JEREMIAH DENTON, 1924-2014

The facts you are about to read are lifted from an article written by Fred Barnes in 2014, the year this remarkable man died at the age of 89.
Jeremiah was a Navy pilot when he was shot down in Vietnam and became a POW.  Denton remained a prisoner for 7 years and 7 months.  He defied his captors and suffered right along with those he led at the Hanoi Hilton.  He spent four years in solitary confinement, beaten brutally many times but continued to defy his captors year after year and suffered right along with those he led.
When he and the others were released in 1973 he was the first man off the plane.  He was smiling.  His words were, "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."
In 1966 Denton was interviewed by his captors for a propaganda film.  He was asked what did he think about the American bombing campaign?  "I don't know what is happening, but whatever the position of my government is, I believe in it...and I will as long as I live. "As he spoke he blinked the word "t-o-r-t-u-r-e" in Morse code.  For that defiance he was thrown into a cell called Alcatraz.
In 1980 he ran for the Senate seat from Alabama.  Republicans feared he could not win.  He won by 40,000 votes.....Medicineman!