John McCain, secret blinker

[snopes]

Comment: can you verify whether John McCain made a video while a prisoner
of war in which he blinked his eyes spelling the word "torture"? I know
Jeramiah Denton did it but my question is whether John McCain made one
also?

[vison]

Originally Posted by snopes

Comment: can you verify whether John McCain made a video while a prisoner
of war in which he blinked his eyes spelling the word "torture"? I know
Jeramiah Denton did it but my question is whether John McCain made one
also?

Morse code?

I think anyone who could do that would be doing a very amazing thing. Imagine, talking about one thing while concentrating on blinking your eyes in Morse code! Or was the message delivered before or after the man was talking? During a pause?

I hope someone can shed some light on this.

[snopes]

Originally Posted by vison

I think anyone who could do that would be doing a very amazing thing. Imagine, talking about one thing while concentrating on blinking your eyes in Morse code!

As the OP noted, Jeremiah Denton pulled it off. It isn't really that difficult to do, especially if one is speaking slowly and haltingly (and, as Denton did, pretending that the lighting is too harsh).

- snopes

[hardhead]

I don't remember the Denton film, but he probably used the "POW code" which uses a box 5 squares across and 5 down to indicate letters. Easier to remember, and easier to use cause you don't have long and short signals.

[Ramblin' Dave]

I can't recall ever hearing before that McCain appeared on television while he was a POW. If not, well, there's your answer. If he did, I'll bet the tape is available on the Internet somewhere.

[Southernap]

From the following site Admiral Jeremiah Denton Foundation.

Denton's name first came to the attention of the American public in 1966, during a television interview arranged by the North Vietnamese in Hanoi. Prior to the interview, torture and threats of more torture were applied to intimidate him to "respond properly and politely. " His captors thought he was softened up sufficiently to give the North Vietnamese their propaganda line at the interview. During the interview, after the journalist's recitation of alleged U.S. "war atrocities," Denton was asked about his support of U.S. policy concerning the war. He replied: "I don't know what is happening now in Vietnam, because the only news sources I have are North Vietnamese, but whatever the position of my government is, I believe in it, I support it, and I will support it as long as I live."

Throughout the interview, while responding to questions and feigning sensitivity to harsh lighting, Denton blinked his eyes in Morse Code, repeatedly spelling out a covert message: "T-O-R-T-U-R-E". The interview, which was broadcast on American television on May 17, 1966, was the first confirmation that American POWs in Vietnam were being tortured. Denton was released on February 12, 1973, when he again received international attention as the spokesman for the first group of POWs returning from Hanoi to Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines. Denton was advised that as the senior POW onboard, he might be expected to say something on behalf of the group upon arrival. As he stepped from the plane, Denton turned to the microphones and said: "We are honored to have had the opportunity to serve our country under difficult circumstances. We are profoundly grateful to our Commander-in-Chief and to our nation for this day. God bless America."

If I remember right there was a famous photo of an American PW on the cover of Life magazine giving the photographer the middle finger. I think the year was 1967 but I can't remember the prisoners name.

[mouse goddess]

I can't remember the prisoner's name either, but I do remember seeing in a documentary that Life decided to "cut out" the guy's finger. (hey was extending the middle finger downward, while his hand rested on his knee.) In the doc, the wife of the POW was saying that she had to explain to the kids that daddy's finger wasn't in fact chopped off.

A friend of my dad's side of the family, Richard Stratton, tried to do some sort of shenanigans in a film...but the way my dad tells the story and the way the documentaries tell it is different.

My dad claims that Mr. Stratton decided to do it to be funny...gotta get your kicks somewhere, right? In a press conference, he decided to bow to the moderator, bow to the cameraman, bow to the mike stand, bow to the potted plant, and just kept bowing until they dragged him away.

In POW docs, it seems I've heard it said that he was actually dazed and unaware of his surroundings, while bowing to things.

[Azzizi]

I thought it was Doug Hegdahl who had flipped of the camera. I know he flipped of Tom Hayden (Mr. Jane Fonda).

http://www.military.com/Content/More...ML_hegdahl_bkp