John McCain capture monument

On October 26, 1967 a thirty-one year old Navy pilot named John McCain was shot down during a bombing run. A Soviet-made SA-2 missle struck the wing of his A-4E Skyhawk and he was forced to eject. McCain parachuted unconscious into Trúc Bạch Lake with a fractured arm, leg and knee. As he woke up he was weighed down by his gear and almost drowned. He was able to inflate his life vest and was pulled to shore where he was attacked by a mob. McCain would be a Prisoner of War (POW) five and a half years before being released on March 14, 1973.