LCDR MICHAEL D. CHRISTIAN USN
You may have heard of him, Senator John McCain at the Republican National Convention stated that Mike (POW in North Vietnam [4/24/66 - 3/4/73]) used scraps of cloth and a bamboo needle to make an American Flag and then sewed it into the inside of his prison shirt.  When the flag was found by prison guards he was beaten and it was destroyed.  When he was returned to his cell he started remaking another flag and sewed it into his shirt. The POWs, when possible, would hang up his flag and salute it and say the Pledge of Allegiance.   It was their symbol of home and provided the strength to resist. Upon his return he was welcomed home by his wife, Charlotte Strong Christian of Virginia Beach, VA. and three daughters Deborah Kaye, Sandra Dawn and Pamela Joan. Michael survived the imprisonment and in 1978, upon retiring from the Navy, he purchased a Bar.   Sorry to say that one night,in 1983, the bar caught fire and he perished in his apartment above it.	LCDR M. Christian
In 2001, the NROTC Unit at Purdue University memorialized Michael Christian by placing his photo and plaque on the Wall in the NROTC Hall of Fame.
Check out this link to the US Navy NEASP/NESEP Web Page. (BACK)