James Stockdale, while a POW at the "Hanoi Hilton", was told to shower and shave so he could appear on camera by his captors. During the shower, he took the razor he was provided and sliced his forehead open gruesomely to make appearing in a propaganda film impossible.

He also developed a coded system in what few messages he was allowed to the outside world to inform the US military of as many details of the facility as possible, including other POWs held there. I believe John McCain was held there at the same time.

After his release, he rose to the rank of Vice-Admiral and was also chosen as Ross Perot's VP running mate in 1992. That was a poor fit for him, however, as he thought he was a temporary placeholder and was completely unprepared for debates and campaigning.