ping
Just an aside; do you now know why so many VN vets loathe Kerry and despise John McCain? Loathing Kerry is pretty much obvious. McCain is tricky.
McCain was shot down and captured, imprisoned by the NVA. The NVA discovered he was the son of Admiral McCain, CINCATLFLT, the son of a "big shot". There were efforts and bargains made for his release; he needed medical attention. McCain refused to be released, chose to remain with his fellow captives. Very noble. But his decision to remain was negotiated with his captors, without the advisement that could have come from his fellow POWs.
In SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape), conduct was advised but not demanded since actually having to undergo the situation of being captured would be extremely stressful and mutable. But McCain had an opportunity to "escape". He could have imprinted in his memory names and faces and provided valuable information upon his repatriation. There's talk that his medical attention received while detained was obtained by cooperation with his interrogators. He failed resisting and seizing the opportunity to escape. Doing so, some face, some name, some brief acquaintance may have been lost forever, bartered by the NVA to the Soviets.
McCain and Kerry were both on the committee for normalization of relations with Viet Nam.
Both represent broken links in the chain, not of command, but of brotherhood.