John McCain, Rolling Stone, Make-Believe Maverick
John McCain, Rolling Stone, Make-Believe Maverick
My friend just sent me this must read article about John McCain in Rolling Stone written by Tim Dickinson.
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At Fort McNair, an army base located along the Potomac River in the nation’s capital, a chance reunion takes place one day between two former POWs. It’s the spring of 1974, and Navy commander John Sidney McCain III has returned home from the experience in Hanoi that, according to legend, transformed him from a callow and reckless youth into a serious man of patriotism and purpose. Walking along the grounds at Fort McNair, McCain runs into John Dramesi, an Air Force lieutenant colonel who was also imprisoned and tortured in Vietnam.
McCain is studying at the National War College, a prestigious graduate program he had to pull strings with the Secretary of the Navy to get into. Dramesi is enrolled, on his own merit, at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in the building next door.
There’s a distance between the two men that belies their shared experience in North Vietnam — call it an honor gap. Like many American POWs, McCain broke down under torture and offered a “confession” to his North Vietnamese captors. Dramesi, in contrast, attempted two daring escapes. For the second he was brutalized for a month with daily torture sessions that nearly killed him. His partner in the escape, Lt. Col. Ed Atterberry, didn’t survive the mistreatment. But Dramesi never said a disloyal word, and for his heroism was awarded two Air Force Crosses, one of the service’s highest distinctions. McCain would later hail him as “one of the toughest guys I’ve ever met.”
On the grounds between the two brick colleges, the chitchat between the scion of four-star admirals and the son of a prizefighter turns to their academic travels; both colleges sponsor a trip abroad for young officers to network with military and political leaders in a distant corner of the globe.
“I’m going to the Middle East,” Dramesi says. “Turkey, Kuwait, Lebanon, Iran.”
“Why are you going to the Middle East?” McCain asks, dismissively.
“It’s a place we’re probably going to have some problems,” Dramesi says.
“Why? Where are you going to, John?”
“Oh, I’m going to Rio.”
“What the hell are you going to Rio for?”
McCain, a married father of three, shrugs.
“I got a better chance of getting laid.”
The article is very critical of the John McCain that America knows. The article blasts McCain on his military record, his courage, and his pampered lifestyle among other things like being a Playboy. (For the record, I have no problem with the Playboy part, in fact, I actually like him more now. And I would choose Rio de Janeiro over the Middle East ever if I completely lost my mind.)
Whenever you read an article like this I think you should read it with mad grains of salt.
My favorite teacher in University once told our class, “Only half of what you read in the papers is correct.” (I completely agree.)
To which, I raised my hand and replied, “Well, why don’t you read just half the paper then?…”
Which got a laugh out of the class. But most importantly, it got a laugh out of this fly cheerleader girl who sat right next to me.
After class, I invited her back to my crib at the beach while sparking up a jack.
Worked out well.
What ever happened to the girl?
She took her cheer leading career to the top, and became a San Diego Chargers cheerleader. Impressive stuff.
What is she doing today?
Who knows? Probably moved to Arizona and married a mortgage broker. And probably now broke.
C’est la vie
The Rest is Up to You…
Michael Porfirio Mason
AKA The Peoples Champ
AKA Your favorite International Playboy on the Rise’s favorite International Playboy on the Rise
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