Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) eulogized retired Air Force Col. George "Bud" Day, who spent more than five years as his POW cellmate in Vietnam, on the Senate floor Monday. Day died Sunday at the age of 88.
Day received the Medal of Honor for escaping his captors during the Vietnam War, and he was a veteran of World War II and Korea as well. Like McCain, he was subjected to torture during his long imprisonment, and his hands and arms never worked properly again after he was freed in 1973.
Calling Day the bravest man he ever knew, McCain grew emotional toward the end of his remarks.
"I'm going to miss him terribly," McCain said. "Even though Bud had reached advanced years, for some reason I could never imagine Bud yielding to anything, even I thought, to the laws of nature. Tough old bird that he was, I always thought he would outlive us all, but he's gone now, to a heaven I expect he imagined would look like an Iowa cornfield in early winter, filled with pheasants. I will miss Bud, every day for the rest of my life, but I'll see him again. I know I will. I'll hunt the field with him, and I look forward to it."