What being a 'war hero' means in politics
Regarding Charles Derber and Yale Magrass's April 14 Opinion piece, "What does it mean to call McCain a 'war hero' candidate?": If a hero is somebody who does something above and beyond the call of duty, John McCain himself would be the first to deny he did anything heroic.
Mr. McCain's father was the admiral who was directing the US Navy's war effort in 1967, the year McCain became a POW. Although the North Vietnamese offered McCain an early release from captivity, he refused. His duty simply dictated he remain a prisoner until all those captured before him were released. Thus he languished in the Hanoi Hilton until 1973.
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