 |
Captain John Sidney McCain III, U.S.Navy (retired)
29 Aug 1936 - 25 Aug 2018 |
In my book, five plus years in the Hanoi Hilton and an honorable career in the United States Navy makes up for any number of perceived sins.
 |
| Lieutenant McCain (front right) with his squadron and T-2 Buckeye trainer, 1965. |
I could not let the passing of this man go unremarked. I didn't agree with him on many things, but he served his country in time of war. Many can't say they served, let alone in wartime, let alone as a prisoner of one of the most vicious regimes on the planet. For that he has my respect.
Godspeed, Cap'n. See you on the other side.
Comment honestly, but judiciously, if you get my drift...
I thought the quote Borepatch copied this morning said it best
ReplyDelete"I’d instead ask for God’s mercy upon his soul, for if we ask only for justice, we may receive only justice, and even a saint would flinch at that."
Amen!
Deletemoi aussi.
DeleteRoger that, Juvat.
ReplyDeleteI might add that yes, I still have the "Veterans For McCain" bumper sticker on my S-10 X-treme. I will even add that he infuriated me, more than Maverick infuriated CAG in "Top Gun".
ReplyDeleteBut this. This settles who he was. Hat tip to Joe Farrell, who posted this on the Nep Lex Facebook page.
https://www.weeklystandard.com/andrew-ferguson/reagan-mccain-and-sam-mcgee
He memorized Robert Service thanks to his neighbor in the Hanoi Hilton. He stood watch there; I didn't.
Bravo Zulu, Sen. McCain.
To me, this is much like the discussion at http://oldafsarge.blogspot.com/2018/08/the-guy-we-dont-talk-about.html I celebrate his service. I don't celebrate his actions afterwards.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Beans. I honor McCain for his service. His politics are best forgotten.
ReplyDeleteWhat ever you may argue, his strength and patriotism was undeniable. One of a kind, a very special man.
ReplyDeleteWhile in the Hanoi Hilton, the North Vietnamese broke every bone they coukd, while torturing Commander McCain, and they did not bother setting the bones properly afterwards. So after his return to the U.S., Navy surgeons had to rebreak them, so they could be properly set. I don't know if I could have gone through anything like that.
ReplyDeleteHey Old AFSarge;
ReplyDeleteI admired his service and he served when many ran to Canada, he was abused horribly by the North Vietnamese, but that is where my admiration comes to an end, from the Keating 5 to playing a conservative on TV and running the most lackluster presidential candidate run in recent history and shanking his running mate in the process. and many other things I don't agree with, I hope God judges him by his heart for a fair judgment.
I have to agree with MrGarabaldi, I dont know if we will ever know the truth in any of the incidents that he was in, in the military or afterwards, but he did his service and time in the Hanoi Hilton when many did not ever serve. Russell
DeleteWhat he did to Governor Palin was... not nice. She got a lot of people to vote for him.
DeleteSigh. What is it about politics that can and does corrupt so many people.
She was the reason I voted for him.
DeleteChalk me up as one more for Beans' viewpoint.
ReplyDeleteI am quite surprised by the comments. The parallels to the pariah are quite clear and yet, different outcome. My pattern recognition alarm is ringing....
ReplyDeleteOne went to jail, one did not. One was a criminal, one was not.
DeleteI honor McCain for his service in the Navy, but ever since the Keating 5 mess, he's been on my list of crooks to watch out for. Then with McCain-Feingold, he deep-sized again in my book. I didn't vote for him in the 2000 primaries, nor in 2008. I might've voted for him even without Sarah Palin on the ticket, but it would've been an election day decision with me holding my nose shut, holding my, and showing up at the polls with a sack over my head. But his service was honorable and I will honor him for that.
Deleteholding my breath -- sometimes my brain speeds along faster than my fingers can keep up with.
Deletesarge, shed you doubt. He was one of the Keating 5. He was a criminal.
DeleteI was not a fan of Mr McCain, but I did like his pick for VP when he ran for president. I will say that I have seen folks die from the type of brain cancer he had, and it is not a pleasant way to go. Not at all. Karma certainly came back to get him. I find it ironic that he was lucky enough to have great health care coverage while he was dealing with a very vicious cancer with a very lousy prognosis. Too bad he voted the way he did on Obamacare. Although I did not like him, at least you knew where he stood. He was definitely abrasively blunt, and many times just plain petty. I would have hoped that someone who went through what he had while in the military would have made him a better person.
ReplyDelete