The cell I was placed in was Warehouse #13B. Thirteen Bravo was the only cell in the Warehouse without a door entry. I had to crawl through a window opening. It was also the only cell facing away from the inside of the camp as it shared an intervening wall with 13A which faced toward the inside of the prison camp. From our communications network I knew that John Sidney McCain was in solitary in 13A and that he had been severely injured in his shootdown with two broken arms and a broken leg. I also knew that the VC had been putting extreme pressure on John to accept an early release and that in his defiance they had re-broken one of his arms.
I waited for a little while to attempt to tap through the wall to John hoping that the guards would leave me alone for a bit. Realizing that communicating without someone to watch out for an approaching guard runs the almost certain risk of being caught and the sure consequence of being tortured for violating the "Camp Regulations" I went over to the wall and tapped the call up signal of "Shave and a haircut" to John McCain.
Just like that he gave the standard reply of, "Two bits". He then asked me what was happening. I tapped through to him that I had gotten caught trying to pick up a note.
I tapped as fast as I could while looking for any sign of an enemy intruder. I saw a shadow and gave the danger signal by bumping the wall with my fist. When the coast was clear we resumed tapping.
I could only imagine what kind of physical condition John might be in. It was easy for me to squat down by the wall or kneel but it must have been hell for McCain. I was uninjured. But he had suffered more injuries and pain than most. And he was in solitary just like me with no one to watch out for him. He knew the risks and the consequences. Yet, he ignored all that, defied his captors and tapped words of encouragement to me.
I was in that cell for three days and two nights. During that time I was caught communicating and was warned to stay in the center of the cell where a 30-inch chalk circle was drawn for me. I was already in trouble for the note. But I decided that further attempts to tap to John McCain would only result in more beatings that I didn't want to put him through or myself either. So, I limited further communication and I was moved to another cell on the third day.
Solitary confinement in an enemy prison is a real test. Each of us, John in his cell and I, in mine and many others each had our own obstacles to face. But, John, through his unyielding determination and disregard for his own personal safety had lifted my spirits and made me feel ever more determined to resist all enemy efforts to bend me to their evil intentions. He was an inspiring leader then just as he is now.
If the Vietnamese communists had been able to break the will of the son of an active duty four star admiral and forced him to go along with their plans for him to accept an early release from captivity it would have placed John McCain at the center of a sensational, international news spectacle and provided the VC with a propaganda bonanza.
John McCain understood what was at stake and would not allow that to happen.
He was so steadfast in his belief that we should all go home by order of shootdown
that when the sick and wounded went home in the first release on February
12, 1973, and despite his injuries, John McCain stayed behind until his time
for repatriation came a month later.
In 2000, my wife Joan was attending the Washington State Republican annual
BBQ. When John McCain & his wife Cindy arrived along with other Republican
Primary hopefuls John and his wife greeted Joan and she mentioned that she
was my wife. Later, when Joan related the event to me I was startled by his
remarks to her. Although 32 years had elapsed between that time and this,
he said, "I remember Joe. He was one of the stronger resisters."
Whatever courage I showed in the Hanoi Hilton it could never measure up to
what John McCain endured and the bravery he displayed as well as the examples
he set throughout his captivity in North Vietnam. In the face of the constant
threat of reprisals, he lived by principles ingrained in him by his parents,
by Annapolis and by the United States Navy. Yet, here he was giving me credit
for standing up to the enemy. In truth, if anyone deserved such plaudits for
perseverance in the face of overwhelming odds, it was John Sidney McCain.
Joe Crecca
POW, North Vietnam
22NOV66-18FEB73
