranking prisoner of war at the Hanoi Hilton, it was the intent of the North Vietnamese to parade Stockdale in front of the media to break the spirit of the other prisoners and to flaunt their capture of this high ranking naval officer.
To avoid this public spectacle, Stockdale sliced his scalp open with a razor, disfiguring himself so as to not being presentable on camera. When the wound was covered with a hat, Stockdale beat himself in the face with a wooden stool so violently that he was unrecognizable. When finally threatened with death, he slit his own wrists to show the enemy that he would rather die than submit to their wishes. They could not break him and this gave encouragement to the other prisoners who were incarcerated at Hoa Lo Prison in Hanoi as well.
In fact, the admiral is also known for having invented a code through which the prisoners could communicate with one another, providing a type of clandestine community among the prisoners. He was recognized as having the will to survive and the courage to stick to his convictions. He was finally released in 1973, having been captured in 1965.
When Jim Collins, the author of the famous book “Good to Great” asked what Stockdale attributed his survival to, Stockdale replied, “You must never ever confuse, on the one hand, the need for absolute unwavering faith that you can prevail despite those constraints with, on the other hand, the need for the discipline to begin by confronting the brutal facts, whatever they are.” Whew! That’s a pretty complicated statement. And it became known as the Stockdale Paradox.
To boil it down, the Admiral said that we must have great faith while at the same time understanding and addressing our current seemingly hopeless situation. While we can have great faith in the outcome, we must participate in being realistic and understanding that discipline is a very important part of achieving our goals.
This was revolutionary thinking and even Jim Collins, a recognized leader in high performance leadership, was stunned by Stockdale’s view of things. Surely, he was a remarkable naval officer and a rare individual indeed.
Admiral Stockdale was a Christian and said that those prisoners who had strong faith had an easier time in prison than those who did not have their faith centered on Christ. This was partially due the fact that when we read the Bible, we realize that God allows his people to suffer yet prevail. Those prisoners who were totally optimistic and, therefore, frequently disappointed that they weren’t released, died of broken hearts because they couldn’t process the reality of their current predicament.
Those of us who believe in Christ have many advantages. For starters, we are assured of eternal life and know that in the end, God will prevail. Most, if not all, of us have experienced extreme disappointments. Maybe not to the degree that the Vietnam US prisoners of war did, but we all have faced trials. When these times come, and they will come, it is important that we hold on to our faith while acknowledging the reality of our current frustrations and situation. Participating in our own wholeness while having faith in our ultimate delivery by God are foundational to our belief system.
Our verse for tonight comes from the prophet Isaiah. The Old Testament prophet tells us, in Isaiah 41:10, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” (KJV) My encouragement this evening is that we will all face adversity during our walk with Christ. But the operative idea here is that we are “with Christ.” That means never alone. My prayer is that when times get tough, really tough, we will turn to Christ, profess our faith, and realize that God is walking with us every step of the way… Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…