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(#7) After The War, Denton Continued To Serve His Country
Denton was promoted to Rear Admiral and served as such in the United States military until his retirement in 1977. In 1980, Denton ran for Senate and won. He ran on a platform of stronger national defense, and he was Alabama's first Republican Senator since the Reconstruction, as well as the first formal admiral to be elected to the position. Denton served from 1981-1987.
Denton passed on March 28, 2014, at the age of 89. He is remembered for his bravery, determination, and leadership throughout his life.
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(#10) Not Every Soldier Who Spent Time In The Hanoi Hilton Came Home To The Kind Of Welcome And Success That Denton Experienced
The 1973 photo that supposedly captures the unbridled joy that the families of returned POWs from Vietnam experienced, "Burst of Joy" (pictured above) by Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Slava Veder, tells a very different story than Denton's return and rise to prominence in American politics.
For Lt. Col. Robert Stirm, the POW in the photo, coming home meant returning to joyful children and a smiling wife - one who had just penned a letter with her intent to divorce him in it. To read more about the truth behind the photo, continue here.
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(#2) Despite Imminent Torture, Denton Refused To Denounce His Country
In the video, Jeremiah Denton bravely refused to speak out against the United States, despite knowing he would be tortured for doing so.
When asked about his opinion of the United States's actions, Denton 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 is, I believe in it—yes sir. I’m a member of that government and it is my job to support it, and I will as long as I live.”
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(#1) Commander Jeremiah Denton Used His Knowledge Of Morse Code To Convey A Crucial Message
Jeremiah Denton Jr., a United States Naval Aviator, was shot down over Vietnam on July 18, 1965. He was captured and kept as a prisoner of war for seven years and seven months - much of this time was spent in solitary confinement. Nearly a year into his imprisonment, Denton was forced to conduct a televised interview with his captors as propaganda.
In this interview, Denton used his knowledge of Morse code to blink the word T-O-R-T-U-R-E, alerting the United States to the fact that American prisoners of war were being tortured by their North Vietnamese captors. Even under extreme duress, Denton was able to communicate vital information using just his eyes.
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(#6) Denton Was A Leader, Even Under The Worst Of Circumstances - And He Devised Communication Systems Under The Noses Of The Vietnamese
As one of the highest-ranking officers among his fellow prisoners, Denton felt a sense of duty to take charge, and he did so willingly and with force. In a 1973 interview with the New York Times, Denton said, "I put out the policy that they were not to succumb to threats, but must stand up and say no." He continued, "We forced them to be brutal to us."
He also devised systems of communication that the North Vietnamese captors would not pick up on, such as coughs and sneezes; because the men were all in such poor health, the Vietnamese didn't pick up on the discreet communication.
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(#8) Denton Was In Some Pretty Famous Company At The Hanoi Hilton
The POW camp where Denton was held has been nicknamed, rather sardonically, the "Hanoi Hilton" by some of those who endured years of torture there. Another notable figure in US history and politics had a stay at the Hanoi Hilton - Republican Senator and once-presidential-hopeful John McCain. McCain spent six years as a POW at the Hilton, where he was tortured regularly and given more than two years in solitary confinement in an attempt to break him. He wasn't broken.
After his first year in the prison, McCain was abruptly offered unconditional release in 1968 but refused to accept it before other American prisoners were also let go.
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About This Tool
The Vietnam War was a special and brutal war in history. Due to the rapid increase in the number of American POWs, the Vietnamese government began to use them purposefully to create international public opinion and has cruelly tortured them. The U.S. government began to focus on investigating Vietnam's torture of American POWs because of a public TV speech by an American POW.
Jeremiah Denton endured the harsh environment and solitary confinement for 8 years, and never conceded for abuse and torture, he finally used Morse code to convey a message to the U.S. government in a TV interview in a very secretive manner. The random tool shares 10 details about this historical event.
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