Posted on 08/28/2008 2:46:46 PM PDT by jessduntno
John McCain's Imprisonment in Vietnam: A True Tale of Heroism
James Ray
Have you ever heard the whole account of John McCain's imprisonment during the Vietnam War? Until recently, I was only aware of the general story; I didn't know the details. But I recently read a couple of pieces on McCain's capture, imprisonment and torture by the North Vietnamese, and it blew me away. Not since Ernest Shackleton's cursed journey to the South Pole have I heard a tale of such courage, mental toughness and physical endurance.
The Young John McCain
The Crash and Capture In October of 1967, McCain was flying a mission over Hanoi in his A-4 Skyhawk plane, when his craft was hit with enemy fire. With his plane going down in flames, McCain ejected his seat and his body from the cockpit of plane, but in the process he broke both of his arms and one leg. He also suffered a severe concussion, which must have made it even harder for him to find and pull his chute. But he did. With two broken arms and cracked noggin, falling towards the North Vietnamese soldiers who had just shot his airplane out from under him, this guy somehow had the wherewithal to pull his cute and keep himself alive.
He landed hard in a pond in downtown Hanoi and was immediately set upon by North Vietnamese soldiers. One bayoneted McCain in the groin. Another broke his shoulder with the butt of a rifle. The attack also further compounded his leg fracture; his tibia was now sticking out of his leg at a ninety-degree angle.
His broken body was thown into back of a jeep, and McCain was taken to the Hoa Lo prison, also kown as "The Hanoi Hilton." From all of the accounts of American POWs who were trapped in this place, it sounds like the Hilton was the worst, shittiest prison on earth.
Shortly after being brought in, a doctor who was either incompetent or simply cruel set two of McCain's fractures without anaesthesia and then refused to set the other two. McCain was then beaten and tortured for several days. Among other horrors that he endured, his arms were bound together behind hi back and he was lifted off the ground in medieval torture style. After more than anyone could possibly be expected to endure, McCain was put into a prison cell and left there, for a long time.
The Offer To Be Set Free Over the months, his weight dropped to about 100 pounds. Other POWs thought he would die for sure. But he didn't. McCain somehow recovered. His bones healed, although he would forever be limited in his movement, and he gained back his strength.
Then, in 1968, he was called into the prison commandant's office and offered his release.
It seemed that McCain's father, Admiral John McCain, Sr., had been named head of all all navy forces in the Pacific. The North Vietnamese thought it would be a smart public relations move to release the admiral's son. But the younger McCain refused. He cited a rule from the military's code of conduct that said that prisoners of war were to be released in the order they were captured and imprisoned. McCain said it was simply unfair for him to get out when another guy who'd been there for years would have to stay. He refused to be released.
Prison guards tried to persuade the young pilot by breaking two of his ribs, knocking out his teeth and re-breaking one of his arms. He still refused to leave.
After all that punishment and torture and psychological abuse, I'd imagine that most men would be able to rationalize breaking that rule, just this once. But not McCain. He stayed.
And he spent the next four years of his life at the Hanoi Hilton, much of it in a small solitary confinement cell called the "punishment room."
He was finally released on March 14, 1972, more than five years after his capture. To this day, he remains physically limited by the injuries he sustained in prison.
Conclusion I don't know if John McCain will win the election, or if he can be a good president. I certainly don't know if he can get us out of the many messes created by our current presidential administration. I don't even think that I am going to vote for him.
But if he does become president, I will find comfort in having a leader with a heart that is 100 times bigger than his predecessor, a devotion to his country and to his military duty that is second to none, and the physical and mental toughness of an fing bull.
Go ahead and keep trying to sell that nonsense. My posts are clear although you attempt to put words in my mouth and then try to get me defend what you say.
Sorry, dearie. It ain’t gonna work.
My contempt for McCain is due to his senate record no matter how hard you try to make it otherwise.
There have been stories of both heroism and betrayal for over 20 years.
Back it up, POS.
Since we have no proof either way,
More Weasel words from a little man.
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