He and Jane reside in Alabama. Before his captivity, Jeremiah Denton believed in God. But after surviving nearly eight years of torture, beatings, isolation and starvation at the hands of the North Vietnamese, Denton knew there was a God. Denton, a retired Navy rear admiral, former Alabama senator and ex-prisoner of war, was in Fayetteville this week, where he met with an international humanitarian aid advisory group that bears his name. He toured Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base and talked with groups about the principles he believes made America great.
War is violence.
But when the alternative is worse, we must go to war. Liberating people from enslavement is worth the price of war, to Denton. He has paid dearly for his beliefs. Thursday evening, Denton, who is 73, retired to his quarters on post and tried to rest up before leaving for a dinner party. Denton is a stately man, with prominent eyebrows and a ready smile.