POW in NVN
(Infamous “Hanoi Hilton”) after
capture
in Oct 1967
(Held for 5 ½ years and tortured plenty)
R.I.P. John McCain
August 29, 1936 - August 25, 2018
(You served honorably time to rest)
Sen. McCain’s last message to the public just before he died, Saturday,
August 18, 2018 at his home in Arizona: R.I.P. John S. McCain.
His entire statement – his very last from CNBC.com (and at various others sites as well.
“My fellow Americans, whom I
have gratefully served for sixty years, and especially my fellow Arizonans,
thank you for the privilege of serving you and for the rewarding life that
service in uniform and in public office has allowed me to lead. I have tried to
serve our country honorably. I have made mistakes, but I hope my love for
America will be weighed favorably against them.”
“I have often observed that I
am the luckiest person on earth. I feel that way even now as I prepare for the
end of my life. I have loved my life, all of it. I have had experiences,
adventures and friendships enough for ten satisfying lives, and I am so
thankful. Like most people, I have regrets. But I would not trade a day of my
life, in good or bad times, for the best day of anyone else’s.”
“I owe that satisfaction to
the love of my family. No man ever had a more loving wife or children he was
prouder of than I am of mine. And I owe it to America. To be connected to
America’s causes — liberty, equal justice, respect for the dignity of all
people — brings happiness more sublime than life’s fleeting pleasures. Our
identities and sense of worth are not circumscribed but enlarged by serving
good causes bigger than ourselves.”
“Fellow Americans” — that
association has meant more to me than any other. I lived and died a proud
American. We are citizens of the world’s greatest republic, a nation of ideals,
not blood and soil. We are blessed and are a blessing to humanity when we
uphold and advance those ideals at home and in the world. We have helped
liberate more people from tyranny and poverty than ever before in history. We
have acquired great wealth and power in the process.”
“We weaken our greatness when
we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and
hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. We weaken it when we hide
behind walls, rather than tear them down, when we doubt the power of our
ideals, rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have
always been.”
“We are 325 million opinionated,
vociferous individuals. We argue and compete and sometimes even vilify each
other in our raucous public debates. But we have always had so
much more in common with each other than in disagreement. If only we remember
that and give each other the benefit of the presumption that we all love our
country we will get through these challenging times. We will come through them
stronger than before. We always do.”
“Ten years ago, I had the privilege to
concede defeat in the election for president. I want to end my farewell to you
with the heartfelt faith in Americans that I felt so powerfully that evening. I
feel it powerfully still.”
“Do not despair of our
present difficulties but believe always in the promise and greatness of
America, because nothing is inevitable here. Americans never quit. We never
surrender. We never hide from history. We make history. Farewell, fellow Americans.
God bless you, and God bless America.”
My 2 cents: Now the article from Sen. McCain relating to his personal experience with torture (as a POW in NVN) –
worth reading – enjoy.
The article from
the NY TIMES with this headlines:
What John McCain Taught Us About Torture
“This is a moral debate. It is about who we are.”
Thanks for stopping by.
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