P.O.W. LIEUTENANT john s. mcain
John S. McCain at this point in 1973: He was 37 years old, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy whom was trained as a Navy pilot. He has an impressive history of military tradition in his family which gives an interesting edge to his prisoner of war experience. His father was the Navy Commander of the Pacific Fleet during the Vietnam War, his grandfather was a four star Navy admiral and his grandfather a Commander in the Army during WWI. (A lot to live up to!)
SUMMARY OF MCCAIN'S PERSONAL ACCOUNT OF HIS P.O.W. CAPTURE
What was the capture like?
On October 26, 1967, John McCain was flying an A-4E Skyhawk on his twenty-third mission over North Vietnam in the city of Hanoi. This mission would lead him to encounter very dangerous air defenses around the city. His plane was hit by a Russian made surface to air missile. The cause of his capture was damage done to his plane during a flight mission over the city is described in his own words ,” I was on my 23rd mission, flying right over the heart of Hanoi in a dive at about 4,500 feet, when a Russian missile the size of a telephone pole came up—the sky was full of them—and blew the right wing off my Skyhawk dive bomber. It went into an inverted, almost straight-down spin McCain ejected and landed badly injured in Truc Bach Lake. After almost drowning McCain inflated an intertube and was dragged from the lake and beaten by local civilians along the shore. He received two broken legs and an arm from the accident. Now was to begin John McCain's 5 1/2 years of captivity in North Vietnam. He was taken to Hoa Lo Prison, also known as "Hanoi Hilton,"(Which translates to Hell in Vietnamese) where he was refused medical treatment, interrogated, and beaten. As soon as the Vietnamese had learned his father was the Commander of the Pacific Fleet, Admiral McCain he was given medical treatment. If not for his father's stance he possibly would have been left for dead.
From the early stages of his capture McCain- a son and grandson of high-ranking naval officers was accorded a sort of privileged status in contrast to his fellow POWs. Although he did refuse early release, which he says he saw as a propaganda stunt by his captors, insisting that he follow the code of conduct and POWs held longer than him go to their freedom first in order of capture. Upon refusing to cooperate with the Vietnamese he was treated much more severely. In March of ‘68, began his two year stay in solitary confinement. In August of ‘68, a regiment of the worst torture began on McCain. He was put under everything from rope bindings to repeated beatings a couple times a day. McCain attempted to commit suicide and was caught by guards then being put under suicide watch. At this time he expresses coming to a “breaking point” and signed a forced confession during the torture. When he resisted further attempts to be used for North Vietnamese propaganda, a regiment of beatings two or three times a week was established. In the other half of ‘69 the North Vietnamese treatment of American POWs took a more humane stance and the physical torture ended. McCain was released on March 14 of ‘73. He returned home limping on crutuches and endured many years of physical therapy. McCain in fact did later regain flight status and commanded a Navy squadron before finally retiring from the Navy in 1981.
WEBSITE: http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2008/01/28/john-mccain-prisoner-of-war-a-first-person-account
What was the capture like?
On October 26, 1967, John McCain was flying an A-4E Skyhawk on his twenty-third mission over North Vietnam in the city of Hanoi. This mission would lead him to encounter very dangerous air defenses around the city. His plane was hit by a Russian made surface to air missile. The cause of his capture was damage done to his plane during a flight mission over the city is described in his own words ,” I was on my 23rd mission, flying right over the heart of Hanoi in a dive at about 4,500 feet, when a Russian missile the size of a telephone pole came up—the sky was full of them—and blew the right wing off my Skyhawk dive bomber. It went into an inverted, almost straight-down spin McCain ejected and landed badly injured in Truc Bach Lake. After almost drowning McCain inflated an intertube and was dragged from the lake and beaten by local civilians along the shore. He received two broken legs and an arm from the accident. Now was to begin John McCain's 5 1/2 years of captivity in North Vietnam. He was taken to Hoa Lo Prison, also known as "Hanoi Hilton,"(Which translates to Hell in Vietnamese) where he was refused medical treatment, interrogated, and beaten. As soon as the Vietnamese had learned his father was the Commander of the Pacific Fleet, Admiral McCain he was given medical treatment. If not for his father's stance he possibly would have been left for dead.
From the early stages of his capture McCain- a son and grandson of high-ranking naval officers was accorded a sort of privileged status in contrast to his fellow POWs. Although he did refuse early release, which he says he saw as a propaganda stunt by his captors, insisting that he follow the code of conduct and POWs held longer than him go to their freedom first in order of capture. Upon refusing to cooperate with the Vietnamese he was treated much more severely. In March of ‘68, began his two year stay in solitary confinement. In August of ‘68, a regiment of the worst torture began on McCain. He was put under everything from rope bindings to repeated beatings a couple times a day. McCain attempted to commit suicide and was caught by guards then being put under suicide watch. At this time he expresses coming to a “breaking point” and signed a forced confession during the torture. When he resisted further attempts to be used for North Vietnamese propaganda, a regiment of beatings two or three times a week was established. In the other half of ‘69 the North Vietnamese treatment of American POWs took a more humane stance and the physical torture ended. McCain was released on March 14 of ‘73. He returned home limping on crutuches and endured many years of physical therapy. McCain in fact did later regain flight status and commanded a Navy squadron before finally retiring from the Navy in 1981.
WEBSITE: http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2008/01/28/john-mccain-prisoner-of-war-a-first-person-account
DOCUMENTS RELATED TO MCCAIN'S CAPTURE
There are 35 pages of original documents in this set are reports from the CIA'S Foreign Broadcast Information Service and the Message Center of the U.S. Department of Defense National Military Command Center. There are several poignant documents such as the Department of Defense Files related to his capture as well as CIA files released on the treatment of American POW's, audio of a John McCain interview as well as a paper written by John McCain while at the National War College titled, “The Code of Conduct and the Vietnam War.
The Vietnam War was the first war to test of the Code of Conduct. The better part of the American POWS were held by the enemy longer than in any other conflict entered in by Americans. The scholarly paper discusses the Code of Conduct, piece by piece and assesses its value and necessity as they related to the Vietnam War experience. This report contrasts circumstances and treatment of American POWs experienced in Vietnam, and how it effected their ability to live up to the code. A quote from Commander McCain states that, "The American people have been inoculated with too many John Wayne movies and other examples of unbreakable will and super human strength. It has been amply proved that every man has a breaking point."
WEBSITE: http://www.paperlessarchives.com/mccainciafiles.html
-Quotes: In Vietnam the American POW did not suddenly find himself on the war's sidelines. Rather, he found himself
on one of the major battlefronts – the propaganda battlefront."
-In order for this nation to have men-who perform creditably in combat as well as in prison, American fighting men must receive training and education not in the code of conduct alone ,but in the principles and policies that have made this country a model for freedom loving people to emulate. A program of education for our Armed Forces as to the principles of democracy and current foreign policy needs to be established and vigorously prosecuted.
There are 35 pages of original documents in this set are reports from the CIA'S Foreign Broadcast Information Service and the Message Center of the U.S. Department of Defense National Military Command Center. There are several poignant documents such as the Department of Defense Files related to his capture as well as CIA files released on the treatment of American POW's, audio of a John McCain interview as well as a paper written by John McCain while at the National War College titled, “The Code of Conduct and the Vietnam War.
The Vietnam War was the first war to test of the Code of Conduct. The better part of the American POWS were held by the enemy longer than in any other conflict entered in by Americans. The scholarly paper discusses the Code of Conduct, piece by piece and assesses its value and necessity as they related to the Vietnam War experience. This report contrasts circumstances and treatment of American POWs experienced in Vietnam, and how it effected their ability to live up to the code. A quote from Commander McCain states that, "The American people have been inoculated with too many John Wayne movies and other examples of unbreakable will and super human strength. It has been amply proved that every man has a breaking point."
WEBSITE: http://www.paperlessarchives.com/mccainciafiles.html
-Quotes: In Vietnam the American POW did not suddenly find himself on the war's sidelines. Rather, he found himself
on one of the major battlefronts – the propaganda battlefront."
-In order for this nation to have men-who perform creditably in combat as well as in prison, American fighting men must receive training and education not in the code of conduct alone ,but in the principles and policies that have made this country a model for freedom loving people to emulate. A program of education for our Armed Forces as to the principles of democracy and current foreign policy needs to be established and vigorously prosecuted.
HANOI PRISON
An article about Ex-POW John McCain visit to the 'Hanoi Hilton' jail where he was held captive for five years
An article about a good-will visit John McCain made to the prison he spent time in as a POW of the Vietnam War. Vietnam's communist government has turned the facility into a museum. It was originally used by French colonialists to hold Vietnamese revolutionaries, then used by the North Vietnamese after they took power to house Americans captured during the Vietnam War.
WEBSITE:http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2008/01/28/john-mccain-prisoner-of-war-a-first-person-account?page=15
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PROGRAM - LOCKED UP ABROAD
National Geographic site dedicated to POW experiences in Vietnam for the program "Locked Up Abroad". The two main narratives of the show are Ernie Brace and John McCain.
Website: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/locked-up-abroad/episodes/vietnam-pows-mccain-brace/
An article about Ex-POW John McCain visit to the 'Hanoi Hilton' jail where he was held captive for five years
An article about a good-will visit John McCain made to the prison he spent time in as a POW of the Vietnam War. Vietnam's communist government has turned the facility into a museum. It was originally used by French colonialists to hold Vietnamese revolutionaries, then used by the North Vietnamese after they took power to house Americans captured during the Vietnam War.
WEBSITE:http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2008/01/28/john-mccain-prisoner-of-war-a-first-person-account?page=15
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PROGRAM - LOCKED UP ABROAD
National Geographic site dedicated to POW experiences in Vietnam for the program "Locked Up Abroad". The two main narratives of the show are Ernie Brace and John McCain.
Website: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/locked-up-abroad/episodes/vietnam-pows-mccain-brace/
OPPOSING VIEWPOINTS ON JOHN MCCAIN'S CAPTURE:
Content: A website inciting criticism against John McCain’s account of his treatment in Hanoi. The article contests that he actually ended up giving up information to the North Vietnamese within three days of his capture and spilling locations about certain military operations and cites that he grossly exaggerates his treatment while held in Hanoi.
Website: http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2013/05/29/john-mccain-war-hero-or-something-less/4. Title: Locked Up Abroad Episode POWs: McCain and Brace
Content: A website inciting criticism against John McCain’s account of his treatment in Hanoi. The article contests that he actually ended up giving up information to the North Vietnamese within three days of his capture and spilling locations about certain military operations and cites that he grossly exaggerates his treatment while held in Hanoi.
Website: http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2013/05/29/john-mccain-war-hero-or-something-less/4. Title: Locked Up Abroad Episode POWs: McCain and Brace