Bob McCarty Writes

I had the privilege 20 years ago of working for Brig. Gen. Ralph T. Browning, a man who spent nearly seven years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam.  Through working for him, I feel like I know something about the character of John McCain.

At the time, General Browning was commander of the 313th Air Division, then the parent organization at Kadena Air Base, located on Japan’s southernmost island, Okinawa.  As deputy chief of public affairs at the base — then one of the Air Force’s largest overseas installations — I served as a member of the general’s key staff and was one of the few junior officers who interacted with him on a frequent, regular and daily basis.

During the year I worked for General Browning, I was struck by his unshakable demeanor.  Though responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars of aircraft and equipment as well as the health and welfare of more than 30,000 military members and civilians living and/or working on the base, the general never seemed to get too excited or fly off the handle.  In other words, he kept himself under control and kept things in perspective at all times.

F-105 Thunderchiefs

I’ll never forget the photo General Browning kept framed in his office as a reminder of his days as a young blue-suit pilot who had just learned to fly some of the fastest machines ever built.  It showed a young Air Force captain in his flight suit, leaning against a brand new Corvette — a silver fastback — he had purchased soon after receiving his pilot wings in September 1965.  Parked in the background was an F-105 Thunderchief just like the one in which he would be shot down less than a year later while flying a combat mission over North Vietnam.

Most vivid among my memories, however, is something I can’t remember — that is, I can’t recall hearing General Browning ever speak about the years he spent without freedom.  As a POW.

If the unimaginable happened and General Browning decided to run for public office, I imagine the general would conduct himself in much the same manner as the senator from Arizona has to date.  Pressured by his handlers to speak out about his experiences, he would opt to let photos and the voices of others tell his story.  To say it himself would be too painful.  Too personal.  Too exploitative.

Though I’ve lost track of General Browning since serving with him more than 20 years ago, I’ll never forget the man I admired and respected so much, the man who reminds me in many ways of McCain.

Note: In researching this post, I found this item published by a group known as the POW Network.  By reading it, I learned more about General Browning’s POW experience than I had learned during the entire year I worked with the man.