Jeremiah Andrew Denton, Jr. was a Rear Admiral and Naval Aviator in the United
States Navy and, following his retirement from naval service, was a
United States Senator from the state of Alabama.
He spent almost eight years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam and
later wrote a book that became a film about those experiences. Denton is best
known from this period of his life for the 1966 televised press conference in
which he was forced to participate as an American POW by his North Vietnamese
captors. He used the opportunity to communicate successfully and to confirm
for the first time to the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence and Americans that
American POWs were being tortured in North Vietnam. He repeatedly blinked his
eyes in Morse code during the interview, spelling out the word "T-O-R-T-U-R-E".
Early life and military career Denton was born in Mobile, Alabama, the
oldest of three brothers, and the son of Jeremiah, Sr. and Irene Denton.
Denton attended McGill Institute and Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama.
In June 1943, he entered the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis,
Maryland, and graduated three years later in the accelerated Class of 1947.
His 34-year naval career included service on a variety of ships and on
aircraft, including airships. His principal field of endeavor was naval
operations. He also served as a test pilot, flight instructor, and commanding
officer of an attack squadron flying the A-6 Intruder.
In 1957, he was credited with revolutionizing naval strategy and
tactics for nuclear war as architect of the "Haystack Concept." This strategy
called for concealing aircraft carriers from radar by intermingling with
commercial shipping and avoiding formations suggestive of a naval fleet.
The strategy was simulated in maneuvers and demonstrated effectiveness, allowing
two aircraft carrier fleets thirty-five simulated atomic launches before
aggressor aircraft and submarines could repel them. He went on to serve on the
staff of the Commander, U.S. Sixth Fleet at the rank of Commander as Fleet Air
Defense Officer. Denton graduated from the Armed Forces
Staff College and the Naval War College, where his thesis on international
affairs received top honors by earning the prestigious President's Award. In
1964, he received the degree of Master of Arts in International Affairs from
George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Prisoner of war Denton served as a United States Naval
Aviator during the Vietnam War and was the Commanding Officer of Attack
Squadron Seventy-Five aboard the aircraft carrier USS Independence. On 18
July 1965, then-Commander Denton was flying an A-6A Intruder off the
Independence with Lieutenant Bill Tschudy, his navigator/bombardier,
leading twenty-eight planes on a bombing mission. They ejected when their jet was
shot down over the city of Thanh Hoa in North Vietnam, and they were captured
and taken prisoner by the North Vietnamese.
Denton and Tschudy were both held as prisoners of war for almost eight years,
four of which were spent in solitary confinement. Denton was notable for his
leadership during the Hanoi March in July 1966, when he and over 50 American
prisoners were paraded through the streets of Hanoi and beaten by North
Vietnamese civilians. Denton is best known from this period of his life for
the 1966 televised press conference in which he was forced to participate as an
American POW by his North Vietnamese captors. He used the opportunity to
communicate successfully and to confirm for the first time to the U.S. Office of
Naval Intelligence and Americans that American POWs were being tortured in
North Vietnam. He repeatedly blinked his eyes in Morse code during the interview,
spelling out "T-O-R-T-U-R-E". He was also questioned about his support for
the U.S. war in Vietnam, to which he replied: "I don't know what is
happening, but whatever the position of my government is, I support it fully.
Whatever the position of my government, I believe in it, yes sir. I am a member
of that government, and it is my job to support it, and I will as long as I
live." While a prisoner, he was promoted to the rank of Captain. Denton was later
awarded the Navy Cross and several other decorations, mostly for heroism while a
prisoner of war. Denton was put in the "Hanoi Hilton" and
the "Zoo" prison and prison camp and "Little Vegas" and "Alcatraz" prisons.
In "Alcatraz", he became part of a group of American POWs known as the "Alcatraz
Gang". The group consisted of James Mulligan, George Thomas Coker, George
McKnight, James Stockdale, Harry Jenkins, Sam Johnson, Howard Rutledge,
Robert Shumaker, Ronald Storz and Nels Tanner. They were put in "Alcatraz" and
solitary confinement to separate them from other POWs because their strong
resistance led other POWs in resisting their captors. "Alcatraz" was a special
facility in a courtyard behind the North Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense,
located about one mile away from Hoa Lo Prison. Each of the American POWs spent
day and night in windowless 3-by-9-foot cells mostly in irons.
On February 12, 1973, both Denton and Tschudy were released in Hanoi by the
North Vietnamese along with numerous other American POWs during Operation
Homecoming. Stepping off the jet back home in uniform, Denton said: "We are
honored to have had the opportunity to serve our country under difficult
circumstances. We are profoundly grateful to our Commander-in-Chief and
to our nation for this day. God bless America." The speech has a prominent
place in the 1987 documentary, Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam.
Post captivity Denton was hospitalized briefly at the
Naval Hospital Portsmouth, Virginia, and then was assigned to the staff of
Commander, Naval Air Forces, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. In January 1974, Denton
became the commandant of the Armed Forces Staff College, now known as the
Joint Forces Staff College. He stepped down as commandant in April 1975 and
continued to work at the college until June 1977. He finished his active duty
service at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, and retired from the Navy on
November 1, 1977 with the rank of Rear Admiral. He wrote his book in 1976, When
Hell was in Session, detailing his detention as an American POW in North
Vietnam. The book was later turned into a television movie of the same title,
starring Hal Holbrook as Denton. He accepted a position with the Christian
Broadcasting Network as a consultant to CBN founder and friend, Pat Robertson,
from 1978 to 1980. During his time with CBN, both Denton and Robertson
repeatedly expressed support for the Contra forces in Nicaragua. In 1981, he
founded and chaired the National Forum Foundation. Through his National Forum
Foundation, Denton arranged shipments of donated goods to countries in need of
aid. Political career
Denton ran as a Republican for a U.S. Senate seat from his home state of
Alabama in 1980. He first easily defeated former U.S. Congressman
Armistead Selden in the Republican primary. Selden was the candidate of
choice of the Republican establishment in the state. He then achieved a
surprise victory with 50.15 percent of the vote in November over Democrat Jim
E. Folsom, Jr., who himself had defeated the incumbent, Donald W. Stewart, in the
Democratic primary. In doing so, Denton became the only retired admiral to be
elected to the United States Senate. He was the first Republican to be popularly
elected in the state since the direct election of U.S. Senators began in 1914.
He was also the first Republican senator since Reconstruction to represent
Alabama in the U.S. Senate, and the first Catholic to be elected to
statewide office in Alabama. In the U.S. Senate, he compiled a conservative
voting record. He was featured in a 1981 article in Time Magazine called "The
Admiral from Alabama". In 1986, he narrowly lost his bid for
reelection to 7th District Congressman Richard Shelby receiving 49.72 percent
of the vote. Shelby later became a Republican in 1994.
Personal life In 2007, his wife, Jane, died. They had
been married for sixty-one years. Denton died of complications from a
heart ailment at a hospice in Virginia Beach on March 28, 2014. He was 89 years
old. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery with his wife Jane.
References External links
Biography of Senator Denton in the Biographical Directory of the US
Congress Appearances on C-SPAN
Admiral Jeremiah Denton Foundation Video of Denton's POW interview from
U.S. National Archives – To find this segment specifically, choose Contents >
Scenes From Hell > Denton. Jeremiah Denton Jr. at the Encyclopedia
of Alabama http:www.snopes.comreligion/denton.asp
Article on RADM Denton not being allowed to speak before California Assembly on
July 4, 2004 Funeral Slide Show