John McCain.
I'm sure everyone knows that he refused early release from a VN POW camp even tho he was considerably underweight and had severe dysentery AND faced torture and beatings for the refusal. He says that the thought of going home to his family and sleeping in a clean bed was a wonderful thought. But the thought of going against the code and leaving comrades who'd been there longer made him stay.
He eventually was beaten so much that he had broken bones, and was tortured into making a statement that he didn't believe. That has been a hard thing for him to get over, but he has forgiven himself.
He continued to be beaten for communicating with other POW's, declining to meet with American "peace delegations", etc. Quoting from his book:
Whenever I emerged from the interrogations room after a few hours or a few days of punishment, I tried to make a show of my indifference to my circumstances. Whether I walked of my own accord or was dragged by guards back to my cell, I always shouted greetings to the prisoners whose cells I passed, smiled, and flashed a thumbs-up. In the years since I came home, I have occasionally been embarrassed to hear some of my fellow POW's commend me for those attempts at good cheer. They believed they were intended to boost their spirits. In truth, they were mostly intended to boost my own.
I think he's a gritty character. To me -- he may be a little stubborn with a bad temper. But he seems to have a good head on his shoulders and he seems to be aware of his own faults.
His mom is spunky at 95/96 ? and he thanked her for helping him with some of the stories about the family. I liked this part:
She was quite generous with her time despite her initial suspicion that I was "just trying to show off."
Haha -- seems she still tells him just what she thinks about him. He credits her with his learning resiience in persevering. She did her best to raise him right.
