John McCain is a Coward

You've "proven" to me that your reading of media has not taught you much of anything.

but it would be instructive to see how well you'd do spending five years in a POW camp and enduring torture, which he actually did, in fact, do.

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but it would be instructive to see how well you'd do spending five years in a POW camp and enduring torture, which he actually did, in fact, do.

That's the funny thing about torture. You kinda have to endure it. But as endurers of torture go, McCain wasn't all that endurant. Correct me if I'm wrong, Brandon, but I believe McCain said in his book that he voluntarily went and offered information in exchange for medical treatment.

I also believe it to be the case that senior officers believed that McCain should have been court martialed upon his return but that the Pentagon just wanted the whole Vietnam issue to go away.

Now obviously, every person has their own breaking point but considering the number of POWs who never gave any information, I think it's just a wee bit over the top to call John a "war hero".

What was it, a total of 10 hours in combat? But Gob1 did make the important point that it's not all that easy when you're cramped up in a small cockpit. Compare that to all those grunts who had the wide open jungle to run around in, to wallow in, to sleep in, to eat in, to ... and I guess it's easy to understand why McCain got so many medals.

Although McCain was badly wounded, his captors refused to treat his injuries, beating and interrogating him to get information; he was given medical care only when the North Vietnamese discovered that his father was a top admiral. His status as a prisoner of war (POW) made the front pages of major newspapers.

McCain spent six weeks in the hospital while receiving marginal care. By then having lost 50 pounds (23 kg), in a chest cast, and with his hair turned white, McCain was sent to a different camp on the outskirts of Hanoi in December 1967, into a cell with two other Americans who did not expect him to live a week. In March 1968, McCain was put into solitary confinement, where he would remain for two years.

In mid"1968, John S. McCain, Jr. was named commander of all U.S. forces in the Vietnam theater, and the North Vietnamese offered McCain early release because they wanted to appear merciful for propaganda purposes, and also to show other POWs that elite prisoners were willing to be treated preferentially. McCain turned down the offer; he would only accept repatriation if every man taken in before him was released as well. Such early release was prohibited by the POW's interpretation of the military Code of Conduct: To prevent the enemy from using prisoners for propaganda, officers were to agree to be released in the order in which they were captured.

In August 1968, a program of severe torture began on McCain. He was subjected to rope bindings and repeated beatings every two hours, at the same time as he was suffering from dysentery. Further injuries led to the beginning of a suicide attempt, stopped by guards. After four days, McCain made an anti-American propaganda "confession". He has always felt that his statement was dishonorable, but as he later wrote, "I had learned what we all learned over there: Every man has his breaking point. I had reached mine." Many American POWs were tortured and maltreated in order to extract "confessions" and propaganda statements; virtually all of them eventually yielded something to their captors. His wartime injuries left McCain permanently incapable of raising his arms above his head. He subsequently received two to three beatings weekly because of his continued refusal to sign additional statements.

IN THE WORDS OF JOHN MCCAIN

I think it was on the fourth day that two guards came in, instead of one. One of them pulled back
the blanket to show the other guard my injury. I looked at my knee. It was about the size, shape
and color of a football. I remembered that when I was a flying instructor a fellow had ejected
from his plane and broken his thigh. He had gone into shock, the blood had pooled in his leg, and
he died, which came as quite a surprise to us"a man dying of a broken leg. Then I realized that
a very similar thing was happening to me.

When I saw it, I said to the guard, "O.K., get the officer." An officer came in after a few minutes.
It was the man that we came to know very well as "The Bug." He was a psychotic torturer, one
of the worst fiends that we had to deal with.

I [John McCain] said, "O.K., I'll give you military information if you will take me to the hospital."

[emphasis added]

He left and came back with a doctor, a guy that we called
"Zorba," who was completely incompetent. He squatted down, took my pulse. He did not speak English, but shook his head and jabbered to "The Bug." I asked, "Are you going to take me to the hospital?"
"The Bug" replied, "It's too late."
I said, "If you take me to the hospital, I'll get well."

http://www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnmccain.com/USNEWSJohn%20McCain.pdf

What you are missing is the other facts about the other POWs. After you learn about them, then come back to us and tell us how McCain's status as a POW makes him any more (or less) a war hero. All those others don't wear their POW status on their sleeves, nor expect extra honors or respect from the American People. CLUE: We already know.

I [John McCain] said, "O.K., I'll give you military information if you will take me to the hospital."

Are you denying the words of John McCain?

I think it concerned them that my arm was broken, and they had messed up my leg. I had been reduced to an animal during this period of beating and torture. My arm was so painful I couldn't get up off the floor. With the dysentery, it was a very unpleasant time. Thank God they let me rest for a couple of weeks. Then they called me up again and wanted something else. I don't remember what it was now"it was some kind of statement. This time I was able to resist. I was able to carry on. They couldn't "bust" me again.

...and was not your opinion created by liberal, biased, one-sided, slanted news? It is no wonder we don't agree. The difference is, you hear only one side where I have heard both sides. So who is more qualified to make a sound judgment?