Vietnam remembers Senator John McCain

Tributes to the politicians were paid yesterday including one from the man who was in charge of the prison where he was held for five years.

McCain served in the Vietnam war, joining the Rolling Thunder air campaign in 1967, bombing targets in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (northern Vietnam). His plane was shot down on October 26, 1967 and McCain was taken prisoner. He was returned to the US in an exchange of prisoners in 1973.
During his time he was held at Hoa Lo Prison, now a museum which McCain has visited many times.
The prison was being run at the time by Colonel Tran Trong Duyet.
Speaking to Vietnam News yesterday, he said: “I had a lot of time meeting him when he was kept in the prison.
“At that time I liked him personally for his toughness and strong stance. Later on, when he became a US Senator, he and Senator John Kerry greatly contributed to promote Vietnam-US relations so I was very fond of him.”
“When I learnt about his death early this morning, I felt very sad. 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-US relations.”
Returning from Vietnam, McCain joined politics and was one of the first to campaign for normalisation of US-Vietnam relations through promoting humanitarian issues such as removing unexploded devices left by the war, searching for missing-in-action personnel, supporting people with disabilities caused by the war, and detoxifying areas polluted by dioxin.
In 1994, the US Senate approved a resolution sponsored by McCain and Kerry, calling to end the economic sanctions against Vietnam, paving the way for improving relations between the two countries a year later.
Following the normalisation of bilateral ties, McCain and Kerry visited Vietnam many times to address the issue of American missing-in-action soldiers (POW/MIA).
Senator McCain also supported the Vietnamese community in the US, serving as a bridge between them and the US authorities as well as the Vietnamese Government.
He has a very special position in the history of the Vietnam-US relationship, said Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Ha Kim Ngoc.
Ngoc added that he had opportunities to work with McCain as his interpreter during the US Senator’s working trips to Vietnam.
During those trips, Ngoc noted the Senator’s strategic vision, leadership and high political determination for the normalisation of Vietnam-US relations despite the major internal obstacles.
"It can be said that Senator McCain is a symbol of the Vietnam-US reconciliation process during which the two sides overcame their past as old enemies to normalise and develop bilateral relations.
“McCain enthusiastically supported and made untiring efforts for the Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership,” Ngoc said.
Along with Kerry and other senators like Patrick Leahy or Jim Webb, McCain was at the forefront of the normalisation and enhancement of Vietnam-US friendship and co-operation, he added.
At the most difficult time of bilateral relations when many still expressed suspicion or were against ties between the two nations, McCain, Kerry and other senators played a decisive role in the irreversible process of normalisation, Ngoc said.
“Even during his illness, McCain still paid attention to Vietnam-related issues such as bilateral cooperation, the East Sea issues and the catfish programme that affects poor farmers in the Mekong Delta region.
“With the support of both the Republican and Democratic Parties in the US Congress, our comprehensive partnership will continue thriving for the benefit of the two countries.”
At a meeting with the Senator in Washington DC on January 21, 2016, Vietnamese Ambassador to the US at the time, Pham Quang Vinh praised the Senator for his great contribution to the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries.
In reply, McCain said he always attached importance to the US-Vietnam relations, and for him, Vietnam has an important position and role in the region.