James Bond Stockdale (his middle name was his mother’s maiden name), joined the US Naval Academy as a 20-year-old in 1943. After serving on several vessels, he was accepted for flight training in 1949, completing it in 1954. In 1959 he was sent to Stanford University as a 38-year-old naval pilot to study for a Master’s Degree in international relations.
Stockdale became interested in philosophy, and especially in the ancient philosopher Epictetus, in his final year at university in 1962. He had been in the navy for more than 20 years already and had, he recalled, scarcely left the cockpit. Encouraged by a professor, Stockdale read the Enchiridion of Epictetus (a handbook of stoic behaviour written in the first century BCE) and it would be a profound influence on his thoughts and deeds for the rest of his life. No matter where he was stationed, by his bedside were a copy of Epictetus, Xenophon’s Memorabilia (a more accessible account of Socrates’ life than in Plato’s dialogues), and Homer’s epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey. He credited Epictetus with changing his life and with his survival.
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Bu hikaye History of War dergisinin Issue 106, 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
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THE OTHER OPERATION OVERLORD D-DAY'S GHOST ARMY
Historian Taylor Downing discusses the cunning use of intrigue and deception during Operation Fortitude
D-DAY LANDING CRAFT
Over 4,000 Allied landing craft took part in the Normandy Landings with a huge range of designs created for specific roles and capabilities
BEHIND ENEMY LINES
Spearheading the invasion of occupied France in 1944 were a small number of Special Forces soldiers dropped deep into enemy territory. Among them was a young Londoner, fresh from training here he reveals how he survived guerrilla warfare in France and beyond as part of the fledgling Special Air Service
JIMMIE MONTEITH
In the crucible of battle at Omaha Beach on D-Day, this officer of the famed 1st Infantry Division earned his nation’s highest honour at the cost of his life
KLEINKAMPFVERBÄNDE - GERMANY'S COUNTER-ATTACKS
As Allied forces crossed the Channel and stormed into Normandy, Hitler's navy fought back using a deadly new breed of maritime weaponry
STORMING GOLD BEACH
War veteran Ron Peet helped assault Gold Beach on D-Day Here he shares his experiences
UNDERGROUND WREN
Deep in the bowels of Fort Southwick, radio operator Marie Scott was one of the first to hear reports as Operation Overlord got underway, passing critical communications between the men on the beaches and high command
MINESWEEPER OFF NORMANDY
After helping clear the path to France, Royal Navy veteran Claude Sealey and his crewmates experienced a deadly encounter with their own countrymen
THE RECCE RIDER OF RANVILLE
After fencing behind enemy lines in Normandy, William Bill’ Gladden conducted us reconnaissance on his motorcycle
SWORD BEACH
The easternmost sector of the 6 June Normandy Landings was a mostly British affair, and Saw some of the biggest territorial gains of the first day of the Allied invasion