Better Men Than You or I

When I was five, my mother took my younger brother and I to visit the wife of a squadron mate of my Dad's. On the ride over, she stressed that we were not to ask about the woman's husband, because his plane had just been reported missing over North Vietnam. It was a somber visit; we played quietly on the floor while the gathered women drank coffee and talked in quiet tones.

I remembered the incident about ten years later, and asked my Dad about it. He never spoke about the war years, spent in an aircraft carrier off of Vietnam. He told me that his friend, Mike Christian, had survived being shot down and spent years in the Hanoi Hilton. He came home with his head held high, but was never quite right, never able to leave the demons behind.

http://www.snopes.com/rumors/soapbox/mccain.asp

http://www.pownetwork.org/bios/c/c083.htm:

Lt. Christian was promoted during his captivity to the rank of Lt. Commander. He voluntarily retired on February 1, 1978 while at the Armed Forces Staff College. His resignation was as a protest to president-elect Jimmy Carter's amnesty plan for draft dodgers. In protest, Christian threw his medals on the grave of a veteran. He had been awarded two Silver Stars, three Bronze Stars, four Air Medals, the Legion of Merit, and the Navy Commendation Medal.

On Memorial Day, I weep without shame, thinking of the price some men paid for what I have.