Denton, who had a heart attack on Oct. 28, helped organize the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia in the 1960s, after her Navy pilot husband was shot down and captured in 1965. He was held for nearly eight years in a North Vietnamese prison.Jane Denton's advocacy work was credited for the group's efforts in obtaining humane treatment and the ultimate release of American prisoners.
The obituary reminds us of an episode that makes me question the wisdom of eliminating Morse code, as we did several years ago.
Her husband drew international attention in 1966 when he was being interviewed on North Vietnamese television. He blinked in Morse code the letters "t-o-r-t-u-r-e," letting U.S. intelligence officials know what was happening to the prisoners.Michael Denton, one of the couple's seven children,
said his mother was "the most faithful, selfless and dedicated wife and mother that any of us can aspire to be." He said she cherished the people of her native Mobile, her Catholic faith and her Navy family.
