LCDR James Joseph Connell
July 15, 1966, VA-55, CVW-14, USS RANGER: Lieutenant James Joseph Connell flying A-4E Skyhawk BuNo. 151024 side number NK 410 was shot down by AAA anti-aircraft over North Vietnam. LT Connell ejected and was captured and made Prisoner-Of-War by the North Vietnamese. Promoted to LCDR while in captivity, LCDR Connell was killed by the North Vietnamese during captivity. His remains were repatriated 06 March 1974.  to JAMES JOSEPH CONNELL Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy For extraordinary heroism as a Prisoner of War in North Vietnam from April 1968 to June 1969. Under constant pressure from the North Vietnamese in their attempt to gain military information and propoganda material, he experienced severe torture with ropes and was kept in almost continuous solitary confinement. As they persisted in their hostile treatment of him, he continued to resist by feigning facial muscle spasms, incoherency of speech, and crippled arms with loss of feeling in his fingers. The Vietnamese, convinced of his plight, applied shock treatments in an attempt to improve his condition. However, he chose not to indicate improvement for fear of further cruelty. Isolated in a corner of the camp near a work area visited daily by other prisoners, he established and maintained covert communications with changing groups of POW's, thereby serving as a main point of exchange of intelligence information. By his exceptional courage, determination, and resourcefulness in this most difficult line of resistance, he reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service and the United States Armed Forces.  ON THE WALL: Panel 09E Line 022 Virtual Wall - LCDR Connell. |
