This speech by Jim Collins for The Drucker Institute talks about The Stockdale Paradox, which is rooted in the story of Admiral James Stockdale, who was the highest-ranking United States military officer in the “Hanoi Hilton” prisoner-of-war camp during the height of the Vietnam War
Excerpts from an Oct. 20, 2019 interview with Col. Ken Cordier, a former United States Air Force pilot who was an American prisoner of war in North Vietnam for 6 years, 3 months and 2 days during the Vietnam War. This is part of the Robert H. Jackson Center’s Defenders of Freedom project. For further information see www.roberthjacskon.org.
LANCE P. SIJAN IS THE ONLY UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY GRADUATE TO EVER RECEIVE THE CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR. THIS DOCUMENTARY PORTRAYS THE CAPTAIN’S LIFE, DEPICTS THE PERIOD OF HIS LIFE AFTER EJECTING FROM HIS DAMAGED AIRCRAFT OVER NORTH VIETNAM, AND THE TIME HE SPENT AS A PRISONER OF WAR (POW). DEMONSTRATES HOW HIS FAMILY VALUES INTERSECTED WITH THE AIR FORCE’S CORE VALUES OF “INTEGRITY FIRST, SERVICE BEFORE SELF, AND EXCELLENCE IN ALL WE
Captured and held in a prisoner of war camp for five years, Dr. Kushner’s tale of torture, abuse, survival, humanity, and perseverance was both sobering and moving. As our closing keynote speaker for VMI’s Vietnam symposium ‘The Vietnam War at 50,’ our audience leaves on a powerful note among the several personal stories they heard today.