Arizona Senator John McCain was shot down in a bombing mission over Vietnam in 1967.  He broke both arms and one leg while ejecting from his fighter plane, and was attacked by an angry mob when he reached the ground.  When he arrived at the infamous "Hanoi Hilton," he was denied medical care and hand to be nursed back to health by his fellow POWs.

McCain spent a total of 5 ½ years as a POW, including two years in solitary confinement.  He has made it clear that his use of the word "gook" was only directed at the guards who held him captive.