Upon the news of Sen. John McCain’s death, his former Vietnamese jailer at the infamous Hanoi Hilton is offering his condolences.
McCain was a Navy pilot who spent five and a half years in prison after his Skyhawk dive bomber was shot down in Vietnam in 1967.
Now, the man who ran the prison at the time, former Col. Tran Trong Duyet, says he respects McCain and feels sad about his passing, ABC reports.
“When I learnt about his death early this morning, I feel very sad,” he reportedly said. “I would like to send condolences to his family. I think it’s the same feeling for all Vietnamese people as he has greatly contributed to the development of Vietnam-U.S. relations.”
McCain who claims he was tortured in jail, was commended by Duyet for his strength. “At that time I liked him personally for his toughness and strong stance,” he claims to the newspaper Vietnam News, published by the official Vietnam News Agency.
He also said that he loved arguing with McCain. “It was his stubbornness, his strong stance that I loved when arguing with him,” Duyet told AFP.
Duyet also claims that toward the end of McCain’s time in prison, “we considered each other good friends,” adding, “he taught me English … he had good teaching skills.”
McCain helped restore the relations between the U.S. and Vietnam in 1995 and reportedly visited Vietnam several times.
“Later on when he became a U.S. senator, he and Sen. John Kerry greatly contributed to promote Vietnam-U.S. relations so I was very fond of him,” Duyet reportedly said to Vietnam News.
The U.S. Embassy will reportedly launch a McCain/Kerry Fellowship to allow a young Vietnamese leader to travel to the U.S. each year in an effort to strengthen relations.