US presidential hopeful John McCain backed by his Vietnam jailer

US PRESIDENTIAL candidate John McCain was yesterday endorsed by the man who held him captive in Vietnam. Former jailer Tran Trong Duyet said: "If I were an American, I would vote for Mr John McCain." Speaking from his home in Haiphong, Duyet, 75, said: "He's tough and very loyal to his beliefs and to his country." Republican candidate McCain was captured when his plane was shot down in 1967. He spent five and a half years in a Hanoi jail. Duyet insisted claims that McCain and other prisoners were beaten and tortured were fabricated. But Orson Swindle, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel imprisoned with McCain, hit back, saying: "He's a damn liar." Have your say on the latest news and... [read full story]