While flying his twenty-third bombing mission over Hanoi in North Vietnam, Lieutenant Commander McCain's A-4E Skyhawk was shot down by a missile. McCain fractured both arms and a leg when he ejected from the aircraft and nearly drowned after he parachuted into Trúc Bạch Lake. North Vietnamese soldiers pulled him ashore, bayoneted him, and crushed his shoulder with a rifle butt. McCain was then transported to Hanoi's main Hỏa Lò Prison, nicknamed the "Hanoi Hilton", where he was held prisoner and repeatedly tortured for five years. -This narrative was researched and written by Hall of Honor staff.