Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (Mechanized) – First Corps Cadets]. He served as mortar squad leader and was discharged as a private first class to enter the minor seminary. Upon graduation from college (1955) he enlisted in the Navy as a naval aviation cadet at the U.S. Naval School of Preflight with class 19-55. Upon completing Preflight, he became an ensign, USNR-R. He received his flight training with CNABATRA in the Pensacola Naval complex, making his initial carrier qualification on the in the North American SNJ-5 on July 27, 1956. He began his advanced flight training with CNAVANTRA, Corpus Christi, Texas, flying out of Naval Air Station Chase Field, Beeville, Texas, in TV-2, F9F-2 and F9F-8 aircraft. Upon receiving his wings in 1957, he received a regular commission and was kept at ATU-203 as an instructor. In 1958, he received orders to Attack Squadron Ninety-Four (VA-94) home ported at NAS Alameda, California. Flying the FJ-4 (Fury) and then the A4D Skyhawk, he made two deployments to the Far East on board the attached to Carrier Air Group Nine. His squadron callsign was "Cyrano". From 1962 to 1964 he was assigned to the NROTC Unit Stanford for postgraduate studies in International Relations under Professor James T. Watkins IV. He accomplished his proficiency flying at NAS Moffett Field, Sunnyvale, California, flying TV-2 and SNB aircraft. Vietnam War (1964-1975) Pre-deployment In 1964, Stratton was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and assigned as aide and Executive Assistant to the Deputy Director, Joint Strategic Planning Staff, SAC, Offutt AFB, Nebraska. He maintained his aviation qualifications flying USAF T-33 aircraft out of Offutt. Upon completion of that tour of duty in 1966, he was ordered to VA-125, the light attack replacement air group, NAS Lemoore, California, for refresher training in the A4 Skyhawk. That summer he joined Attack Squadron One Ninety Two (VA-192) as Maintenance Officer and light attack aviator. In October 1966, His callsign was "The Beak". VA-192 joined Carrier Air Wing Nineteen on board the for a deployment in the Gulf of Tonkin and South China Sea. During the squadron's first forty days on the line in combat, he accumulated 21 combat missions. Prisoner of war and "The Stratton Incident" On January 5, 1967, as part of an armed reconnaissance mission over Thanh Hóa Province, Stratton was flying an A-4 Skyhawk. The mission's aim was to bomb the My Trach ferry. When the ferry could not be