Stockdale, Perot’s running mate, dies at 81

Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, July 5, 2005

Retired Vice Adm. James Stockdale, a former prisoner of war and Ross Perot’s running mate in the 1992 presidential race, has died, the Navy announced Tuesday. He was 81.

The Navy did not provide a cause of death, but said he was suffering from Alz-heimer’s disease. He died at his home in Coronado, Calif.

In the 1992 presidential election, Stockdale became independent candidate Perot’s vice presidential running mate, initially as a stand-in on the ticket but later as the candidate.

When Perot ran again in 1996 as the candidate of his Reform Party, Stockdale had rejoined the Republican Party.

Stockdale was born in Abingdon, Ill., and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1947.

During the Vietnam War, he was a Navy fighter pilot based on the USS Oriskany and flew 201 missions before he was shot down on Sept. 9, 1965. He became the highest-ranking naval officer captured during the war, the Navy said.

He endured more than 71/2 years as a prisoner.