HISTORY
Wisdom from a Grandson, Dedicated to John McCain
I want to paint a picture of a grandfather and a little boy, 13 or 14 years old. The little boy is excited because he's just left the library. He loves studying history. He was particularly interested in the history of World War II and Vietnam because of the political events and all the things that unfold there. So he's always studying.
He came home and his grandfather was visiting. He took the opportunity to talk to his grandfather.
“Grandpa, what do you think about John McCain?”
Grandfather puts down his cup of coffee and says, “He's not a war hero. He was captured. I don't like people who was captured.”
The little boy's excitement and expression suddenly changed. His face became reflective and troubled.
“Grandpa, why would you say such a thing?”
Grandfather replied, “I've heard it through many rallies. I understand that he's not done anything to support this country. He's just a captured person who got into the political realm and never agreed with anything that President Trump said.”
The little boy's face grew more distraught.
“But Grandpa, I just finished reading about him.”
Grandpa replied, “Well, I don't care what you read. I know what I've heard.”
The little boy walked away in silence.
About ten minutes later, the little boy cautiously approached grandfather again.
“Grandpa, if I could talk to you just one more minute. As I studied history, I've learned that history does not lie. It's factual. I try to learn from it. The other thing is I've learned that people can lie. They can try to mislead and make us believe what they want us to believe. I printed this off. If you would please just read it. I hope you still love me after you do.”
John McCain graduated from United States Naval Academy in 1958 and became a naval aviator, flying an attack aircraft for the United States Navy during the Vietnam War.
In July of 1967, while serving aboard the USS Forrestal, CV-59, disaster struck when an accidental rocket firing on the flight deck triggered a massive explosion and fires among aircraft. The catastrophic catastrophe killed 134 sailors and injured many more. McCain escaped his burning aircraft on the flight deck only moments before additional explosions tore through the deck and helped try to secure and rescue fellow sailors during the chaos before being forced away by the flames and detonations.
After surviving the Forrestal disaster, McCain was reassigned to the USS Oriskany, CV-34, and continued flying combat missions over North Vietnam. He flew approximately 23 combat missions before being shot down on October 26, 1967, while piloting an A-4 Douglas Skyhawk over Hanoi.
During the ejection, he suffered devastating injuries, including broken arms and a broken leg. After parachuting into a lake, barely surviving and not drowning, he was captured by North Vietnamese forces and was severely beaten. McCain spent more than five years as a prisoner of war, much of that time enduring torture, solitary confinement, disease, and repeated physical abuse inside the prison known as the Hanoi Hilton.
Because his father was a high-ranking admiral, the North Vietnamese offered him an opportunity for early release as a propaganda victory. McCain refused the offer and stated, “Unless the men captured before me were released first,” following the military code of refusing special treatment ahead of fellow prisoners, he would not accept release.
He was finally released in 1973 after years of captivity and returned home with permanent physical injuries from his torture and abuse that he had endured.
Regardless of later political disagreements people may have had with him, his military service and sacrifice during the Vietnam War became a significant part of why many veterans and Americans viewed him as a hero. He had the opportunity to go home and escape further abuse, but he stood there and inspired fellow prisoners, developed codes to talk with them, and encouraged lower-ranking POWs during the entire process.
“Grandpa, I'm thinking about joining the military someday, and what I've studied in history is this: any man that won't come home, instead of refusing, instead of being beaten when he could have and carries scars for the rest of his life and thinks more of others than of himself, who stays in a position for five years enduring torture so he can lead younger men, keep them motivated, and protect them as well as he could, that man is a hero in my eyes.”
— Rollin E. Trueblood, USMC (Ret.)
Sources
The sources for this dispatch are still being added. Until they are here, treat the factual claims above as Ron's own account rather than as verified reporting.