McCain's handlers playing the wrong card?

John McCain is being hailed by the press as a "genuine war hero."
But is he a hero in the conventional sense, like Audie Murphy and John
Glenn? Or is his "war hero" status the creation of a very slick
publicity campaign that plays on flag, duty, honor and country?

For sure, McCain has the fruit-salad -- a Silver Star, a Legion of
Merit for Valor, a Distinguished Flying Cross, three Bronze Stars, two
Commendation medals plus two Purple Hearts and a dozen service gongs.

On a purely medal-count basis, he out-weighs Murphy and Glenn, who
both repeatedly, for years, performed extraordinary deeds on the ground
or in the air against an armed enemy.

McCain's valor awards are based on what happened in 1967 and
thereafter, when, during his 23rd mission over Vietnam, he was shot
down, seriously injured, captured and spent five and a half brutal years
as a POW.

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In an attempt to find out exactly what the man did to earn so many
awards, I asked his Senate office three times to provide copies of the
narratives for each medal. I'm still waiting.

I next went to the Pentagon. Within a week, I received a recap of
his medals and many of the narratives that give the details of what he
did.

None of the awards, other than the DFC, were for heroism over the
battlefield -- where he spent no more than 20 hours. Two Naval officers
described the awards as "boilerplate" and "part of an SOP medal package
given to repatriated (Vietnam-era) POWs."

McCain's Silver Star narrative for the period from Oct. 27, 1967 --
the day after he was shot down -- to Dec. 8, 1968, reads: "His captors
... subjected him to extreme mental and physical cruelties in an attempt
to obtain military information and false confessions for propaganda
purposes. Through his resistance to those brutalities, he contributed
significantly towards the eventual abandonment" of such harsh treatment
by the North Vietnamese.

Yet in McCain's own words just four days after being captured, he
admits he violated the U.S. Code of Conduct by telling his captors "OK,
I'll give you military information if you will take me to the hospital."

A Vietnam vet and McCain detractor says, "He received the nation's
third highest award, the Silver Star, for treason. He provided aid and
comfort to the enemy!"

The rest of his valor awards -- issued automatically every year while
he was a POW -- read much like the Silver Star -- more boilerplate,
often repeating the exact same words. An example: "By his heroic
endeavors, exceptional skill, and devotion to duty, he reflected great
credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Naval
Service and the United States Armed Forces."

Yet McCain's conduct while a POW negates these glowing comments. The
facts are that he signed a confession and declared himself a "black
criminal who performed deeds of an air pirate." This statement and other
interviews he gave to the Communist press were used as propaganda to fan
the flames of the anti-war movement.

Accounts by McCain and other writers tell of the horror he endured:
relentless beatings, torture, broken limbs -- all inflicted during
savage interrogations. Yet no other POW was a witness to these
torments.

A former POW says, "No man witnessed another man during
interrogations. ... We relied on each other to tell the truth when a man
was returned to his cell."

The U.S. Navy says two eyewitnesses are required for any award of
heroism. But for the valor awards McCain received, there are no
eyewitnesses except himself and his captors.

And they're not talking.

Our POWs in Vietnam were treated appallingly. The Viets would either
break a POW or kill him. POWs provided information beyond name, rank
and serial number or they didn't come back.

Based on these stalwart men's horrific experiences, the Code of
Conduct has been changed. A POW says, "Now the training is to give them
something. ... Don't risk permanent damage to health, mind or body."

McCain refused an early release. An act of valor? Three former POWs
told me he was ordered to turn it down by his U.S. POW commander and he
"just followed orders."

McCain certainly doesn't appear to be a war hero by conventional
standards, but rather a tough survivor whose handlers are overplaying
the war hero card.