Political Quotes

“Mr. President, in the wake of Senator John McCain's passing, I was particularly moved by the announcement that, in accordance with his wishes, he will be buried in the cemetery at the U.S. Naval Academy. It is a fitting resting place for someone who belonged, in a special way, to the U.S. Navy, and it is characteristic of him that in death he wished to rest with his comrades in arms. It was during his service in the Navy that LCDR John McCain's plane was shot down over North Vietnam. He ejected, breaking several bones in the process, and was taken into captivity. During World War II, ADM Chester W. Nimitz, describing the actions of the Marines in the battle of Iwo Jima, noted that ``uncommon valor was a common virtue.'' The same thing can be said about the American soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines in the prison camps of North Vietnam. John McCain joined their number in October of 1967. During the years of his confinement, he was regularly beaten and tortured. He survived thanks, in part, to the friendship of his fellow prisoners of war. In 1968, his captors offered the malnourished and ill McCain the chance to be returned home early, ahead of prisoners who were next in line. John McCain said no. He spent another almost 5 years in captivity before being released on March 14, 1973. It scarcely needs to be said that he remained a thorn in his captors' side the entire time.…”