Senator John McCain (AFP Photo/Wakil Kohsar)
President Donald Trump over the weekend reportedly blocked his own White House from issuing an official statement praising the life of the late Sen. John McCain.
Even as the president refused to directly praise the late senator, however, tributes to McCain from around the world continued pouring in -- including from one of the men who held him captive while he was a prisoner of war in Vietnam.
Via the Daily Beast, Vietnam News spoke with Colonel Trần Trọng Duyệt, the man who ran the Hỏa Lò Prison where McCain was held.
In addition to praising McCain for his bravery and toughness as a soldier, Duyệt also gave credit to McCain for working to normalize relations between the United States and Vietnam after America's eventual defeat in the war.
"At that time I liked him personally for his toughness and strong stance," he said. "Later on, when he became a US Senator, he and Senator John Kerry greatly contributed to promote Vietnam-U.S. relations so I was very fond of him. When I learnt about his death early this morning, I feel 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-U.S. relations."
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