As prisoners of war in North Vietnam, deprived of all liberty, we relied on three things: faith in God, faith in our country, and faith in each other.
Our faith in God secured our hope we would survive. Faith in our country gave us encouragement she would not abandon us, but would do everything possible to bring us home. And faith in each other gave us the strength we needed to get through every day.
It was for each other that we did our best, despite the severity of the treatment, to resist the efforts of the enemy and to maintain our country's code of conduct. Alone we might give up, but for each other we would survive. We could not let each other down.
Reliance on those three ideologies forged within us a special unity and loyalty. Forty-two years later, those I love most and best in the world are men I spent time with in prison. Often, we get together to reminisce about the war, comradeship, and the faith that pulled us through.
It is during those times Jim Shively is especially missed.
There is no doubt Jim Shively was a great patriot who served both the United States Air Force and our country with a true sense of honor and courage. He was a wonderful man, a natural leader, and an exceptionally strong resistor who served his country with distinction. A man greatly respected, admired, and loved not only by his fellow POWs, but all those who knew him. Much can be learned by reading about a man with Jim Shively's level of courage and integrity.
It is my pleasure to commend this tribute to his extraordinary life.
John McCain, United States Senator
Sen. McCain, R-Ariz., wrote this foreword for "Six Years in the Hanoi Hilton: An Extraordinary Story of Courage and Survival in Vietnam" by Amy Shively Hawk, a Regnery book released March 13. It tells the incredible story of Air Force fighter pilot James Shively, who was shot down and spent six years as a POW in Vietnam.
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