To this day, little is known in the West about the fate of the more than 200,000 Vietnamese prisoners of war who fell into the hands of the Americans and their allies. Many became victims of the increasingly brutal Vietnam War.
If the average American had to name a hero of recent history off the top of their head, the name John McCain would probably be high on the list. A prominent member of the Republican Party, the statesman made a name for himself not only as a politician, but also because of his traumatic experiences as a prisoner of war in the Vietnam War, which lasted from 1955 through 1975.
On Oct. 26, 1967, McCain's Douglas Skyhawk fighter jet was shot down over North Vietnam, crash-landing behind enemy lines. The wounded lieutenant commander was then taken to the notorious Hoa Lo prison, which the Americans sarcastically called the «Hanoi Hilton.» McCain was regularly brutally interrogated and tortured by his tormentors there.
Nevertheless, he refused an early release from captivity out of a sense of responsibility toward his fellow prisoners. Only after his release in March 1973 was he able to report on his suffering. McCain, who died in 2018, carried lifelong impairments from his captivity. His eventful life in the public eye was accompanied by his reputation for bravery, honor and conservative patriotism.
In many ways, the violent experiences of the approximately 200,000 to 300,000 communist prisoners in South Vietnam can be compared to those of McCain. On both sides, prisoners were tortured, abused and violated. This is shown by previously classified sources from the U.S. National Archives.