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McCain is an American Hero.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080508/D90H5S3O0.html
WASHINGTON (AP) - From his five years in a North Vietnamese prison camp to his tenure as the Navy's liaison to the Senate, John McCain's Navy record boils down to a series of unadorned paragraphs that bestow upon him some of the nation's top military honors.
The Navy recently released McCain's military record - most of it citations for medals during his Navy career - after a Freedom of Information Act request by The Associated Press.
McCain was awarded a Silver Star Medal for resisting "extreme mental and physical cruelties" inflicted upon him by his captors from late October to early December 1967, the early months of his captivity, according to the citation. The North Vietnamese, according to the Navy, ignored international agreements and tortured McCain "in an attempt to obtain military information and false confessions for propaganda purposes."
McCain, now the Republican Party's likely presidential nominee, was taken prisoner in October 1967 after he was shot down while on a mission over Hanoi. He wasn't freed until March 1973, after the United States signed peace agreements with the North Vietnamese. His captors tortured him and held him in solitary confinement. Still, he declined an offer of early release until those who had been at the prison longer than him were let go.
That decision earned McCain a Navy Commendation Medal. Although McCain was "crippled from serious and ill-treated injuries," he steadfastly refused offers of freedom from those holding him prisoner. "His selfless action served as an example to others and his forthright refusal, by giving emphasis to the insidious nature of such releases, may have prevented a possibly chaotic deterioration in prisoner discipline," the citation says.
McCain attended the U.S. Naval Academy from 1954 to 1958, and was commissioned as an ensign in June of that year. He retired in April 1981 with the rank of captain. In that time he received 17 awards and decorations. Besides the Silver Star Medal, McCain also received the Legion of Merit with a combat "V" and one gold star, a Distinguished Flying Cross and a Bronze Star Medal with a combat "V" and two gold stars.
Several citations mention his achievements either as a prisoner or as a lieutenant commander flying bombing runs off the deck of the USS Oriskany. Some are signed by then-Secretary of the Navy John Warner, who would become a colleague of McCain's in the Senate.
The citations refer to his "accurate ordnance delivery" and his "aggressive and skillful airmanship." He earned his Bronze Star the day before he was shot down, for participating in a mission over an airfield in Phuc Yen, 11 miles north of Hanoi.
The citation for his Distinguished Flying Cross sums up McCain's misfortune the following day:
"Although his aircraft was severely damaged, he continued his bomb delivery pass and released his bombs on the target. When the aircraft would not recover from the dive, Commander McCain was forced to eject over the target."
Years later, as his Navy career approached its end, McCain received the Legion of Merit Medal. By then, his missions were in the halls of Congress as a liaison to the Senate from the Navy's Office of Legislative Affairs.
He was praised for providing Navy leaders "with sage advice and sound judgment for enacting critical legislation during a period of severe fiscal constraint."
The following year, he ran for Congress from Arizona, and won.
McCain is an American Hero.
How many other candidates can show footage of themselves literally crawling through fire? It doesn't get more macho than that.
(McCain was sitting in his fighter on the deck of an aircraft carrier during a rather nasty accident and fire that was caught by the deck camera)
Sorry couldn't find the footage on youtube, but it is out there somewhere. I saw it during his run for the 2000 GOP nomination.
Below is a 5 minute clip of the incident with narration from either a do entary or a news report:
I watched it all the way through, and McCain isn't shown. The video appears to be some kind of analysis of the firefighting on deck after the initial explosion.
Last edited by RandomGuy; 05-08-2008 at 10:51 AM. Reason: added comment on video
yeah, the guy is always finding himself in the wrong place. he tends to attract disaster.
Or, he acts in the face of danger.
This is probably McCain's greatest strength. He's definitely not a wuss.
yeah, i'd run from a fire too.
heh, but would you have the stones to sit in the middle of a flying gas tank strapped to thousands of pounds of explosives hurled off a moving runway hundreds of feet too short that is surrounded by sharks in the middle of the ocean?
A bit more risk than *I* would be willing to take.
H.W. did that, as well.
Watched the American Experience special on him; also a very impressive man.
McCain>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Rambo
i like mccain, as a person and a patriot, but we don't need a guy that requires an education on a speech that he's in the middle of. his thoughts need constant correction. is there a pocket protector big enough for him to carry around little joe? if not, then lets get someone that won't accidentally step into traffic.
Oh yeah, I respect the Elder Bush immensely. A genuinely decent guy, despite the "I don't recalls" during the Iran-Contra coverup.
WW2 carriers were immensely more dangerous than modern carriers, especially with the crappy carrier planes that we started the war with. You gotta have some respect for the guys in those tin cans.
... and don't get me started on the abomination that was the Sherman tank. If you ever want to get really pissed off, read about how ty THAT thing was.It was mechinically reliable, but that was about it.
But, I digress.
This is a bit unfair, but a valid criticism. McCain should have known better than to repeatedly confuse Al Qaeda with shia dominated Iran.
This bit will be used to beat him about the head in the general, and don't think I won't resurrect my thread on it after the Dems wrap up the nomination.
you think it's that ONE speech? seriously, we don't need a guy that "isn't all there" in the drivers seat.
That particular bit was something he repeated previously a few times.
It is just that particular clip had someone happened to be standing there who knew a bit better than he did (Liebermann).
If you are referring to his age, that is a genuine concern to me, although by far not a deciding/major factor.
His age and past medical problems will end up making his choice for VP a uva lot more important than it would be otherwise.
Eh, wait until the former POWs for Truth get ahold of him this fall.
songbird?
(wrinkles face in disgust)
Man, politics is not a nice place to be. Can't say that group sits well with me.
I have heard that on the Huffington Post and Daily kos that there are people already saying he was never actually tortured. not only was he not tortured he is actually committed treason while in the custody of the viet cong... And those people are obama's base? Obama is going to get slaughtered in November..
Boy, I hope they try.
I agree. Among the candidates, he is the olny one who has what it takes to be president. I just cannot tolerate his stance on some very important items. Otherwise, I have complete admiration for him. He is too liberal for me to want him as president.
McCain was a terrible pilot, which is why he got shot down in Vietnam...rumor is he wrecked or nearly wrecked three planes just in flight school.....not only that, sources say that he collaborated with the Vietnamese while in prison camp...
Yep, only Propagana Dan believes rumors.
WMD's was a rumor. anybody buy that ?
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