{"id":29017916,"date":"2026-10-21T16:48:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-21T14:48:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/?p=29017916"},"modified":"2026-10-21T16:48:29","modified_gmt":"2026-10-21T14:48:29","slug":"john-mccain-mai-van-on-truc-bach-lake-1967-a-4-skyhawk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/john-mccain-mai-van-on-truc-bach-lake-1967-a-4-skyhawk\/","title":{"rendered":"John McCain and Mai Van On: The Man Who Pulled a Downed Pilot From Truc Bach Lake"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\n<!-- mfsh:top -->\n\n<style>\n.mfsh-trigger{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;height:44px;padding:0 18px;margin:0 0 26px;border:2px solid #0F1720;background:#fff;color:#0F1720;font-family:inherit;font-size:14px;font-weight:700;line-height:1;letter-spacing:0;text-transform:none;cursor:pointer;box-shadow:none;transition:background .15s,color 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As he started the dive, an SA-2 surface-to-air missile blew most of his right wing off. McCain ejected, breaking both arms and a leg, and came down in Truc Bach Lake, in the middle of the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"background:#f5f5f5;border-left:4px solid #1a1a1a;padding:18px 22px;margin:24px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600\">Quick Facts<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:20px\"><li><strong>Date:<\/strong> 26 October 1967<\/li><li><strong>Aircraft:<\/strong> A-4E Skyhawk, BuNo 149959, VA-163, USS Oriskany<\/li><li><strong>Target:<\/strong> Thermal power plant, Hanoi<\/li><li><strong>Cause:<\/strong> SA-2 surface-to-air missile<\/li><li><strong>Injuries:<\/strong> Both arms and a leg broken in the ejection; shoulder broken and foot bayoneted on the shore<\/li><li><strong>Captivity:<\/strong> Five and a half years, including Hoa Lo prison, the &ldquo;Hanoi Hilton&rdquo;<\/li><li><strong>Released:<\/strong> 14 March 1973<\/li><li><strong>Rescuer credited:<\/strong> Mai Van On, a Hanoi resident, with a neighbour; met McCain in 1996<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Into the Lake<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">McCain described the moment in his own words in interviews published soon after his release in 1973. With both arms broken, he could not swim and was dragged down by his equipment. He inflated his life preserver with his teeth, and said that landing in the water saved his life even though he almost drowned. After a few minutes, North Vietnamese pulled him ashore. There the crowd turned on him: a rifle butt broke his shoulder and a bayonet was driven into his foot.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Mai Van On<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vietnamese accounts name the men who reached him first. According to the Hanoi newspaper Tien Phong, Mai Van On and a neighbour, Le Tran Lua, were the first to swim out to the downed pilot and pull him from the water. In the version of the story On told in later years, he had left an air-raid shelter to help, and then held back people on the shore who were attacking the injured American. McCain&rsquo;s own 1973 accounts describe the beating but do not name anyone who protected him, so the details of that part of the story rest on On&rsquo;s recollection and Vietnamese sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Decades later, Vietnamese authorities recognised On as the rescuer, and in 1996, by then a US senator, McCain met him in Hanoi and thanked him. A memorial beside Truc Bach Lake still marks the shoot-down. On died in the 2000s; reports at the time said he was 88.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Five and a Half Years<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">McCain received no medical treatment for days; he later said his captors relented only when they learned his father was a senior admiral. Admiral John S. McCain Jr. would go on to command all US forces in the Pacific. That connection also made the prisoner valuable for propaganda. In 1968 McCain refused an offer of early release, insisting on the prisoners&rsquo; code that men were freed in the order they had been captured. He was held in solitary confinement until late 1969, beaten repeatedly and tortured. He was finally released with other prisoners on 14 March 1973, one of the men brought home in <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/operation-homecoming-1973-hanoi-taxi-c-141-pows\/\">Operation Homecoming<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/john-mccain-released-prisoner-of-war-1973.jpg\" alt=\"Lt. Cmdr. John McCain after his release as a prisoner of war, 1973\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">John McCain after his release in 1973. Photo: US Navy, public domain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Back to Vietnam<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">McCain returned to Vietnam many times, visiting Hoa Lo prison and, on his trips, looking for people who had helped him. With fellow Vietnam veteran senators including John Kerry, he worked to account for missing Americans and to restore relations. On 11 July 1995, President Bill Clinton announced the normalisation of diplomatic relations, naming McCain and Kerry among the veterans in Congress who had been able to move beyond the past. When McCain died in August 2018, people in Hanoi left flowers at the Truc Bach memorial.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">What the Popular Version Gets Right<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The story as it is usually told is broadly accurate: the date, the A-4 Skyhawk hit by a missile, the broken limbs, the landing in Truc Bach Lake, the five and a half years in prison, the refusal of early release, the March 1973 release, the 1996 meeting with Mai Van On and the 1995 normalisation of relations. Two points need care. On was not alone: Vietnamese sources credit him and a neighbour with the rescue. And while On&rsquo;s role in pulling McCain from the water is recognised in Vietnam, the account of him pushing back the crowd comes from his own later telling; McCain&rsquo;s 1973 descriptions of the beating on the shore do not mention a protector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Sources: Honolulu Star-Bulletin and Associated Press interviews with John McCain (March and April 1973); Vietnam Air Losses database, loss of A-4E 149959; Tien Phong, Hanoi (2018); NPR (August 2018); Channels TV\/AFP (26 August 2018); Public Papers of the Presidents, William J. Clinton, remarks announcing normalisation of relations with Vietnam (11 July 1995); History News Network, reprinting the Daily Mail (2008).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<!-- mfsh:bottom -->\n\n<button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-trigger mfsh-bottom\" data-mfsh-placement=\"bottom\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share this story<\/button>\n\n<!-- \/mfsh:bottom -->\n\n\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\n\n\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>Who saved John McCain from Truc Bach Lake?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Vietnamese accounts credit Mai Van On, a Hanoi resident, and his neighbour Le Tran Lua with swimming out and pulling John McCain from Truc Bach Lake on 26 October 1967. McCain met On in Hanoi in 1996 and thanked him.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How was John McCain shot down?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">On 26 October 1967 John McCain was flying an A-4E Skyhawk of VA-163 from USS Oriskany against a thermal power plant in Hanoi when an SA-2 surface-to-air missile blew off most of his right wing. He ejected, breaking both arms and a leg, and landed in Truc Bach Lake.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How long was John McCain a prisoner of war?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">John McCain was held as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam for about five and a half years, from 26 October 1967 until his release on 14 March 1973, including time at Hoa Lo prison, nicknamed the Hanoi Hilton.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Why did John McCain refuse early release?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">In 1968 his captors offered John McCain early release because his father was a senior US admiral. McCain refused, following the prisoners&rsquo; code that men should be released in the order they were captured, and was kept in solitary confinement and beaten as a result.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Did McCain help normalise relations with Vietnam?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Yes. John McCain, John Kerry and other Vietnam veterans in Congress worked on accounting for missing Americans and on reconciliation. When President Clinton announced normalised relations on 11 July 1995, he named McCain and Kerry among them.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Is there a memorial to McCain in Hanoi?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Yes. A memorial beside Truc Bach Lake in Hanoi marks the place where John McCain&rsquo;s parachute came down in 1967. People left flowers there after his death in August 2018.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Who saved John McCain from Truc Bach Lake?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Vietnamese accounts credit Mai Van On, a Hanoi resident, and his neighbour Le Tran Lua with swimming out and pulling John McCain from Truc Bach Lake on 26 October 1967. McCain met On in Hanoi in 1996 and thanked him.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How was John McCain shot down?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"On 26 October 1967 John McCain was flying an A-4E Skyhawk of VA-163 from USS Oriskany against a thermal power plant in Hanoi when an SA-2 surface-to-air missile blew off most of his right wing. He ejected, breaking both arms and a leg, and landed in Truc Bach Lake.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How long was John McCain a prisoner of war?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"John McCain was held as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam for about five and a half years, from 26 October 1967 until his release on 14 March 1973, including time at Hoa Lo prison, nicknamed the Hanoi Hilton.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Why did John McCain refuse early release?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"In 1968 his captors offered John McCain early release because his father was a senior US admiral. McCain refused, following the prisoners\u2019 code that men should be released in the order they were captured, and was kept in solitary confinement and beaten as a result.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Did McCain help normalise relations with Vietnam?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Yes. John McCain, John Kerry and other Vietnam veterans in Congress worked on accounting for missing Americans and on reconciliation. When President Clinton announced normalised relations on 11 July 1995, he named McCain and Kerry among them.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Is there a memorial to McCain in Hanoi?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Yes. A memorial beside Truc Bach Lake in Hanoi marks the place where John McCain\u2019s parachute came down in 1967. People left flowers there after his death in August 2018.\"}}]}<\/script><div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\">\n<p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/operation-homecoming-1973-hanoi-taxi-c-141-pows\/\">Operation Homecoming 1973: The Hanoi Taxi Flies the POWs Home<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/a-4-skyhawk-heinemanns-hot-rod\/\">The A-4 Skyhawk: Heinemann\u2019s Hot Rod That Refused to Retire<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/son-tay-raid-1970-empty-pow-camp\/\">Son Tay: The Raid That Rescued No One<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On 26 October 1967 a surface-to-air missile blew the wing off John McCain&rsquo;s A-4E Skyhawk over Hanoi. He came down in Truc Bach Lake with both arms and a leg broken. A local man named Mai Van On is credited with pulling him out. Here is what the record shows.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":29017769,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[666],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29017916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-and-legends"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>John McCain and Mai Van On: Truc Bach Lake, 1967 | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On 26 October 1967 John McCain\u2019s A-4E was hit by a SAM over Hanoi and he landed in Truc Bach Lake. 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