Yes they were. They broke most everyone they held, as all of them would admit. But they did not permanently break their spirits. Look at the photos of the returning POWs. They came back with their heads helf high. (And they got to enjoy the reactions of their captors during the Famous (infamous to the left) Christmas Bombings.)
their little beast from the Book of Revelations cannot live without tax revenues,
As far as I can tell, the ChiComs don't seem to mind subsidizing the Beast.
John McCain, Prisoner of War: A First-Person Account
By John S. McCain III, Lieut. Commander, U.S. Navy
I said, “O.K., I’ll give you military information if you will take me to the hospital.”