I’m reading Unbroken, by Laura Hilldenbrand 
who also wrote Seabiscuit, 
two great books. I’m in the throes of when Lieutenant Louis Zamperini during the Second World War, after his plane crashed into the Pacific ocean, was a prisoner of war in a Japanese internment camp.
You can imagine how striking it was to read Donald Trump’s remark about Senator John McCain, also a prisoner of war.
“He’s not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”
A friend felt it was taken out of context and that very well may be, but as far as I’m concerned, it never should have been said.
Mr. McCain, a naval aviator, was shot down during the Vietnam War, badly injured and held prisoner for more than five years in Hanoi refusing early release even after being repeatedly beaten.
You know why?
Because he wouldn’t leave his men.
After reading Profiles of Courage For Our Time, 
a compilation of essays put together by Caroline Kennedy of all the recipients of the John F. Kennedy Foundation’s prestigious award for political courage, Senator McCain being one, I became his instant fan.
I read about how courageous he was as a POW and thought, wow, he’s who I’d want to be marooned on a desert island with.
After reading in Unbroken how incredibly mean the Japanese were to Americans, I can only imagine how John McCain was treated by his captors, yet he stayed to protect those in his care.
The bravery, selflessness and passionate responsibility he felt for the young men he led made me cry.
When he ran against Barack Obama for president, I almost voted for him and would have if it wasn’t for that wacky Alaskan as his running mate since, if something happened to him, she’d be in the driver‘s seat.
America, the land of the free, thanks to soldiers like Louis Zamperini and John McCain, says a crackpot like Donald Trump can run for president.
The First Amendment gives him freedom of speech, even if his words writhe worthlessly in the wind.
John McCain is a hero. If they find 22 heads in his backyard while he’s doing the hula in a pencil skirt, he’ll still be a hero because of what he did as a soldier.
And I have one question for Mr. Trump.
Donald, what’s it like being such an asshole?
Arizona Senator John McCain…POW 1967-1973
SB
