John McCain POW

In October 1967, the son and namesake of Admiral John McCain II was shot down over Hanoi, Vietnam, while flying his 23rd bombing mission for the U.S. Navy. After being captured by North Vietnamese forces, the younger John McCain spent the next five and a half years in prison camps while his father commanded U.S. forces in the Pacific. McCain's experience as a prisoner of war (P.O.W.), as recounted in his book Faith of My Fathers, has been a touchstone of his political career.

Beaten and interrogated, McCain signed the following "confession" at his captors' behest:

• "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..."

PolitiFact.com: No evidence McCain was a traitor

According Faith of my Fathers, McCain refused an opportunity to be released early from captivity, because "I did not want to go out of order."Politico: Some on left target McCain's war record (June 30, 2008) The phrase refers to the fact that a lower-profile prisoners than the admiral's son—who had been imprisoned longer—were not afforded the same opportunity. SFGate.com: McCain Says 5 1/2 Years As POW No Hero's Tale (August 16, 1999)