Posted on 06/23/2008 11:44:02 AM PDT by LibWhacker
Tran Trong Duyet - a sprightly retiree and amateur ballroom dancer - must rank as one of John McCain's more unlikely supporters.
Four decades ago, during the Vietnam war, Mr Duyet was in charge of the notorious Hoa Lo prison - the place where Mr McCain says he was brutally beaten and tortured during five-and-a-half years as an American prisoner of war.
"McCain is my friend," said 75-year-old Mr Duyet as he feeds the caged birds he now keeps in his garden in this coastal city.
"If I was American, I would vote for him."
Informal chats
Navy pilot John McCain was shot down during a bombing raid over the North Vietnamese capital, Hanoi, in 1967.
He ejected from his aircraft and parachuted into a city lake - only to be dragged out by an angry crowd, barely conscious, and with two broken arms and a broken leg.
From there he was taken to Hoa Lo prison, known to its American military inmates as the "Hanoi Hilton."
McCain has since described enduring months of solitary confinement and systematic torture which drove him to try to kill himself.
"I don't know how he'd react if he met me again," said Mr Duyet, flicking through old black and white photographs of himself and his American prisoners at Hua Lo.
"But I can confirm to you that we never tortured him. We never tortured any prisoners."
Mr Duyet reminisces instead about how he often summoned the future US presidential candidate to his private office for informal chats.
"We used to argue about the war - about whether it was right or wrong," he says.
"He is a very frank man - very conservative, and very loyal to his country and the American ideal.
"He had a very interesting accent and sometimes he taught me words in English and corrected my accent. I have followed his career since he left prison."
Rapprochement
So is Mr Duyet implying that that Senator McCain lied about his treatment at the Hanoi Hilton?
"He did not tell the truth," he says.
"But I can somehow sympathise with him. He lies to American voters in order to get their support for his presidential election."
But Mr Duyet's propaganda-perfect version of events is impossible to verify - and should be treated with caution in a country where the Communist authorities still keep a tight control over the media.
Relations between Vietnam and the United States have improved dramatically in recent years, following the normalisation of ties between the former enemies in 1995.
Mr McCain played a crucial role in bringing about that initial rapprochement - a fact which helps explain Mr Duyet's enthusiastic support for the McCain presidential campaign.
"I wish him success in the presidential election," he says.
"Of course the Americans started the war in Vietnam and killed so many people - but now we want to leave the past behind.
"So now I consider John McCain my friend because he did much to mend relations between our two countries. And if he becomes president he will do more to improve those ties."
Damning him with faint praise. Looks like Communists on both sides of the Pacific want to undermine his service.
"He did not tell the truth," he says.
"But I can somehow sympathise with him. He lies to American voters in order to get their support for his presidential election."
Yeah I'm totally going to believe that torturing, commie Charlie bastard.
Bzzzzt!
Thanks so much for playing.
Tell him what he's won, Don Pardo!
“But I can confirm to you that we never tortured him. We never tortured any prisoners.”
Unbelievable, truly unbelievable.
No but other torturing, commie bastards will believe him.
"I don't know how he'd react if he met me again," said Mr Duyet
I don't know either but I'd pay money to see it and I'd even hold McCain's jacket for him.
Well....the press clippings from February of 2000 may give him a rough idea.....
Several stories that ran last Friday quoted McCain as saying “I hate the gooks. I will hate them as long as I live… I was referring to my prison guards and I will continue to refer to them in language that might offend.”
You can expect this to be brought up again and again during the campaign season as race issues are brought up.
Yeah, if the North Vietnamese didn’t torture McCain then how come he can’t raise his arms over shoulders. McCain can’t even comb his own hair because of injuries he received as a POW.
If I had tortured the man who could become the one of the most powerful men in the world, politically speaking, I think I’d cover my tracks too.
Is it this guy?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nREIkkhJJBY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOPVvOYNVyo
And that is precisely why the BBC, part of Britain's Hard Left media world, published this article.
He killed more than one prisoner.
So is Mr Duyet implying that that Senator McCain lied about his treatment at the Hanoi Hilton?
“He did not tell the truth,” he says.
“But I can somehow sympathise with him. He lies to American voters in order to get their support for his presidential election.”
I’m not a big supporter of McCain but I believe him over Duyet!!
Hoa Lo Prison, one of the prisons where John McCain was held, conducted “no torture,” according to one of the guards at the prison. It’s pretty clear to me: McCain and the other POWs broke each other’s arms and legs and strung each other up so they could more easily pull out their fingernails and toenails. They were given lots of yummy food by their guards, but most of the POWs were on strict diets, so they refused to eat that yummy food and dined on rats and crickets, instead.
It’s all so much clearer now.
I’m not a big McCain fan but...I’ll side with him any time, any day, anywhere against this silly little liar of a man duyett.
I’m not a big McCain fan but...I’ll side with him any time, any day, anywhere against this silly little liar of a man duyett.
I believe Gook is used for Koreans and that Dink is used for Vietnamese, but what do I know?
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