{"id":45875,"date":"2018-08-26T13:10:16","date_gmt":"2018-08-26T13:10:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/08\/26\/mccain-on-his-time-as-pow-i-fell-in-love-with-my-country\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T08:44:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T08:44:58","slug":"mccain-on-his-time-as-pow-i-fell-in-love-with-my-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2018\/08\/26\/mccain-on-his-time-as-pow-i-fell-in-love-with-my-country\/","title":{"rendered":"McCain on his time as POW: \u2018I fell in love with my country\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DENVER \u2014 On Oct. 26, 1967, a missile the size of a telephone pole blew the wing off of John McCain\u2019s Skyhawk dive bomber.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">McCain, then a 31-year-old lieutenant commander in the Navy, parachuted out of the plane and landed in a lake in Hanoi, North Vietnam. He broke both arms and a leg in the fall, was dragged from the lake by an angry crowd, and was beaten and bayoneted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thus began a harrowing, five-year ordeal that was to define the future senator and presidential candidate&#8217;s life.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/08\/26\/john-mccain-war-hero-political-giant-dies-at-81\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"219\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_17293442564560.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">John McCain \u2014 war hero, political giant \u2014 dies at 81<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">John McCain, the onetime Navy pilot and longtime lawmaker, was among the best known veterans in America, and has arguably been the most influential and consistent military advocate for the Republican Party over the last three decades.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before his imprisonment in Vietnam, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2018\/07\/12\/us-navy-dedicates-japan-based-destroyer-to-us-sen-mccain\/\" target=_blank>McCain was Navy royalty<\/a> \u2014 the grandson and son of four-star admirals \u2014 as well as a self-described lousy student at the Navy Academy and a hotshot pilot who had survived three accidental crashes. His time in captivity gave his life purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;I have never felt more powerfully free, more my own man, than when I was a small part of an organized resistance to the power that imprisoned me,&#8221; McCain wrote in his 1997 memoir, &#8220;Faith of My Fathers.&#8221; &#8221;Nothing in life is more liberating than to fight for a cause larger than yourself.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP17348015510106.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-76237\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP17348015510106.jpg.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP17348015510106.jpg.jpg?resize=300,157 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP17348015510106.jpg.jpg?resize=768,402 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP17348015510106.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,536 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In this May 25, 1973, file photo, U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. John McCain is greeted by President Richard Nixon, left, in Washington, after McCain&#8217;s release from a prisoner of war camp in North Vietnam. (Harvey Georges\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When McCain was shot down, his father was poised to assume command over the entire Pacific theater. Once McCain gave his captors his name, rank and serial number they realized they had a potential propaganda coup on their hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">McCain was taken to the hospital for some basic treatment \u2014 his left arm was left broken, to heal on its own. His captors filmed him there for propaganda purposes and McCain later found out the North Vietnamese had crowed: &#8220;We have the crown prince.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After six weeks in the hospital, McCain, who had lost about one-third of his weight, was transferred to a prison cell. After a brief time with cellmates, McCain began two years in solitary confinement in a 10-by-10 room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;The most important thing for survival is communication with someone,&#8221; McCain wrote in a 1973 memoir of his captivity. He developed a code so he could communicate with the man in his neighboring cell, who broke down crying when he tapped out his name to McCain.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/08\/26\/political-leaders-react-to-john-mccains-death\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"218\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_17298584088908.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Political leaders react to John McCain\u2019s death<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The former prisoner of war and longtime Arizona senator passed away Saturday at the age of 81.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the midst of this deprivation, McCain&#8217;s captors asked him if he wanted to go home. It was a trick question. The U.S. military&#8217;s code of conduct required prisoners to be released in the order they were detained. The North Vietnamese wanted to make a show of releasing McCain early, as his father assumed command over the Pacific. McCain refused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;That was character, what you do when people are not watching,&#8221; said Col. Bud Day, who was imprisoned with McCain. &#8220;To have gone home at that time would have been absolutely the wrong thing and he had no intention of dishonoring himself.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instead, McCain was in for the worst bout of torture yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For four days after he refused release, McCain was beaten every two hours to three hours by 10 guards. Filled with thoughts of suicide, McCain broke and agreed to sign an anti-U.S. propaganda statement confessing to &#8220;black crimes.&#8221; He later wrote: &#8220;I had learned what we all learned over there: Every man has his breaking point. I had reached mine.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18121721793814.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-76238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18121721793814.jpg.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18121721793814.jpg.jpg?resize=300,157 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18121721793814.jpg.jpg?resize=768,402 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18121721793814.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,536 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In this Nov. 7, 1991, file photo, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., left, is hugged by former North Vietnam Col. Bui Tin on Capitol Hill in Washington after a hearing of the Senate Select Committee on POW and MIA affairs. Tin oversaw a military prison operation dubbed the &#8220;Hanoi Hilton,&#8221; where McCain was held prisoner during the Vietnam War. (Dennis Cook\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was the last time McCain would break. He refused to sign any other statements or meet with visiting American anti-war activists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Eventually, McCain was removed from solitary confinement and mingled with other U.S. prisoners of war. McCain helped them fight boredom by re-enacting classic movies and taking part in discussions of the history of the English-language novel, going back to the 18th century. \u201cWe only had half the facts right, but John said nobody knew the difference,\u201d recalled Orson Swindle, a fellow prisoner. \u201cWe were just starved.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In December of 1972, McCain and his fellow prisoners cheered as American bombs fell around the prison complex where he was held \u2014 the &#8220;Hanoi Hilton&#8221; \u2014 during the Christmas bombing that marked an escalation of the U.S. offensive. They might die in the attack, but the prisoners figured it was the best chance of subduing the Vietnamese and getting home.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-smg-jwplayer-video\"><atype-video-jwplayer nostick=\"true\" playlisturl=\"https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/v2\/playlists\/fCzRqMW8?tags=492bb8ab-03c3-424e-837a-16f301fdf5a5\" poster=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/video-poster-492bb8ab-03c3-424e-837a-16f301fdf5a5.jpg\" aspectratio=\"16 \/ 9\" mute autostart=\"false\"><\/atype-video-jwplayer><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In remembrance of Sen. John McCain, 1936 &#8211; 2018, Navy pilot, statesman, maverick.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On March 14, 1973, it was finally McCain&#8217;s turn to be released. He was bused to a nearby airport and escorted onto an American plane. &#8220;There is no way I can describe how I felt as I walked toward that U. S. Air Force plane,&#8221; McCain wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For the rest of his life, McCain would be unable to lift both his arms over his head because of the injuries he suffered during his captivity in Vietnam. But he gained something, too. &#8220;In prison, I fell in love with my country,&#8221; he wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI had loved her before then, but like most young people, my affection was little more than a simple appreciation for the comforts and privileges most Americans took for granted. It wasn\u2019t until I had lost America for a time that I realized how much I loved her.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Oct. 26, 1967, a missile the size of a telephone pole blew the wing off of John McCain\u2019s Skyhawk dive bomber.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":90077,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[160,36,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3157],"class_list":["post-45875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-newsletters","category-pentagon"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"5IMDHZNFXJAG3LDFYLVNDUF3SQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/08\/26\/mccain-on-his-time-as-pow-i-fell-in-love-with-my-country\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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