Lieutenant Commander Richard Allen "Dick" Stratton (born October 14, 1931) was a United States Navy pilot who was shot down over North Vietnam in January 1967 and detained as a prisoner of war. During his captivity, Stratton read a five-page statement criticizing American involvement in Southeast Asia, which led to charges from the U.S. government that Stratton and other prisoners had been brainwashed.
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Stratton was born on October 14, 1931, in Quincy, Massachusetts. He attended Georgetown University, where he earned an undergraduate degree in history and then was awarded a Master of Arts degree from Stanford University in International Relations.
He enlisted in the United States Navy on June 15, 1955, and after receiving training became a Naval Aviator in April 1957. He served as a pilot aboard the USS Ticonderoga as part of VFA-192.
Stratton piloted a Douglas A-4 Skyhawk on January 5, 1967, as part of an armed reconnaissance mission over Thanh Hoa Province to bomb the My Trach ferry. When the ferry could not be found, Stratton spotted a set of barges one mile further upriver and rolled in to attack the craft with rockets. Stratton was forced to eject from his plane when debris was ingested into the engine. He was captured shortly after parachuting to the ground.[1]
Having obtained a visa while in Cuba, American photojournalist Lee Lockwood arranged a trip to North Vietnam in 1967, making him the first Western journalist to visit the country in nearly a decade. While there, the North Vietnamese presented a confession read by Stratton, attacking U.S. military action in the region. Lockwood described Stratton as "looking like a puppet" whose "eyes were empty". The photos that Lockwood took on the trip became the material for "North Vietnam Under Siege", an article that appeared in the April 7, 1967, edition of Life magazine, which included a widely-distributed picture of Stratton in prison garb bowing deeply as ordered by a North Vietnamese officer.[2][3] Robert J. McCloskey of the U.S. Department of State cited Lockwood's material about Stratton as evidence that North Vietnam was brainwashing prisoners for propaganda purposes.[4]
Stratton was one of 591 POWs released on March 4, 1973, as part of Operation Homecoming, having spent 2,251 days in captivity. He was awarded the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit with V, the Bronze Star Medal with V, the Air Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal with V, the Combat Action Ribbon, the Purple Heart and the Prisoner of War Medal. Stratton continued to serve in the Navy and retired in 1986, having attained the rank of Captain.[1]