Richard A . Stratton Captain Richard Allen Stratton USN ( born October 14 , 1931 ) is a retired Naval aviator ( No . V - 11444 ) and clinical social worker . He served as a lieutenant commander during the Vietnam War from 1966 to 1973 . He was attached to the USS Ticonderoga ( CVA - 14 ) / Air Wing 19 / Attack Squadron VA - 192 flying 22 combat missions earning two air medals and the Combat Action Ribbon . After capture by the North Vietnamese in January 5 , 1967 , he served with the Fourth Allied POW Wing , Hanoi , DRVN . He earned the Silver Star for his valor and leadership while a prisoner of war . His post service career was as a clinical social worker licensed to practice in Rhode Island and Florida and a national certified addiction counselor , Level I . He served as the Chairman , Department of Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee on Prisoners of War from 1989 to 1995 . Early life and education . Stratton was born on October 14 , 1931 , in Quincy , Massachusetts . His father was Charles Arthur Stratton ( 1902 – 1975 ) of South Boston , Massachusetts , a veteran of WW I ( U . S . Navy ) and WW II ( Massachusetts State Guard ) . His mother was Mary Loretta ( Hoar ) Stratton ( 1903 – 1989 ) of Somerville , Massachusetts . His brother was Charles A . Stratton Jr . ( 1930 – 1988 ) , a Veteran of the Korean War Era ( U . S . Marine Corps ) . Stratton attended the Quincy , Massachusetts public schools ( 1937 – 1948 ) and Our Lady of Hope Minor Seminary ( 1949 – 1951 ) , Newburg , New York . He joined the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate in 1951 , completing his novitiate in Ipswich , Massachusetts in ( 1952 ) . He studied philosophy at the Oblate College , Washington , D . C . ( 1952 – 1954 ) . Leaving the seminary he graduated from Georgetown University ( 1955 ) with AB Degree in History / Government . He earned a MA Degree ( International Relations ) from Stanford University ( 1964 ) and a Master of Social Work Degree from the Rhode Island College School of Social Work ( 1988 ) . He developed an early interest in aviation with initial visits in the mid - 1930s to Dennison ’ s Airport ( Squantum ) , Quincy , Massachusetts , the home of the Harvard Aero Club and host to such luminaries as Amelia Earhart . During his high school years this interest was further developed as he closely observed the intensive training activities of aircraft based at the Naval Air Station Squantum , ( Quincy Massachusetts ) during WW II , observed aircraft carrier launchings at the Fore River Shipyard ( Quincy , Massachusetts ) and maintained contact with neighbors then serving in the Armed Forces . Military career . Pre - Vietnam . During high school Stratton enlisted in the Massachusetts National Guard ( 1947 – 1948 ) [ 211 Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron ( Mechanized ) – First Corps Cadets ] . He served as mortar squad leader and was discharged as a private first class to enter the minor seminary . Upon graduation from college ( 1955 ) he enlisted in the Navy as a naval aviation cadet commencing the U . S . Naval School of Preflight with class 19 - 55 . He was commissioned ensign , USNR - R upon completing Preflight . He received his flight training with CNABATRA in the Pensacola Naval complex , making his initial carrier qualification on the USS Saipan ( CVL - 48 ) in the North American SNJ - 5 on July 27 , 1956 . North American SNJ “ Texan ” Official Navy Photo He commenced his advanced flight training with CNAVANTRA , Corpus Christi , Texas , flying out of NAAS Beeville , Texas , in TV - 2 , F9F - 2 and F9F - 8 aircraft . Upon receiving his wings in 1957 , he received a regular commission and was retained in ATU - 203 as an instructor . In 1958 he received orders to Attack Squadron Ninety - Four ( CVA - 61 / CAG - 9 / VA - 94 ) home ported at NAS Alameda , California . Flying the FJ - 4 ( Fury ) and theA4D ( Skyhawk ) series aircraft he made two deployments to the Far East on board the USS Ranger attached to Carrier Air Group Nine . His squadron nom de guerre was “ Cyrano ” . From 1962 to 1964 he was assigned to the NROTC Unit Stanford for postgraduate studies in International Relations under Professor James T . Watkins IV . He accomplished his proficiency flying at NAS Moffett Field , Sunnyvale , California , flying TV2 and SNB aircraft . Vietnam War ( 1964 - 1975 . Pre - deployment . In 1964 Stratton was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and assigned as Aide and Executive Assistant to the Deputy Director , Joint Strategic Planning Staff , SAC , Offutt AFB , Nebraska . He maintained his aviation qualifications flying USAF T - 33 aircraft out of Offutt . Upon completion of that tour of duty in 1966 he was ordered to VA - 125 , the light attack replacement air group , Lemoore , California , for refresher training in the A4 Skyhawk . That summer he joined Attack Squadron One Ninety Two ( CVA - 14 / CAW - 19 / VA - 192 as Maintenance Officer and light attack aviator . In October 1966 , His squadron nom de guerre was “ The Beak ” . VA - 192 joined Carrier Air Wing Nineteen on board the USS Ticonderoga for a deployment to the Tonkin Gulf and South China Sea . He left his family in Hanford , California , on October 11 , 1966 . During the squadron ’ s first forty days on the line in combat , he accumulated 21 combat missions . Prisoner of war and “ The Stratton Incident ” . Stratton piloted a Douglas A - 4 Skyhawk on January 5 , 1967 , as part of an armed reconnaissance mission over Thanh Hoa Province to bomb the My Trach ferry . When the ferry could not be found , Stratton spotted a set of barges one mile further upriver and rolled in to attack the craft with rockets . Stratton was forced to eject from his plane when debris was ingested into the engine . He was captured shortly after parachuting to the ground . [ 1 ] Despite the fact that North Vietnam had marched captive POWs through the streets of Hanoi surrounded by a jeering abusive population , the State Department did not feel that it had enough proof to accuse the North Vietnamese of abusing the prisoners . There was enough evidence however to convince aviators that they would be subjected to “ cruel and unusual punishment ” . Having obtained a visa while in Cuba , American photojournalist Lee Lockwood arranged a trip to North Vietnam in 1967 , making him the first Western journalist to visit the country in nearly a decade . While there , the North Vietnamese presented a confession read by Stratton , attacking U . S . military action in the region . Lockwood described Stratton as " looking like a puppet " whose " eyes were empty " . The photos that Lockwood took on the trip became the material for " North Vietnam Under Siege " , an article that appeared in the April 7 , 1967 , edition of Life magazine , which included a widely distributed picture of Stratton in prison garb bowing deeply as ordered by a North Vietnamese officer . [ 2 ] [ 3 ] Robert J . McCloskey of the U . S . Department of State cited Lockwood ' s material about Stratton as evidence that North Vietnam was brainwashing prisoners for propaganda purposes . [ 4 ] In the Department of Defense history of the Vietnam POW situation , “ The Long Road Home ” , the author , Vernon Davis , in a section labeled “ The Stratton Incident ” recounts the world wide revulsion engendered by the incident and the eventual decision of the USG to go public with POW mistreatment . Stratton was not brainwashed or drugged . The tape recorded “ statement ” was the product of torture . Stratton used the Lockwood press conference to perform in such a way that it would raise doubt and confusion regarding the so - called confession to the discredit of his captors . His nom de guerre while attached to the 4th Allied POW Wing in Hanoi changed frequently to confuse his captors : “ Dick ” ; “ Penis ” , “ Wiz ” ( Wizard ) . He served under the direction of Cdr . James Bond Stockdale ( MOH ) , the Senior Officer Present - Navy . A full account of Stratton ’ s prison experience is contained in Scott Blakey ’ s biography . “ Prisoner at War ” and his oral history , U . S . Naval Institute . Operation Homecoming . Stratton was released on March 4 , 1973 , at 1425 to Col . James Dennitt USAF at Hanoi ’ s Gia Lam Airport as part of the 2nd DRV Increment , Operation Homecoming , consisting of 108 RPOWs on three flights . He had been a prisoner for 2 , 251 days . While a prisoner , he had been promoted to the rank of commander . After being processed at the Clark AFB Hospital , PI , he arrived back in the United States on March 8 , 1973 . He was awarded the Silver Star , the Legion of Merit with V , the Bronze Star Medal with V , the Navy Commendation Medal with V , the Purple Heart and the Prisoner of War Medal for service as a prisoner of war . Completing convalescent leave , he refreshed in his type aircraft ( A4 ) at NAS Lemoore , California , and then reported for duty as Executive Officer , Naval Plant Representative Office , ( Strategic Systems Project Office ) , Lockheed Missiles and Space Company , Sunnyvale , California . He was selected for captain during this assignment . Post Vietnam War . Stratton was assigned as Commanding Officer , Navy Recruiting District New York , East Meadow LI , New York , in 1975 . From 1977 to 1979 he was Commander , Recruiting Area Five , Great Lakes NTS , North Chicago , Illinois . From 1979 to 1981 he was Deputy for Operations , U . S . Naval Academy , Annapolis , Maryland . His final active duty assignment was as Director , Naval Academy Preparatory School , NETC , Newport , Rhode Island , from 1981 to 1986 . Post retirement – second career . Upon his retirement in 1986 Stratton matriculated at the Rhode Island School of Social Work in pursuit of a career as a clinical social worker . He graduated in 1988 , became licensed to practice in Rhode Island and specialized in children and families , addictions and PTSD . He qualified as a member of the Academy of Certified Social Workers and a national certified addiction counselor , Level I . Moving to Florida in 1993 , he became licensed to practice in Florida and worked as a contract counselor retiring in 2001 after four years counseling sailors and their families at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay , Georgia , and Naval Station Mayport , Florida . Family . Stratton and Alice Marie ( Robertson ) Stratton ( 1934 - ) were married at the NAS Alameda , California , chapel April 4 , 1959 , with Dennis Kerrigan OMI as the celebrant . Alice , a graduate of the University of Michigan ( MSW ; 1957 ) and the University of Maryland ( MS ; 1982 ) , is a career clinical social worker and was the first Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Personnel and Families ( 1985 – 1989 ) , appointed by President Ronald Reagan and serving under Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs , Chase Untermeyer . Their oldest son Patrick Thomas Stratton ( 1962 - ) is a graduate of the US Naval Academy ( 1987 ) , a former Marine and veteran of the Persian Gulf War . Michael Francis Stratton ( 1963 - ) , their second son , is also a graduate of the US Naval Academy ( 1986 ) , a former Marine and veteran of the Persian Gulf War . Their third son , Charles Arthur Stratton ( 1965 - ) is a graduate of St . Anselm College ( 1988 ) and is 4th Degree Knight of Columbus . Richard and Alice have six granddaughters . Additional facts . Stratton holds a FAA Commercial Pilot License ( Single & Multi - Engine Land , Instrument and Glider ratings ) . He has accumulated over 3 , 000 single - engine jet flight hours and 300 carrier landings . He is a member of the following professional organizations : Association of Naval Aviation ( # 2479 ) ; Order of Daedalians ( Named – 2153 ) ; Quiet Birdmen ( # 20441 ) ; The Tailhook Association ( # 2112 ) ; Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association ; Naval Aviation Museum Foundation ; Naval Academy Alumni Association ( Associate ) . He is a member of numerous veterans ’ organizations . Notes and references . Notes . 1 . ^ a b Stratton , Richard Allen " Dick " , POWNetwork . org . Accessed August 8 , 2010 . 2 . ^ Fox , Margalit . " Lee Lockwood Dies at 78 ; Captured Life Under Communism " , The New York Times , August 7 , 2010 . Accessed August 8 , 2010 . 3 . ^ Lockwood , Lee " North Vietnam Under Siege " , Life ( magazine ) , April 7 , 1967 . Accessed August 8 , 2010 . 4 . ^ Sheehan , Neil . " Hanoi Is Brainwashing American Prisoners To Obtain Statements Attacking U . S . Policies , The Telegraph ( Nashua ) , April 4 , 1967 . Accessed August 8 , 2010 . Documentary films . American Film Foundation PBS Discovery Channel Resources . Anchor Press / Doubleday Hoover Institution of War , Revolution and Peace , Richard A . Stratton papers 1953 - 2002 : Stratton , Richard A . 1931 - ; Hoover Archives # 75044 http : / / searchworks . stanford . edu / view / 4088723 Library of Congress Richard Allen Stratton Collection ; ( AFC / 2001 / 001 / 31240 ) , Veterans History Project , American Folklife Center , Library of Congress https : / / archive . is / 20121213113536 / lcweb2 . loc . gov / diglib / vhp / bib / 31240 P . O . W . Network Veteran tributes U . S . Naval Institute - oral history Bibliography . Davis , Vernon E . Hubbell , John G . in association with Jones , Andrew and Tomlinson , Kenneth Y . McGrath , John M . “ Mike ” Rochester , Stuart I and Kiley , Frederick Rochester , Stuart I . Wyatt , Frederick & Barbara