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Born July 15, 1924
Mobile, Alabama

U.S. Navy pilot and prisoner of war during the Vietnam War

Jeremiah Denton was one of the best-known American soldiers to be captured by North Vietnam during the Vietnam War. He was shot down over North Vietnam in 1965 while leading a squadron of navy jets on a bombing run. After his capture, he spent the next seven years and eight months as a prisoner of war (POW), enduring years of torture, isolation, and near starvation at the hands of the North Vietnamese. After his release in 1973, Denton wrote When Hell Was in Session, a gripping account of his years in captivity. Seven years later, he was elected to represent his native Alabama in the U.S. Senate.

Chooses a military life

Jeremiah A. Denton, Jr., was born on July 15, 1924, in Mobile, Alabama. He was the son of...