"Truc Buch Lake: Where John McCain Landed" Miscellaneous in Hanoi Tip by AKtravelers

The unassuming Truc Buc Lake is separated from Hanoi's vast West lake by a causeway carrying an important road. It is surrounded by newly build homes and has a small island in the middle of it that seems overgrown with vegetation. It is calm and pretty and attracts a peek as you whiz by it in traffic. There is nothing, not even a historical marker, indicating thatthis is wherethe plane of John McCain landed as he flew a mission over Hanoi in 1968. At the Hoa La Prison, you can see pictures of him being pulled from this lake, legs broken. The word "rescued" is used often and may actually be true -- he possibly could have died. But then he was imprisoned for five years -- not much of a rescue.
Of course, given that i was there as the 2008n US Presidential election was heating up, Mccain's tie to Vietnam was on everyone's lips. Almost everyone I passed near the lake made sure they told me the story. No doubt, most Vietnamese would vote for John McCain if they could. This is just another sign that the emotions of the war are now in the past. Well, I suppose that's true unless I would have indicated a preference for Obama!