"....and Benedict Arnold was a war hero before he turned traitor too."
I've heard mc cain described as a war hero, but I have yet to hear any specifics or details any act of heroism on his part. Being captured is not in itself heroic, but acts prior to or subsequent can be.
Why do they call this guy a war hero?
I've often wondered that myself. Getting shot down and captured doesn't make you a hero. Shooting the enemy down in large numbers... now THAT makes you a hero.
It is easy to do a google, but being lazy, my memory says the N viets offered to let him go, and he refused unless they let his comrades go too.
from wikipedia
When the North Vietnamese discovered he was the son of the Pacific Command Admiral, who was in charge of the US war effort in Vietnam, he was offered a chance to go home, in an effort to embarrass the American military. Senior POWs had ordered there would be no going home unless all went home, and McCain, as did most POWs, followed orders. McCain recorded an anti-American propaganda message, but said he did so as a result of torture.
His actions as a POW were most heroic and for this I have great respect. His actions as a Senator and his efforts to suppress the Freedom of Speech is the precise reason for Jim Robs verbal tirade against McCain. Without FREE SPEECH, we will lose our FREEDOM. Jim Rob is right!
Good question. I almost puked when I saw him featured as a "Legend of Airpower". Almost as bad as Eugene McCarthy. Ridiculous.
Kerry was a war hero too until the Vietnam vets “Swift Boated” his ass. At least one of the guys who worked on that is ready to get the truth out about McCain too. Like they did with Kerry the MSM will try to ignore it but the new media will be too powerful for them again.
...Not that McCain might not have been a hero. Like others here pointed out, he stayed a prisoner, instead of going along with being released...which isn't something to sneeze at, I take it. I can only imagine how bad it was to be a prisoner of the North Vietnamese...so, anyway, McCain did suffer, and payed a price for service to this Nation, then, at that time. Others suffered, with much less fanfare...myself, I wasn't there.
This Speer fellow I mention flew A-6 Intruders, was shot down twice himself, also deliberately splashed another one near a carrier because he was wounded (shrapnel through feet and hands), and didn't want to make the landing. "Just didn't feel like it", he said...
He says also that he tried to re-enlist for a third tour--but they wouldn't let him. Asking him "why not?", he told me he thinks it was because he (not completely unlike McCain) wrecked too many planes, heh heh...so instead, they had him fly for Air America, carting brass (officers) around, for a while. Go figure.
This Speer's dad was a WWII Pacific theater ace fighter pilot. Being "just" a bomber pilot, himself, he took some ribbing from commissioned and warrants that knew, or knew of his pop.
Up until a few years ago, there was still plenty of fight in Speer. Just pour a few drinks in him, and he would be good to go! Haven't seen him in a couple of years, which is a shame...he doesn't live that far away...