Vice Admiral James Stockdale During the Vietnam War 766 men were captured as prisoners of war, among them was Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale. Even after being tortured and malnourished Stockdale was able to find motivation within himself to continue fighting. Admiral Stockdale used his 19 years of experience to light a fire within his fellow prisoners of war with his courage, endurance, and dependability. Admiral Stockdale is best known for his leadership capabilities during the Vietnam War where he was the highest ranked officer in the prisoner of war camp. Stockdale was a 1946 graduate of the United States Naval Academy and became the first pilot to accumulate more than 1000 hours of flight time in the F-8U Crusader. The North Vietnamese …show more content…
As the superior officer in the camp, Stockdale received more torturing sessions than the other prisoners. Even after all this torturing Stockdale was still more concerned about his fellow prisoners. Stockdale tried to kill himself by slashing his wrists with glass in order to stop the torturing of the other prisoners. After this incident the Vietnamese captors realized that Stockdale would prefer to die then surrender and they stopped torturing and treated the prisoners better. Also, in order to hinder the Vietnamese from using him as propaganda Stockdale used a razor blade to cut his scalp and a wooden stool to beat in his face. By doing this the captors could not parade him around because it would reflect poorly on them for treating their prisoners so poorly. I am able to learn from this example because as a leader your subordinates should always come before you. Even if this were to cause you physical or emotional pain the sailors below you will always have priority. James Stockdale illustrates his selflessness by putting his life in danger in order to bring about a better life for his
Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird was published in the year of 1960, and is one of the few American classic novels awarded the Pulitzer Prize. The racism that is prevalent in many southern American towns in the 1930s is brought to life with profound imagery in To Kill a Mockingbird. There are several characters in the book, yet the true main character is the narrator's father, Atticus Finch. He is a man of great integrity and intelligence. A very heroic figure in more ways than one, Atticus possesses traits like being principled, determined, and, more importantly, he teaches others. When looking at To Kill a Mockingbird, one can see that Lee uses lots of description, dialogue, and actions to portray Atticus as a heroic individual.
Billy Bishop’s path to greatness was not an easy one. He encountered many challenges throughout his young life that recognized him as a fiercer fighter pilot and a true hero. Billy Bishop faced an incredibly tough task to achieving his dream of becoming Canada’s greatest ace. Bishop had a tough life at Owen Sound Collegiate. He would be the subject to many jokes and preferred the company of girls. However his anger and fists won him acceptance on the school ground. He was a good natured boy born on February 8th, 1984. In 1911, at the age of 17, his parents sent him Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario due to his mediocre marks in school which his father knew would not allow him to get accepted to the University of Toronto. He was not an academic student and in his third year of high school was found cheating on a class exam which would later be the subject to many controversie...
Giving way to the parties and the fun associated with college kids, Caputo failed out of college and realized what he really wanted to be was a Marine. He joined the Marines and went through a lot of officer training until he eventually reached what would be known as his final rank of Lieutenant. Introduced to the Vietnam War in 1965 as a Platoon leader, Caputo walked into the war a little scared but with a lot of determination. Caputo started the war with a lot of field work including jungle expeditions and shooting escapades, and eventually was sent to keep track of the everyday deaths occurring during the war and all the paperwork associated with such a job. Later he was put back in charge of a platoon which eventually lead to his downfall following an unethical order he gave his men that resulted in the killing of a couple Vietnamese pedestrians believed to be part of the Viet Cong.
Moore was the first man out of the lead chopper to hit the landing zone, firing his M16 rifle. Little did Moore and his men suspect that fate had sent them into the first major battle of the Vietnam War between the American Army and the People's Army of Vi...
Take Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, for example. Although he had no desire to be in Vietnam, not to mention be leading troops there, it is evident that he is selfless in the pursuit of the war, and genuinely concerned about the welfare of his men. Unfortunately, he is blinded by guilt to these qualities.
The protagonist Holden Caulfield shows a lot of bravery during the course of the novel. I disagree with the quote, but I do agree that there are many references that are similar between J.F. Clarke’s quote and J. D. Salinger’s novel. Author J.F Clarke’s quote, “The bravest of individuals is one who obeys his/her conscience” can be looked upon in many ways. It also relates to J. D. Salinger’s novel Catcher in the Rye. The protagonist Holden Caulfield shows a lot of bravery during the course of the novel.
In We Were Soldiers, the officers such as Lt. Col. Hal Moore and Sgt. Maj. Basil Plumley are portrayed as the men who make the hardest decisions, and the men that the enlisted soldiers lean on for support, advice and help. In Casualties of War, the officers were portrayed, as mean boss-type bullies who not only made bad decisions, but weren’t even somewhat respectful towards their men. These ideas hold a great part in building friendships and creating bonds between the men. Lt. Col. Hal Moore’s men were very close; they acted like brothers and stood by one another. Whereas Sgt. Meserves men formed cliques, and some soldiers were shut out completely from the rest of the squad. This showed that it is extremely hard to be successful fighters when all of the men are not on the same team. Due to Lt. Col. Hal Moore’s exceptional leadership, him and his men were able to successfully take down the Viet Cong at Ia Drang Valley. Small battles that are won because of good leadership and making the right decisions reflect positively on the United States army as a whole. And on the other side, the men who were apart of the raping and murder of the innocent Vietnamese woman were punished accordingly. Meserve received 10 years in jail and a dishonorable discharge from the army. Eriksson was able to go on with his life because he did the right thing and stood up for
In the literary work, Speaking of Courage, Tim O’Brien highlights the trying struggle of a post-war solider attempting desperately to integrate himself back into American society. Paul Berlin’s trials and tribulations exemplify the “dominance of a citizen culture in the United States,” as mentioned by Dr. Decker in class. American society does not allow for the soldiers we have sent off to fight to return as warriors.
Otto Frank was the husband of Edith Frank and the father of Anne and Margot Frank and the friends of the Van Daans and Mr. Dussel. In 1933 Adolf Hitler was voted president (Chancellor for Germany) for the Nazi Party and on April 1 the first Anti-jewish law was first passed, In the same year, the Franks leave Germany to escape the Nazis. In 1942 the Franks go into hiding in a Secret Annex in Amsterdam. In the story, Mr. Frank showed courage, compassion, and sacrifice.
Courage. It plays a critical role in times when standing up against the entire society. That’s what many people could have done. That’s what many people did. All throughout the 1930’s to around the 1960’s, Jim Crow Racism was a major problem. However, certain people did fight back, like the famous MLK Jr., fighting for equal rights of the black people. Or in To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus Finch fights for Tom Robinson. Fighting back against Jim Crow racism was possible if an individual had enough courage to stand against it.
Douglas MacArthur was born on January 26, 1880 in a military camp in Arkansas. He graduated West Point in 1903 with honors. After he was commissioned as a junior officer in the Army Corps of Engineers where he spent his time getting promotions and moving around the world including the Philippines, Japan, Mexico At the start of WWI France. (“Douglas MacArthur”... 1 ) when the United States entered the war on the side of the entente, Macarthur was colonel and set to lead the rainbow division (1). In 1918 he participated in the St. Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne, Sedan offensives (1). When the war concluded in 1918 he became the superintendent of West Point (2). In 1930 he was promoted to a General (2). During WWII he commanded the troops in the pacific, then occupied Japan after the war (2). He was also in the Korean War. When the north invaded the south he aided the south
Courage is the one trait needed to lead a good successful moral life. In book To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee touches on the subject of courage throughout the book and is displayed as being an important topic. In the story courage is defined as doing something not because you want to or you can but because it is the right thing to do. Not only do multiple characters are shown as displaying this type of courage but they are usually successful in their endeavors and are outright praised by other characters for their courage.
Atticus Finch was an incredible parent. He did a great job raising Jem and Scout on his own. Atticus not only taught by his example, but also gave his children direct lessons. Atticus wanted to teach his children: all people are equal, what he says is courage, and to never lose sight of goodness in the world. Atticus uses the situations they face to teach these lessons.
This was it, Catherine was up next to go on stage and perform a song for her whole school. She had tried to do perform many times before but her stage fright always got the best of her, but that wasn’t going to be the case today. Catherine gathered up all of her courage and went on stage nailing her performance. Without courage Catherine would have never been able to accomplish one of her largest goals. COurage is a universal attribute that can be expressed in many different ways. As seen in both To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee and The Help by Kathryn stockett, courage is when someone persists on following through no matter how many odds are stacked against them.
In the novel “Break of day,” Palmer shows the readers different themes shown with the subject’s bravery, family and death. This essay will explore that family is a powerful thing to have, that bravery is always in everyone, and that the possibility of death is always there. First theme is bravery. The definition of bravery says, “Courageous behaviour or character.” With this information, it only tells people that everyone has to be amazing or strong to be brave, this is not true.