Richard A. Stratton
Richard Allen Stratton is a retired Naval Aviator 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 /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 on 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 of the 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 of South Boston, Massachusetts, a veteran of WW I and WW II. His mother was Mary Loretta Stratton of Somerville, Massachusetts. His brother was Charles A. Stratton Jr., a Veteran of the Korean War Era.Stratton attended the Quincy, Massachusetts public schools and Our Lady of Hope Minor Seminary, Newburg, New York. He joined the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate in 1951, completing his novitiate in Ipswich, Massachusetts, in. He studied philosophy at the Oblate College, Washington, D.C.. Leaving the seminary he graduated from Georgetown University with AB degree in History/Government. He earned a Master of Arts degree from Stanford University and a Master of Social Work degree from the Rhode Island College School of Social Work.
He developed an early interest in aviation with initial visits in the mid-1930s to Dennison's Airport, 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, during WW II, observed aircraft carrier launchings at the Fore River Shipyard 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 . He served as mortar squad leader and was discharged as a private first class to enter the minor seminary.Upon graduation from college 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 in the North American SNJ-5 on July 27, 1956.
He commenced his advanced flight training with CNAVANTRA, Corpus Christi, Texas, flying out of Naval Air Station Chase Field, 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 home ported at NAS Alameda, California. Flying the FJ-4 and then the A4D Skyhawk he made two deployments to the Far East on board the attached to Carrier Air Group Nine. His squadron callsign 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 TV-2 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, NAS Lemoore, California, for refresher training in the A4 Skyhawk.That summer he joined Attack Squadron One Ninety Two as Maintenance Officer and light attack aviator. In October 1966, His callsign was "The Beak". VA-192 joined Carrier Air Wing Nineteen on board the for a deployment to the Gulf of Tonkin 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 was flying an A-4 Skyhawk on January 5, 1967, as part of an armed reconnaissance mission over Thanh Hóa 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. According to Stratton he was shot down when the missile he fired from his wing dropped away as it was designed however failed to ignite its engine until it was behind him. Then when the missile engine started the heat seeker locked onto his exhaust trail and he shot himself down. When telling this story he chuckled about adding this to his record of number of aircraft shot down. He was captured shortly after parachuting to the ground.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. 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.
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 worldwide revulsion engendered by the incident and the eventual decision of the USG to go public with POW mistreatment. A 1978 book by Scott Blakely, Prisoner at War: The Survival of Commander Richard A Stratton,, explores the bowing incident and its complicated history.
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". He served under the direction of Cdr. James Bond Stockdale, 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 Hanoi's Gia Lam Airport as part of the 2nd DRV Increment, Operation Homecoming, consisting of 108 POWs 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 Air Base Hospital, the Philippines, 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 the A4 at NAS Lemoore, California, and then reported for duty as Executive Officer, Naval Plant Representative Office,, Lockheed Missiles and Space Company, Sunnyvale, California. He was selected for captain during this assignment.