... was the pilot of the plane hit by the Zuni rocket which caused the fire on the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal on July 29, 1967. He was not in any way responsible for the deaths of the sailors on the ship.

BTW, McCain was shot down over North Vietnam and taken prisoner in December 1967. When his father, Admiral John S. McCain, Jr., was named Commander in Chief, Pacific (CINCPAC) in July 1968, the North Vietnamese offered to immediately repatriate McCain. McCain refused the offer, invoking the U.S. Code of Conduct, which provides that prisoners ought to be released in the order in which they were taken prisoner. He declined to take advantage of his celebrity status to jump the queue. The next month, the North Vietnamese began a systematic torture of McCain which nearly killed him several times. Ultimately, he spent almost five years longer in captivity than he would have if he had taken advantage of the offer of early release.

The man had courage and the courage of his convictions. Whatever you think of his politics, you should respect and admire his conduct as a prisoner of war.

The subject line of your post is scurrilous and contemptible, Peter.

Jim Reilly