How John McCain’s Years as a Vietnam POW Shaped His Life

John McCain, the Arizona Senator who died on Saturday, lived much of his life in the public political eye — but Americans started to learn about his famous courage at a time he was notably absent.

The saga began 51 years ago. As TIME reported in 1967, North Vietnamese planes had, for the first few years of the war in Vietnam, posed relatively little risk to American pilots. That changed as the pace of war accelerated and the eyes on both sides turned to the skies.

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108 more POWs are flown to freedom (Dave Winn, Profilet)

One hundred and eight former American prisoners of war landed here Wednesday, and the first man to debark told a cheering crowd, “Thank God, the United States of America, and all you wonderful, good-looking people.” The first of three C141 Starlifters that brought the returnees from Gia Lam Airport outside

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Former POW reflects on anniversary (Ted Sienicki)

Ted Sienicki was an Air Force Weapon Systems Officer in May 1972, when his F-4 was hit by anti-aircraft fire and he was forced to eject over North Vietnam. He spent 11 months as a prisoner of war. This weekend he will be in Hudson, Massachusetts, where the American Heritage Museum is

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