The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer the USS Stockdale returned to its home port in San Diego on Thursday, April 10. As it pulled into Naval Base San Diego after a seventh-month deployment, two flags billowed in the wind: an American flag and a black and white one with a very familiar gun-adorned “007” on it.
It’s not a random flag flown by James Bond enthusiasts. Instead, it’s a cheeky nod to the ship’s namesake, Medal of Honor recipient Vice Adm. James Bond Stockdale.
Stockdale joined the Navy in 1946, serving as a naval aviator at the start of the Vietnam War. While commanding a carrier air wing in 1965, his Douglas A-4 Skyhawk was hit and Stockdale was forced to eject. He landed in North Vietnam and was quickly captured. He was taken to the Hỏa Lò Prison, infamously known among American troops as the “Hanoi Hilton,” where he was the highest ranking naval officer. During his time as a prisoner of war, he disfigured and hurt himself multiple times to prevent himself from being used for propaganda purposes.
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He was released back to the United States in 1973, after more than seven years. He was presented with the Medal of Honor in 1976 for “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while senior naval officer in the Prisoner of War camps of North Vietnam.” The Medal of Honor citation notes his refusal to participate in propaganda and “personal sacrifice” in inflicting a nearly fatal wound to himself, which got the prison guards to stop “excessive harassment and torture toward all of the Prisoners of War.” Later, as a vice admiral, he served as president of the Naval War College for two years before retiring in 1979. He also was a candidate for vice president in the 1992 election, on a third-party ticket with Ross Perot.
Born in 1923, Stockdale of course predates the British spy — who Ian Fleming named in the early 1950s for a British ornithologist — but the crew clearly appreciates the connection. It’s also not entirely unrelated, the fictional Bond does have an extensive naval background that occasionally does play a role in stories.
As for the ship itself, the USS Stockdale has been busy in recent years, taking part in extensive deployments to conflict zones and being sent as part of force projection efforts in the Americas. During the early weeks of the fight against Houthi militants in the Red Sea, the Stockdale was one of the first ships to take out Houthi drones over the water. It later deployed to the waters around the southern border of the United States in 2025. In its most recent deployment, the destroyer was part of the naval armada built up in the Caribbean Sea for Operation Southern Spear.
As photos from the military over the years show, the Stockdale has also flown a POW/MIA flag, in commemoration of its namesake’s time as a prisoner of war. As for the 007 flag, it’s one that the ship has started flying in recent years. It’s a good joke for those who know Stockdale’s full name, although it is unlikely that the destroyer has fancy casinos or gadget-filled cars on board.
