John McCain's Hanoi Hilton jailor recalls 'stubborn' POW
His captors quickly learned McCain's father was a navy admiral, and the young prisoner soon developed the nickname "Crown Prince".
As a prisoner of war in the "Hanoi Hilton", navy pilot John McCain was known as uncompromising, frank and an avid reader who fiercely debated the war with his Vietnamese jailors.
One of them, the former director of the infamous Hoa Lo prison, recalls verbally sparring with the famous inmate and says McCain's refusal to budge on his views eventually earned his admiration.
"It was his stubbornness, his strong stance that I loved when arguing with him," retired colonel Tran Trong Duyet told AFP.
In the decades following the Vietnam War, McCain -- who died Saturday at the age of 81 -- forgave the enemies who once held him captive, and helped reconcile the two countries that today enjoy strong ties.