McCain's Temper - Tortured Past ?

John McCain has always been known as a hot-head.   Where might this quick temper and rage come from?  

For the longest time, even before his run for for presidency, I knew he was a POW and was exposed to unthinkable acts of torture.  I have always been concerned about this and how this kind of treatment could affect any sound mind.  

That said, I wanted to know more about his time as a POW.    

Shot down over Hanoi

John was a jet fighter pilot during the Vietnam War, and as we have all learned, he has been called a hero for not just being a POW, but enduring years of tortures - literally.  Let me say right now, I am not writing this to attach the man, but rather, to raise the issue where might Senator McCain's temper might have found it's roots.

Life as a POW in the Hanoi Hilton

On Oct 26, 1967, John McCain's Skyhawk wing was blown off by a anti-aircraft missile near Hanoi.  His jet immediately went into a vertical inverted spin, causing him to bail out upside down at high speed.  The force of the ejection fractured McCains right arm in 3 places, his left arm, and his right leg and knocked him unconscious.  McCain landed in Truc Back Lake and nearly drowned.  Eventually, a mob pulled him ashore, spat on him, kicked him, and stripped him of his clothes.  His left shoulder was crushed with the butt of a rifle and he was bayoneted in his left foot and abdominal area.  He was shortly thereafter, rushed to the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" (Hoa Lo Prison) where is living hell was about to begin.   

He was in bad physical condition when he reached the the prison.  His captors refused to give him medical care unless he gave them military information; they beat him and interrogated him, but McCain offered only his name, rank and serial number.  Having been trained as a figher pilot, John knew was lay ahead as a POW.  

Near Death

Thinking that he was near death, McCain said he would give them more information if taken to the hospital, hoping he could then put his interrogators off once he was treated.  A prison doctor came and said it was too late, as McCain was about to die anyway.  Only when the North Vietnamese discovered that his father was a top admiral, did they give him medical attention.  It was then that his POW status made the front pages of the New York Times and Washington Post.  Interrogation and beatings resumed in the hospital; McCain gave the North Vietnamese his ship's name, squadron's name, and the attaches intended target.  (Disclosing this information was in violation of the U.S. Code of Conduct, which mcCain later wrote he regretted, although he saw the information as being of no practical use for his captors.)   

Solitary Confinement  

In March, 1968, McCain was put into solitary confinement, where he remained for two years.  Think about that - you live in a tiny box of a room, no ventilation, no sun, a hard board as a bed, and a horrible diet for two full years.  Having read this, I felt for the guy and questioned how would this have affected my spirit, my health, and most importantly, my mental well being.  

In mid-June, Major Bai, commander of the North Vietnamese prison camp system, offered McCain a chance to return home early after discovering that John's father was   named Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Command.  McCain turned down the offer, which only made his captors more angry.  Bai's assistant told McCain that things would get very bad.  

Ending one's own life

In late August 1968, a program of vigorous torture methods began on McCain.   It must have been a living hell.  I can't even begin to imagine what this must have been like.  The North Vietnamese used rope bindings to put him into prolonged, painful positions and severely beat him every two hours, all while he was suffering from dysentery.  His right leg was re-injured, his ribs were cracked, some teeth were broken at the gumline, and his left arm was re-fractured.  Lying in his own waste, his spirit was broken; the beginnings of a suicide attempt were stopped by guards.   

After four days of this, McCain signed and taped an anti-American propaganda "confession" that said, in part, "I am a black criminal and I have performed the deeds of an air pirate.   I almost died, and the Vietnamese people saved my life, thanks to the doctors."  He used stilted Communist jargon and ungrammatical language to signal that the statement was forced.  McCain was haunted then and since with the belief that he had dishonored his country, his family, his comrades and himself by his statement, but as he later wrote, "I had learned what we all learned over there: Every man has his breaking point. I had reached mine."  His injuries left him incapable of raising his arms above his head to this day.  Under extreme duress, virtually all the POWs eventually yielded something to their captors.  McCain's solitary confinement ended in March, 1970.  

Altogether, McCain was held as a prisoner of war for five and a half years.

Where am I going with this?  

We often hear how violent criminal's pasts can often be traced back to an abusive household.  How many times have we witnessed young men who have killed their wives and kids, again, only to find that they have had a troubled past.  We even hear that men who have had long stays in civilian prisons and how they have become hardened and have developed hatred toward authoritative figures.   Now add isolation and torture to the mix and you know that this has to speed the process of change on the mind.  It has too.  How can this inhumane treatment not affect how one reacts to a crisis, to others speaking down to you?  How can it not affect your temper?   

While I respect that John McCain served our nation well and did so honorably, I often question how his time as a tortured POW might have affected how he own anger, how he handles conflict and more importantly, how he might handle an international crisis.  Frankly, it worries me.  I seriously question his ability to made a rational decisions when it comes to the future of this nation knowing that Senator McCain has earned the nickname "Senator Hothead".  That worries me - and it should worry you too.  His repeated references to more wars, and a long and protracted conflict that may last this century should be seriously considered when it comes time to pulling the lever in the voting booth.  (See spine chilling McCain video - click here).   

Wouldn't you think there might be a correlation between his tortured past and his quick tempter - him snapping over minor issues.  With so much at risk, with the U.S. already involved in two wars, does it really make sense to have a person who was tortured for years have the ability to wipe out nations with the press of a single button?  Does that not make you think about what might really happen?

For the complete biography of John McCain during his years as a POW, click here.  

McCain's Rage - Could his past be where this Rage is coming from?

To see McCain's own admission of a bad temper, and McCain's co-workers discuss that rage, click here.