John McCain will be honored with a fellowship in his name to promote ties between the U.S. and Vietnam, the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam announced Sunday.
“The U.S. Embassy and Consulate General in Vietnam mourn the passing of Senator John McCain,” the embassy said in a statement ]. “For decades, he championed the U.S.-Vietnam relationship, bravely forging a path for our two nations to transform from enemies to partners. He will be sorely missed.”
The fellowship will be an opportunity for a young Vietnamese “committed to public service” to travel to the U.S.
It aims to further the relationship between the two nations and ” the positive legacy of Senator McCain.”
Mr. McCain was a prisoner of war for years after being captured in Vietnam. He was brutally beaten for years until he “confessed” for Vietnamese propaganda, but refused an offer of freedom in order to deny his captors a chance to use it to promote their cause.
The fellowship will also honor former Secretary of State John Kerry, who worked with John McCain in the 1990s to mend relations between the two countries after the Vietnam war.
“John McCain showed all of us how to bridge the divide between a protester and a POW, and how to find common ground even when it was improbable. I will grateful for that lesson every day of my life,” Mr. Kerry said in a statement Saturday night.
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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