During the year I spent as a surgeon in Vietnam, I operated on quite a few prisoners of war.I was uniformly impressed with the treatment that they received, not only from a medical point of view, but from a humanity aspect.The enlisted men and women treated these prisoners,fairly and with compassion.Those prisoners with life threatening issues,were taken at the earliest possible time to the operating room.I recall one occasion,where we finished an operation on a prisoner on the floor,since we were under attack.
I recall those days, as I read the very moving op-ed this morning by Karl Rove in the WSJ.He recounts the quiet heroism of John McCain ,not through the mouth of McCain, but from a fellow American prisoner.The conditions and treatment of McCain and his fellow prisoners brought tears to my eyes.Perhaps this was because my only fear in Vietnam,especially when I was in Tay Ninh ( adjacent to the Ho Chi Minh Trail ) was being taken prisoner.We did have two killed physicians on our base just before I got there.
Win or lose, McCain represents that which is great about America.He is not a braggart,however after reading this article, you cannot help but agree with Rove that the American people deserve to know what wonderful and genuine qualities make up this private individual who if we are lucky will become our next Prez.
