As I follow along with the US Presidential elections, I am captivated by an interview I saw on TV with Senator John McCain. I share this story today; not as an endorsement of McCain for President, but because I was touched deeply by his heroic commitment to his fellow soldier. The details of the interview are reported here on this campaign website.
As McCain was completing his bombing mission, a Soviet-made surface-to-air missile struck his plane, shearing off the right wing. McCain ejected as his plane spiraled violently to earth. The force of the ejection knocked him unconscious and both of his arms and one leg were broken.
He regained consciousness as he plunged into a lake near his bombing target. Quickly, an angry mob gathered, seeking retribution for the rain of bombs. Dragging him from the lake, they broke his shoulder with a rifle butt and bayoneted him repeatedly. They loaded McCain into a truck and delivered him to the infamous – and hated – “Hanoi Hilton.”
Denied medical treatment for days, McCain’s condition deteriorated badly. His fellow POW’s, shocked at his appearance, thought McCain was near death. But they were determined that he survive. And thanks to their care, his health gradually improved.
Within a few months of McCain’s becoming a prisoner of war, his father, Admiral Jack McCain, was appointed commander of all U.S. forces in the Pacific. The North Vietnamese, sensing a propaganda prize, offered McCain early release.
But McCain refused early release, citing the code of conduct that prisoners of war should be released in the order in which they were captured. His captors demanded he accept their offer. McCain refused, over and over again. For his repeated defiance, his communist captors savagely beat him.
Before it was over, John McCain spent 5 years as a prisoner of war, two of them in solitary confinement.
Now that is leading with commitment! A leader is not willing to take the easy way out at the expense of others. A leader demonstrates their convictions, and does not just talk about them. As I watched Senator McCain recount the details of this story, my emotions stirred. So rarely in life have I witnessed such a devotion to duty, honor, and others.
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