I don’t want to belabor this point as I think it cheapens his sacrifice for our country, but Sen. McCain, who was a naval aviator in the Vietnam War, was shot down on his 23rd bombing mission and captured by the North Vietnamese. His five and a half years of beatings and deprivation (much of it spent in the “Hanoi Hilton”) left him unable to raise his arms above his head. After being released, he sought reinstatement of his flight status and served as the commanding officer of a training squadron.
I make this a specific post (and an early one) to get it out there on the table. By no means as important as legislative service, platform or judgement, it is an important demonstration of the Senator’s understanding of service to the country. I believe it also prepared him well for the current debate over the military and intelligence communities’ use of torture.
I was amazed during Bob Dole’s 1996 run for the presidency that most people did not know he was severely wounded in World War II; he was not expected to walk again. Indeed, not only did most people not know where his condition originated, his inability to use his right hand and arm were frequently spoofed. While this may have been at the request of the very private senator, it was a significant misstep of his campaign.
There is a nice summary of the Senator’s experience on the campaign site and a link to a 20-minute video.
P.S. for you history/military buffs, Senator McCain was also on the USS Forrestall during its disasterous ordinance explosion and fire, the worst carrier disaster since WWII. Indeed, it was his A-4 Skyhawk that was struck by an accidentially-fired missile and exploded, I believe with him standing nearby. Sheesh.
