After the SAM struck McCain's plane he was spiraling violently toward earth at over 500 miles per hour. He managed to pull the ejection seat handle blowing him out of his disabled aircraft. He struck part of the plane, breaking his left arm, his right arm in three places, and his right knee. He landed in the middle of a lake in the center of the city. He pulled the life vest toggle with his teeth. In a matter of seconds hundreds of Vietnamese were beating him. Someone smashed a rifle butt into his shoulder, breaking it. Another jabbed him in the ankle and the groin with a bayonet. Fortunately an army truck arrived and he was thrown in the back and taken away from the savage mob. For sure he would have been killed in another minute or so. He was taken to the famous "Hanoi Hilton" where the dreaded interrogations began. In exchange for information he was promised medical treatment. He gave them his name, rank, and serial number. They beat him until he blacked out.

On the fourth day he realized how serious his condition was. He had a high fever and was loosing consciousness for long periods of time. He was lying in his own vomit and bodily waste. His knee was grossly swollen and discolored. The guards found a camp officer who spoke some English. McCain begged for treatment and even offered to cooperate. He was refused, and told it was "too late." The Vietnamese usually refused treatment to the seriously injured. Many of our men died who should not have. He received a few shots, nothing more. His interrogations were relentless torture. The beatings continued. The Viets had newspaper clippings detailing his capture, and stories about his being the son of an important Admiral. The Viets were extremely aware of the advantage of propaganda and used it to get what they wanted. They told McCain he was smearing his families honor. They were well aware of the importance of the capture of Lt. Commander John McCain, and explored different ways to take advantage of it. He was rolled into a treatment room where a Doctor tried to set the three fractures in his right arm without any anesthesia. He was then told he needed two operations on his leg, and if he did not cooperate with the interrogators they would remove the makeshift cast. The cast had worn two holes in his arm down to the bone. They were extremely pleased to have captured an Admirals son. This information rather than help caused the beatings to increase. His condition deteriorated, the high fever remained, and he was now suffering from dysentery. He had lost over 50 pounds and was in very poor condition. Most of the time he was in solitary confinement. Whenever possible fellow prisoners did what they could to clean him up and help. John's dysentery became so bad it caused a severe case of hemorrhoids. Just another source of irritation. The unpredictable beatings continued.

McCain was interrogated in June, 1968, for over two hours, and then was astonished when he was asked if he wanted to go home to be with his family. He still had dysentery, seriously underweight, and most injuries were now infected and had not healed at all. John knew the Code of Conduct, and replied that an American POW could not accept parole or amnesty or special favors. He was told that his injuries made his survival very doubtful, and he could not survive without medical care. McCain replied that prisoners must be released in the order of capture and that he would reject their offer. He was promised that things were really going to get much worse for him. Again he was called in and asked if he was ready to confess his crimes. He replied "fuck you." The next day the beatings started in earnest, he was knocked down and kicked in the head. They cracked several ribs, and knocked out several teeth. Again he was lying in his own blood, vomit and waste when guards came in and gave him his worst beating yet. One guard hit him in the face knocking him down. He fell on the waste bucket and broke his left arm again. They left him lying on the floor, the pain in the re-fractured arm was excruciating. He considered taking his own life.

The months and years passed with life at the Hilton a painful heartache. The Hilton, with it's individual "torture" rooms became a real hellhole for McCain. He was singled out as having a bad attitude. The "attitude" group was relocated to a place they called "skid row." Life there became extreme as they were kept in solitary confinement with no ventilation and no bath facilities. The camp had a stinking well filled to overflowing with human waste. Conditions were miserable, with many men suffering from hepatitis. They were soon transferred back to camp Unity, which restored their morale. One POW named Mike was a navy bombardier -navigator shot down in 1967. He had been there six months longer than McCain. He sewed an American flag inside his blue prisoner shirt. Every day before they ate they would hang Mike's flag on the wall and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. The Viets found his flag and confiscated it. For his punishment he was beaten savagely, puncturing his ear drum and breaking several ribs. They dragged his bloody body back to his cell. With both eyes swollen shut he quietly began sewing a new flag.

RELEASED

The bombing was halted in October. It was on again off again with the B-52s. The atmosphere in the Hilton was that something was about to happen. On March 15 McCain was called in and told he was being released that day. Dressed in cheap civilian clothes they boarded buses for an airport near Hanoi. There a C-141 transport plane was waiting to take them to Clark AFB in the Philippines. The Los Angeles Times ran a huge banner headline: Hanoi to Release Admiral's Son. Arriving home, McCain finally realized the hell of Vietnam was finally over. He stepped off the airplane as gracefully as he could, took a deep breath, and looking to the future- moved on.

John McCain is a United States Senator from Arizona. He retired from the Navy as a Captain in 1981, and was first elected to Congress in 1982. He is now serving his third term in the Senate.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I can only hope that every man that was ever in the military will read this book and appreciate the contributions of men like John McCain III. We all owe a debt of gratitude to men like him, true Americans who sacrificed everything for their country.

This book report is written by Wayland Mayo