“What he(McCain) went through, no man would endure without cracking.”
YOU COULDN’T BE MORE WRONG. Learn the facts. Men in the SAME circumstances didn’t sing like the Songbird:
Bud Day Medal Of Honor Recipient(John McCain cellmate in Hanoi Hilton):
Day was shot down on Aug. 26, 1967, over North Vietnam. His right arm was broken in three places and his knee was badly sprained. Day was captured, taken to a prison camp where he was interrogated and tortured, and then escaped. He made it across the demilitarized zone, wandered for days and was unable to signal U.S. aircraft. Day was recaptured by the Viet Cong and returned to prison in Hanoi, where he gave his captors false information when being questioned.
“Despite his many injuries, he continued to offer maximum resistance,” reads Day’s Medal of Honor citation. “His personal bravery in the face of deadly enemy pressure was significant in saving the lives of fellow aviators who were still flying against the enemy.”
John McCain(Hanoi Hilton Songbird):
On the recording, a copy of which The Arizona Republic obtained from the National Archives and Records Administration, McCain says he is guilty of “crimes against the Vietnamese country and people” and compliments his medical treatment.
“The doctors were very good and they knew a great deal about the practice of medicine,” McCain says on the tape. “I remained in the hospital for some time and regained much of my health and strength. Since I arrived in the camp of detention, I have received humane and lenient treatment. I received this kind treatment and food even though I came here as an aggressor and the people who I injured have much difficulty in their living standards. I wish to express my deep gratitude for my kind treatment and I will never forget this kindness extended to me.”
So, you expect John McCain to meet the same standards under torture while in captivity as a man who won the Medal of Honor?
There is a reason the Medal of Honor is awarded sparingly. It is for bravery and valor far above that normally expected of a soldier/sailor/marine/airman.
The boiler-plate, rote-style admissions/statements which you quoted in your post were, indeed, given by John McCain. Very similar such statements were also given by the overwhelming majority of the POWs tortured by the North Vietnamese.
By your standards, every POW except Bud Day was a “collaborator”.