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North Island to honor Stockdale with A-4

SAN DIEGO — War veterans will join Navy officials and local dignitaries on Saturday at North Island Naval Air Station, Calif., to dedicate a Vietnam-era jet in honor of the late Vice Adm. James B. Stockdale.

The restored A-4C Skyhawk jet will soar from a pedestal over a small park at the air station’s main entrance at 3rd Street and Alameda Boulevard. Rear Adm. Len Hering, who commands Navy Region-Southwest, and Capt. Anthony Gaiani, Naval Base Coronado’s commander, will attend the 10 a.m. ceremony.

The main gate, which last year was expanded with extra lanes and separate entry and exit gates, bears the name of Stockdale, who died July 5, 2005, at his Coronado home.

Stockdale, one of the military’s longest-held prisoners of war from the Vietnam War, received the Medal of Honor for his leadership, resistance and sacrifice as the senior naval officer in the POW camps.

The jet bears the tail number - bureau No. 151134 AH 352 - of the A-4C jet that then-Cmdr. Stockdale piloted from the aircraft carrier Oriskany when he was shot down Sept. 9, 1965, the day he was captured and became a prisoner of war. It is painted in the gray color scheme of Navy Navy Attack Squadron 163, nicknamed the "Saints."

Stockdale, who commanded Carrier Air Wing 16 when he was captured, was released Feb. 12, 1973, and went on to serve as president of the Naval War College and later authored several articles and books. In 1992, he was a vice presidential candidate with Texas executive H. Ross Perot in a very short political career.

Restoration of the A-4 Skyhawk was supported by donations from the USS Midway Museum in San Diego.