Jeremiah Denton Jr. had endured nearly eight years of confinement and torture in a Vietnam prisoner-of-war camp, but it wasn't until his recuperation at Portsmouth Naval Hospital in 1973 that he finally snapped.
As part of their therapy, Denton and other POWs were shown a film illustrating the cultural changes that had rocked the nation since the Navy aviator's A6 Intruder was shot down in 1965.
As he watched scenes of the 1969 Woodstock music festival, showing "hippies fornicating publicly, high on drugs," Denton wrote later, he became physically ill and threw up. That was enough, he told the therapists: He couldn't watch any more.
"To me, it was a nightmare," he wrote. "This nation, firmly founded as One Nation under God, was in the process of becoming a pagan nation with a shocking degeneration of national integrity."
That scene is from the updated version of Denton's book, "When Hell Was in Session," which is being released today in honor of Veterans Day.
Co-written by Ed Brandt, a former Virginian-Pilot editor, and originally published in 1975, the book tells the story of Denton's captivity during what was, until then at least, America's longest war. Throughout his imprisonment, his wife, Jane, and seven children lived in Virginia Beach.
The book includes a well-known episode in which Denton, in a TV interview, blinked his eyes in Morse code to spell out the word "torture."
The updated version picks up the story after his release and details his subsequent engagement in another kind of combat: the culture war.
It's a war he is still fighting today, at 85.
After his release, Denton became commandant at the Armed Forces Staff College, now the Joint Forces Staff College, in Norfolk. He retired from the Navy as a rear admiral in 1977 and went into politics, serving six years as a U.S. senator from Alabama during Ronald Reagan's presidency.
"I wanted to go help Reagan out, because I thought he was my brother," Denton said in an interview. "And he turned out to be that."
He looks back with pride on his efforts to advance Reagan's agenda, including supporting the anti-communist Contras in Nicaragua and opposing the nuclear freeze movement.
Always known as an uncompromising conservative, Denton, who now lives in Williamsburg, shows no signs of mellowing.
Here, for instance, is his take on President Barack Obama: "Our present president is not qualified by experience or knowledge to be a commander in chief. Unless he will listen to the inputs of those who are qualified in the arts of warfare and statesmanship, we'll remain in increasing danger every day."
Denton favors beefing up military spending to meet today's security threats. But even more important, he has come to believe, is rescuing the nation from its slide into moral degeneracy.
The signs are everywhere, he writes in his book: abortion, pornography, drug abuse, pre marital sex, gay marriage.
"In this world of weapons of mass destruction, yes, we could get wiped out tomorrow," he said.
"But I think the decline in our culture is a surer poison. Every nation that has gone the same route has disappeared within 200 years. I'm trying to draw our national attention to that."
This is a man who believes God once spoke to him, out loud.
It was 1967, two years into his captivity. He was pacing in his cell, shackled in irons, on the brink of despair. The prison was quiet except for an occasional scream from the torture room.
In his super-conscious sensitive state, he heard a soft voice - authoritative, kind, well-modulated: "Say, 'Sacred heart of Jesus, I give myself to you.' "
It was a prescription for prayer, Denton said: "He meant, 'Don't sweat it. You can't control anything. Just give your thoughts, yourself, to me.' "
Can the cultural tide be turned? Denton doesn't know. All he can do is try.
"If I can help get God's will done before I die, I want to," he said. "I don't have any choice. My dear wife died two years ago, and I don't have anything else to do that's better than this."
Bill Sizemore, (757) 446-2276, bill.sizemore@pilotonline.com
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aww the good ole days ------- I remember it well
Some remember it 70 years ago others remember it as yesterday, but one thing for sure, we can't go back and keep it as it was. If we could there would be no progress.
clever pow eye message
Charisma like Denton's cannot be suppressed. He will certainly continue to generate nostalgia for his views, even in a new century. We can learn from his example. If I happen to live as long as he, then I hope I will still be able to recognize that the future is to be looked forward to with hope and promise as human endeavor and curiosity lead us to it.
Woodstock XXX
I along with many of you have seen numerous footage of Woodstock. I would like to know why I have never had the opportunity to see the fornicating in public footage.....is it because I am not an Admiral?
On a serious note, why would his debriefing have included the unedited footage? Apparently an isolated incident has distorted his vision of all mankind.
As far as I'm concerned,
As far as I'm concerned, most of the posts I've read only serve to prove Mr. Denton's point. This nation is full of self-absorbed, apathetic hedonists with no concept of societal obligation. Mr. Denton, there are many of us who share your beliefs and concerns. I applaud you and your work.
On the contrary, these posts
On the contrary, these posts are comprised of thinking, questioning, scientifically literate people who don't believe what is fed to them without wanting verification.
To state anything without facts is akin to asking someone to prove that something does not exist.
Revisionists always trip up !
That is revisionist history that Jefferson and Franklin were deists. Jefferson even wrote in his own personal bible" I am a real Christian.,that is to say a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ". He was an Episcopalian for many years until the death of his wife.That is when he stopped believing in the miracles of Jesus but he never stopped admiring Jesus the man,for this ethics. Jefferson held church services in the captiol the entire 8 years he was president.Used govt money to build a church and to pay for a priest for indians in Illinois. Along with James Madison he created a law to punish disturbers of the Sabbath. Even Franklin, who was raised a Quaker,though he rebelled when he left home and never went back to the Quaker religion, made this powerful comment to Congress: "I have lived a long time,and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth=that God governs in the affairs of men..." The closest you could call either one is a unitarian and since there was no unitarian church in VA,Jefferson wouldn't even have attended that church. REVISIONISTS you alway get tripped up !
Jefferson not only wrote in
Jefferson not only wrote in his own personal Bible, he wrote his own personal Bible to leave out what he didn't agree with. What does that tell you>
We are governed by the Constitution, not the Bible!
I respect his service, but Mr. Denton is a bitter old man who ideology is outdated and dangerous. We are a nation of laws, not "under god". We are governed by the Constitution not the Bible. The irony is that men like Denton who are sworn to defend the Constitution need to take time to actually read the document. In no where in it will he see that we are a country "under god". Many of the founders especially Jefferson, Madison, Washington and Franklin were ambivilent even suspicious of organized religion. Franklin was nearly atheiest, and Jefferson founded UVa because he wanted a college that was secular, not controlled by the church.
I served my country too and the America that I fought is an America that provides opportunities for those denied them. For people not to be discriminated against for whatever reason, race, age, gender or sexual orientation. Even religion, believers and free-thinkers alike. And against the tyranny of those who want to impose their religious beliefs on everyone else.
Furthermore, I am deeply offended by his disrespect toward President Obama, but I am not surprised considering he's an 85 year old white man from Alabama. He needs to realize that A
trying to give denton respect, but
Pleeeeese! It's not uncommon for people of his generation to think we are all going to hell, but his right wing is showing far too much for me.
I'm not of his generation -
I'm not of his generation - in fact, am nowhere near it. Nor am I a right winger. I DO, however, believe in the values this nation once held back when the divorce rate wasn't 50%, kids were parented and disciplined, and doing drugs wasn't the norm. I care about my community, not just myself. The people like Mr. Denton, who are willing to sacrifice themselves for the overall good, have become a rarity and our nation has paid dearly for it.
The divorce rate was lower
The divorce rate was lower because less women worked in the public. They were homemakers or as some would believe, held captive.
Doing drugs wasn't the norm because they were not as readily available, unless of course you want to talk Coca-Cola when it contained cocaine.
Kids are less parented today because generally both parents are working to support the children they should not have had.
Last and more importnatly, the poplulation of the U.S. of A has more than doubled since 1960, more people = more problems. Unless you are sugesting we eliminate more than half the current poplulation, there is no chance of going back to the way we were, good or bad.
A Salute to Admiral and Senator Denton
I had the privilege as a teenager to attend St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Va. Beach as the Dentons. I remember seeing the family in church while he was a captive. I also remember seeing him when he was the first POW off the plane and when he rejoined his family. I also read the original "When Hell Was In Session." This man, whether you agree with his opinions or not, deservesI think that others
When was our nation under God! comment
It seems our nation is always under God every time the government wants to go to war. The true first Americans (native Americans) were listed from the Godly folks as pagans and heathens. They were given the choice of Moving to a reservation and stave to death or we will kill you. You always see Pat Robertson the great christian wanting to commit genocide against the Muslim nation, gays and generally anyone that does not contribute to his uh Church. Funny how so many of our forefathers were not even Christians. Jefferson and Franklin like many others of their time were actually "Deist" but the bible totes will always use them to make a political case for themselves. 700 billion dollars is not enough spending for war for Mr. Denton. I wish he would give us a figure on how much would be? Mr. Denton is a true war hero. However his views are less than heroic and just more Neocon sided gibberish. He states that our country has lost it's dignity. How true it is when men use God to promote war and make judgments on others.
amen!
Jefferson was a deist, Franklin had no use for religion, and the Constitution says "Congress shall make no law establishing religion"! Right wingers always complaining about what is and what isn't constitutional need to read the document. Maybe they will learn something!
Jefferson thought religion was counter productive, even ridiculous. He even wrote his own Bible.Go to Monticello, on Jefferson's tombstone reads "Author of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom"!
Brainwashing
Just another BRAIN WASHED American, believing what he was told to fight for without looking at the BIG picture of the true story.
I am sorry for what he and many others went through there, but we are going through the same thing now and many other wars in our past. Americans are sheeple and will always be sheeple. We believe what our government wants us to believe. They sat him down in front of a television and showed him all the things that have changed while he was gone, why not show him the good things that happened. Its our governments way to keep closed minded people closed minded, BRAIN WASHING.
Stop listening to what the news wants us to know, do some actual digging into the real reasons WHY and what our "AMERICA" has done to get where we are today, WE should be held accountable as we hold other nations accountable for their actions, why are we any better than any other country, they were only doing their JOB and doing what they were TOLD was right to do. THINK FOR YOURSELVES FOR ONCE
You obviously need to live
You obviously need to live in a third world country for a little while...you'll then come crawling back and beg to be living in this country, but it will come at cost and folks like me paid that price for you to spout off and say what you want... just remember that people out there all over the world hate us even when we give them plenty of food, and other necessities of life, just a true fact...it's called "jealousy."
When was this a nation under God?
When was our nation a nation under God, or one that aspired to please God in all of its endeavors? Was it when we were wiping out the Native Americans with war, disease, and deception? Was it when we decided to enslave a foreign people in order to perpetuate an institution of free labor? Was it when we were invading other nations in the name of democracy, while killing innocent people? Was it when women and blacks were disenfranchised? Was it when people were being murdered pursuing liberties that our Constitution deems inalienable to all men? Was it while we participated in Apartheid, Jim Crow, torturing homosexuals, cohabitation, and premarital sex? When were we a Godly nation? I will never understand unless someone spells out to me why our nation is not responsible for the crimes it has and continues to commit.
Your Answer
What does this have to do with being a nation under God? I was not under the impression that being under God meant that we were without fault. Does it make America godless to make mistakes? The true test of character is admitting that mistakes are made by fallible people and working to correct them. The nation has done that throughout its history. Your attempt to use the exceptions to America's greatness to define it or qualify it as a nation of principals is really silly. Please tell us of a nation with a more perfect history if that is possible. Of course you cannot, because there is no nation that has advanced the course of history in a positive manner than the US. Fittingly, I am giving you this response on a day when we honor those common people who answered the call of duty and made us what we are today- fallible, but honorable and decent and worthy of praise.
It is the UNITED States of America,not DIVERSE States of America
"That diversity, even if Adm. Denton disagrees, is what truly makes this country great. "
Obviously you don't know the meaning of the word DIVERSE. Let me help"
DIVERSE: differing from one another : unlike.
GET IT? You separate people. Whenever you take AWAY from something you weaken it. You can't make something great by splitting people up. If a group don't stand UNITED (together) the entire country falls. There is a reason this is called the UNITED States of America and not the DIVERSE states of America. I'm sure you're too young to understand what Admiral Denton means. Which is sad. Like it not and deny it but the fact is our Founding Fathers were Christian men who believed this nation would only prosper as long as we honored God in our lives. And for those who want to argue the Founding Fathers were deists (insert eyeroll here) Check out the facts here: Religion of the Founding Fathers of America (Keyword to: http://www.adherents.com/gov/Founding_Fathers_Religion.html)
So you think diversity is bad?
So your point, ediesinger, is that diversity "weakens" our country. Let's take a look at some nations where diversity is or was quashed and see how strong they are: Nazi Germany. Ceaucescu-era Romania. Current-day Afghanistan. North Korea. The former Soviet Union. Yes, I'm sure all of those nations are solid and thriving, what with their enforced homogeneity.
You're the one who doesn't get it, edie (perhaps due to your advanced age?). The thing that makes our country great is the fact that it welcomes all faiths, all races, all ideologies. You can't make a strong building using only sand, and you can't have a strong country with only white right-wing Christian ideologues. I know full well what Admiral Denton means; if returning to his idea of a "moral nation" means a return to the bigotry, repression, and misogyny that went along with it, I'll pass.