Thompson hasn't seen some of his classmates since graduating in 1951,
and he needed help from their name tags - which bore a 50-year old personal picture - to identify some. "Its been 50 years since high school.  I don't recognize them," Thompson told a reporter.  "It feels wonderful seeing them." Classmate Mikey Lustberg read a tribute to Thompson, calling him a true American hero and expressing thanks that he survived the horrors of war. "Jim gave up a lot and it affected his whole life," said Lustberg.  "He represented a lot of us.  He is very special." Thompson was a captain in the Army's special forces when his plane was shot down on March 26, 1964, during a low-flying reconnaissance mission. The pilot was killed immediately when the plane was hit and Thompson lost consciousness. When he came to, a Viet Cong guerrilla was about to slice off his finger to get his ruby ring.  Thompson instead gave him the ring, and for the next nine years, endured torture beyond belief.  He was beaten with bamboo sticks and  hung by his thumbs.  He became ill with dysentery. One form of torture he suffered through was to have his elbows tied behind his back until they touched.  Then a second rope was attached to his elbows and thrown over a ceiling beam, and he was hoisted up again. In "Glory Denied,'" a book published this year about Thompson's life by Tom Philpott, Thompson said that it "caused excruciating pain on my breastbone, I  felt my chest would split open." 
Thompson tried to escape three times within his first month of capture,
attempting five times in all, according to the book.  Each time he was 
apprehended, and was severely punished. He endured intense interrogations, some lasting all day.  He was forced to sign statements saying that he was being treated well. Eventually, some in New Jersey thought he was dead. After President Richard Nixon signed the cease-fire with North Vietnam in 1973, Thompson was able to go home. 

In 1988 President Ronald Reagan awarded him a Prisoner of War Medal in a White House ceremony and said his courage in the battle against Communism helped lead to a better world.  "You symbolize the sacrifice our nation has made," Reagan said, "And you can be proud of what you helped to achieve."

Today, Thompson lives alone in Key West, Florida. On Thursday night, he mostly kept to himself as others exchanged hugs and  kisses, enjoyed cheese and crackers, and sipped wine. But he shared a few brief conversations with classmates, including one who brought a copy of the book.  And in nine words from the podium he expressed his joy at being honored by his classmates.

"This is a glorious moment," he said, "Thank you very much."