Naval Officers, Heroes and Citizens
I was fortunate enough to be allowed the opportunity to serve almost 22 years in the United States Navy. I have sailed on all 5 oceans of the world, and the 7 seas. I have set foot on every continent save Australia and Antarctica. I have rounded both Capes. I have sailed through minefields. I have been part of the greatest show of maritime power the world has ever seen, in the containment of the Mid East by the patrolling assets of the 2nd and 5th Fleet, all through the 90’s and the Iraq and Afghanistan War.
I am a student of history, as well as a proud enlisted leader that took sailors to war for over 2 decades. In my time in the Navy, I had the opportunity to learn the lessons of leadership and heroism of great Naval heroes. Decatur, Perry, Dewey, Farragut, Nimitz, Halsey, Kincaid, Spruance, Brashear, Flynn, and a host of others.
Today, we bid farewell to one of those Naval heroes. A man that spent his entire adult life in service to the nation. The first part of it was spent as a sailor and naval aviator. He volunteered for combat duty in 1967. Shortly after arriving in theatre, on USS Forrestal, he was in a A4 Skyhawks awaiting a bombing mission, when a faulty missile fired across the flight deck and struck his fully fueled and armed plane. He climbed out of the burning plane and was helping to extract a fellow pilot from the inferno when a missile exploded and peppered his chest and legs with shrapnel. Within weeks, he volunteered for service on the USS Oriskany. Months later he was shot down over Hanoi.
He was taken prisoner of war. When taken prisoner, after ejecting from a damaged aircraft, he was nearly beaten to death by the mob that found him. He was bayoneted. His wounds from the ejection were worsened, intentionally by manipulation of the mob. In fact, his life was probably saved by the military patrol that took custody of him.
He was taken Hoa Lo prison, the “Hanoi Hilton”, where he was refused medical care until it was discovered his father was a high ranking Naval Admiral. His refusal to cooperate and refusal of early release gained him years of horrific abuse. He was bound and beaten every 2 hours, while suffering from dysentery. He was housed with 2 other prisoners that believed he would not live. Months later, he was placed in solitary confinement for over a year. Eventually he signed a forced, fraudulent confession form, under tremendous physical torture. He refused to sign anything else, and he was routinely beaten for it after that.
It was an experience I cannot imagine surviving. He refused release because there were longer serving POW’s that were not going to be released with or before him. He would live the rest of his life suffering the effects of the wounds and torture he endured. He would serve after he was released, and rehabilitate himself to the point of returning to active flight status. He would command, and improve a flight squadron and then go on to serve as the Naval liaison to the Senate, where he would be a pivotal figure in winning funding of the next supercarrier, the class on which I would serve for the entirety of my career.
His military service is on par with the most celebrated American heroes in our history. Yet, both times that he ran for President, members of his “party” would discount his service. They would publish lies and slander against him and his record of service. From this time came the name Songbird, one of the worst affliction ever assigned to an American war hero. This same strain of terrible citizens birthed the Swift Boaters that slandered John Kerrey. Men too afflicted with partisanship and ignorance, to recognize the lies they perpetuated and which did so much to contribute to the disgusting partisan gridlock we see today.
This man was John Sidney McCain III, USN CAPT Ret., twice awarded the Purple Heart, the POW medal, and a host of other awards for heroism and excellence. He was one of the touchstone stories of the Vietnam War, that encouraged me, gave me a goal of excellence in service to strive for.
Unfortunately, I am not able to agree with much of his politics. I have supported his work in support of rights and advancement of Native Americans, his fight against corruption and money in elections. But, I do not subscribe to his economic theories, nor to his increasingly jingoistic foreign policy positions. But, those are ideological debates that can be discussed and disagreed upon honorably.
Where I supported Senator McCain’s position most directly, was his utter and complete fight against the use of torture. In a time of war, there are decisions to make. There is a need for information and tactical advantage. But, I agree with Senator, CAPT and POW McCain, not only is torture unproductive, unreliable and ineffective, it is also wrong. America should and ought to refuse the use of evil means. The information will not produce victories, if it is gained in behavior no less vile and evil than the behavior of our enemies. It is wrong and unAmerican, and I stood proudly with Senator McCain against it’s use, and against it’s continued legality. Unfortunately, he was not heeded by the administration of GWB. And, to our eternal shame, America tortured prisoners, in violation of international law and decency.
No ends will ever justify those means, and Senator McCain has continually and consistently fought from that vantage point. The only man in the conversation nationally, who had first hand experience, he was ignored by the galaxy of politician who had almost uniformly evaded service he volunteered for. Abu Grahib did not happen because of good policy or morals. And Senator McCain was often a lonely and loud opponent that was savaged by his party and his peers.
I don’t deny that many things Senator McCain did in life were dumb. That is by his own admission and definition. But, it has rarely been seen in my lifetime, the consistency of opinion, the consistency of morals and the absolute fidelity to the idea of the best of America that were evidenced by this good, good man. I am proud that I served in a Navy informed and graced by his like, and the like of Admiral Stockdale, another Vietnam POW that sought high office. Both men were maligned and misunderstood by their opponents, in some of the most shockingly partisan and disgusting politics we have seen in over a century.
What the Senator stood for, he stayed solidly in support of, until the end. When he made mistakes or acted in a way he regretted, he apologized. He defended the character of the man he ran for the Presidency against, to his own party and supporters. Standing solidly against the racist and wrong disinformation that was overtaking the Republican Party, McCain admitted that his opponent was a good man, and that there was no need to fear him being President. Imagine, it was only 10 years ago that the Republican candidate for President rejected and fought racism within his party, regardless of the outcome of his election. That is completely and utterly impossible to find today.
In a time that is thoroughly and fully wrapped up in bitter racism, disinformation and nationalism, the most hated foe the current President has in his own party, is the most heroic member of that party since Eisenhower. In a manner that is disgusting, petty and disingenuous, the current President has degraded the service and sacrifice of a good, decent man, that has fought for the greatest good of this nation, for over 60 years. I suppose the greatest comment on the good and patriotic nature of John McCain is the hatred that Donald Trump has of the man. In the same way that you are judged by your friends, you are also measured by your enemies. Trump is not worthy of an enemy of the caliber of John McCain, but McCain fought his illegitimacy and treason until the end of his life.
That is not the life of a maverick, that is the life of a Patriot. And a patriot is how McCain shall be remembered to history. And the greatest endorsement of that status will be how Trump is remembered in history. The party fractured behind McCain and failed to deliver a good, decent and patriotic man to the White House. This same party chose to unite behind Trump and deliver a white nationalist sympathizer, immoral, ignorant, ill tempered and criminal man to that highest office, and all of them decided to degrade their office in support of these policies and illegalities, except one man, whose thumbs down late one evening in defense of the common citizen of America, will forever define his legacy. And I cannot think of a more principled or patriotic gesture to describe that life and career.
We are poorer as a community of veterans, poorer as a nation, and poorer as a species, with the loss of John Sydney McCain III. I am saddened and mourn his passing, I pray for his family and his friends. But I do not worry for the soul of a great American warrior and statesman. I know that he has traded the Hanoi Hilton and all of the after effects, for a place of great honor among the hosts praising the Lord.
Fair winds and following seas sailor. We have the watch. We shall not stop going down to the sea in ships, and we shall always have your example as a foundation for our own service. God bless, you are missed, more than you thought you deserved and less than you earned.
Peace.
I am a student of history, as well as a proud enlisted leader that took sailors to war for over 2 decades. In my time in the Navy, I had the opportunity to learn the lessons of leadership and heroism of great Naval heroes. Decatur, Perry, Dewey, Farragut, Nimitz, Halsey, Kincaid, Spruance, Brashear, Flynn, and a host of others.
Today, we bid farewell to one of those Naval heroes. A man that spent his entire adult life in service to the nation. The first part of it was spent as a sailor and naval aviator. He volunteered for combat duty in 1967. Shortly after arriving in theatre, on USS Forrestal, he was in a A4 Skyhawks awaiting a bombing mission, when a faulty missile fired across the flight deck and struck his fully fueled and armed plane. He climbed out of the burning plane and was helping to extract a fellow pilot from the inferno when a missile exploded and peppered his chest and legs with shrapnel. Within weeks, he volunteered for service on the USS Oriskany. Months later he was shot down over Hanoi.
He was taken prisoner of war. When taken prisoner, after ejecting from a damaged aircraft, he was nearly beaten to death by the mob that found him. He was bayoneted. His wounds from the ejection were worsened, intentionally by manipulation of the mob. In fact, his life was probably saved by the military patrol that took custody of him.
He was taken Hoa Lo prison, the “Hanoi Hilton”, where he was refused medical care until it was discovered his father was a high ranking Naval Admiral. His refusal to cooperate and refusal of early release gained him years of horrific abuse. He was bound and beaten every 2 hours, while suffering from dysentery. He was housed with 2 other prisoners that believed he would not live. Months later, he was placed in solitary confinement for over a year. Eventually he signed a forced, fraudulent confession form, under tremendous physical torture. He refused to sign anything else, and he was routinely beaten for it after that.
It was an experience I cannot imagine surviving. He refused release because there were longer serving POW’s that were not going to be released with or before him. He would live the rest of his life suffering the effects of the wounds and torture he endured. He would serve after he was released, and rehabilitate himself to the point of returning to active flight status. He would command, and improve a flight squadron and then go on to serve as the Naval liaison to the Senate, where he would be a pivotal figure in winning funding of the next supercarrier, the class on which I would serve for the entirety of my career.
His military service is on par with the most celebrated American heroes in our history. Yet, both times that he ran for President, members of his “party” would discount his service. They would publish lies and slander against him and his record of service. From this time came the name Songbird, one of the worst affliction ever assigned to an American war hero. This same strain of terrible citizens birthed the Swift Boaters that slandered John Kerrey. Men too afflicted with partisanship and ignorance, to recognize the lies they perpetuated and which did so much to contribute to the disgusting partisan gridlock we see today.
This man was John Sidney McCain III, USN CAPT Ret., twice awarded the Purple Heart, the POW medal, and a host of other awards for heroism and excellence. He was one of the touchstone stories of the Vietnam War, that encouraged me, gave me a goal of excellence in service to strive for.
Unfortunately, I am not able to agree with much of his politics. I have supported his work in support of rights and advancement of Native Americans, his fight against corruption and money in elections. But, I do not subscribe to his economic theories, nor to his increasingly jingoistic foreign policy positions. But, those are ideological debates that can be discussed and disagreed upon honorably.
Where I supported Senator McCain’s position most directly, was his utter and complete fight against the use of torture. In a time of war, there are decisions to make. There is a need for information and tactical advantage. But, I agree with Senator, CAPT and POW McCain, not only is torture unproductive, unreliable and ineffective, it is also wrong. America should and ought to refuse the use of evil means. The information will not produce victories, if it is gained in behavior no less vile and evil than the behavior of our enemies. It is wrong and unAmerican, and I stood proudly with Senator McCain against it’s use, and against it’s continued legality. Unfortunately, he was not heeded by the administration of GWB. And, to our eternal shame, America tortured prisoners, in violation of international law and decency.
No ends will ever justify those means, and Senator McCain has continually and consistently fought from that vantage point. The only man in the conversation nationally, who had first hand experience, he was ignored by the galaxy of politician who had almost uniformly evaded service he volunteered for. Abu Grahib did not happen because of good policy or morals. And Senator McCain was often a lonely and loud opponent that was savaged by his party and his peers.
I don’t deny that many things Senator McCain did in life were dumb. That is by his own admission and definition. But, it has rarely been seen in my lifetime, the consistency of opinion, the consistency of morals and the absolute fidelity to the idea of the best of America that were evidenced by this good, good man. I am proud that I served in a Navy informed and graced by his like, and the like of Admiral Stockdale, another Vietnam POW that sought high office. Both men were maligned and misunderstood by their opponents, in some of the most shockingly partisan and disgusting politics we have seen in over a century.
What the Senator stood for, he stayed solidly in support of, until the end. When he made mistakes or acted in a way he regretted, he apologized. He defended the character of the man he ran for the Presidency against, to his own party and supporters. Standing solidly against the racist and wrong disinformation that was overtaking the Republican Party, McCain admitted that his opponent was a good man, and that there was no need to fear him being President. Imagine, it was only 10 years ago that the Republican candidate for President rejected and fought racism within his party, regardless of the outcome of his election. That is completely and utterly impossible to find today.
In a time that is thoroughly and fully wrapped up in bitter racism, disinformation and nationalism, the most hated foe the current President has in his own party, is the most heroic member of that party since Eisenhower. In a manner that is disgusting, petty and disingenuous, the current President has degraded the service and sacrifice of a good, decent man, that has fought for the greatest good of this nation, for over 60 years. I suppose the greatest comment on the good and patriotic nature of John McCain is the hatred that Donald Trump has of the man. In the same way that you are judged by your friends, you are also measured by your enemies. Trump is not worthy of an enemy of the caliber of John McCain, but McCain fought his illegitimacy and treason until the end of his life.
That is not the life of a maverick, that is the life of a Patriot. And a patriot is how McCain shall be remembered to history. And the greatest endorsement of that status will be how Trump is remembered in history. The party fractured behind McCain and failed to deliver a good, decent and patriotic man to the White House. This same party chose to unite behind Trump and deliver a white nationalist sympathizer, immoral, ignorant, ill tempered and criminal man to that highest office, and all of them decided to degrade their office in support of these policies and illegalities, except one man, whose thumbs down late one evening in defense of the common citizen of America, will forever define his legacy. And I cannot think of a more principled or patriotic gesture to describe that life and career.
We are poorer as a community of veterans, poorer as a nation, and poorer as a species, with the loss of John Sydney McCain III. I am saddened and mourn his passing, I pray for his family and his friends. But I do not worry for the soul of a great American warrior and statesman. I know that he has traded the Hanoi Hilton and all of the after effects, for a place of great honor among the hosts praising the Lord.
Fair winds and following seas sailor. We have the watch. We shall not stop going down to the sea in ships, and we shall always have your example as a foundation for our own service. God bless, you are missed, more than you thought you deserved and less than you earned.
Peace.
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