Thursday, July 07, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

NORM: Author outlines POW's courage

James Stockdale was a prisoner of war in a compound nicknamed "Las Vegas."

Medal of Honor recipient Adm. James Stockdale will be remembered by fellow prisoners of war for his bravery and morale-boosting efforts in a North Vietnamese prison compound nicknamed "Las Vegas."

Stockdale, who died Tuesday at age 81 in Coronado, Calif., was imprisoned and tortured for seven and a half years at Hoa Lo Prison, where he and his fellow captives communicated by tapping on the walls between cells in Morse code.

"They would pass messages through the walls, and Stockdale would tap out inspirational phrases to keep up the morale of the men, as he was the highest-ranking Navy officer held captive," said local author Jack Sheehan, who is writing a book titled "The Class of '47."

The book, due out next spring, focuses on five members of that Navy class: Stockdale, former President Carter; former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff William J. Crowe; Jack Stephens, former chairman of Augusta National and owner of Stephens Group; and Adm. Stansfield Turner, director of the Central Intelligence Agency under Carter.

Sheehan, in an e-mail, said the American POWs came to call their compound "Las Vegas" and named their cells after well-known casinos to soften the hardships they endured.

"Thus it became known after a while among the prisoners that Stockdale was housed in Thunderbird 6 West. A prisoner named Dave Hatcher was in Stardust 4. Other hotel names used were the Mint, the Riviera, the Golden Nugget, and the Desert Inn.

"He was their prize, and they did everything they could to get secrets out of him, but he never buckled an inch," Sheehan said later by phone. "He was probably the most heroic war hero of the 20th century."

Sheehan's plans are to attend services on the USS Ronald Reagan, stationed at San Diego. Stockdale will be buried at Annapolis, Md.

Elixir of the gods

The Killers have U2 to thank for a whole new hangover experience.

Brandon Flowers, the Killers lead singer, told an interviewer at London's Live 8 concert that the Irish rock group recently sent a welcoming note and the ingredients of a stout cocktail.

Flowers said The Killers, who opened for U2 at a concert in Poland on Tuesday, had a serious case of throbbing temples after testing the drink, named Bono's Black Velvet.

The recipe: "Half-fill a champagne flute with Guinness. Top with champagne and stir. The whole is not greater than the sum of the parts, but the hangover is. Serves one"

The Scene and Heard

A spokesman for ICE nightclub, responding to an item here on Monday, says the purchase of the club's land by W Hotels doesn't mean any imminent redevelopment of the property. "They are new landowners, but we have three years left on our lease, and we are booking a major talent for New Year's Eve, so we're not going anywhere," said Marc Jay, director of public relations. "In the last two months, we've booked seven of the top 10 deejays in the world," and the club, he said, "will remain the driving force behind the ever growing electronic music scene in Las Vegas." ... Rick Garson, co-executive producer of "The Las Vegas Show," is back from Rome, where he produced Italy's Live 8 concert.

Sightings

Las Vegas dancer Yvette Brown, getting bounced from the NBC reality show "I Want to be a Hilton" during the third episode on Tuesday. A graceful exit, it wasn't. She wished the remaining 10 contestants "good luck, because I don't think they're going to get that far in high society." ... TV personality Brooke Burke, hosting the Paradise Poker party Wednesday at Little Buddha in the Palms. Attendees included "Survivor" newlyweds Rob Mariano and Amber Brkich. ... ESPN reporter Hank Goldberg, dining at Michael's in the Barbary Coast.

The Punch Line

"Tour de forcep: a long and difficult birth" -- Globe & Mail (Toronto)

Norm Clarke can be reached at 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com.