He was a pretty bad pilot, crashed several timeshe graduated near the bottom of his class at Annapolis (and if his father and grandfather weren't both admirals he would have been booted out for cause,) he was not a good officer in the Navy - known as a 'hot-head troublemaker.' He went on an unauthorized mission over Hanoi and was shot down. So he got lucky by being pulled out of the wreck and not drowned and became a POW. He soon was telling important details about his ship, his mission, etc. without even being tortured - his nickname was 'Songbird.' Because he was the son and grandson of famous admirals he was treated better than other POWs at the time. Other POWs who were there with him have said he is not qualified to be president just because he was a POW.
(
tubaman,
Tue 4 Nov 2008, 23:40,
archived)