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John McCain's son shares memories of his capture

Andy McCain was just 5 years old when his father was shot down and captured in 1967 by the North Vietnamese.

In an exclusive interview with 12 News, one of Sen. John McCain's sons shares a part of the senator's life that isn't very well known: How his first wife and their young children dealt with the unknown - whether McCain would ever be freed from a North Vietnamese prisoner-of-war camp.

Andy McCain says watching a preview of the new HBO documentary of John McCain's life, "For Whom the Bell Tolls," rekindled memories of the outpouring of support when his father was released in 1973.

"It felt like everybody in the town knew who Dad was, what his story was, and knew that he was coming home," McCain said of the town near Jacksonville, Fla., where he grew up.

"He was really thin but still had that big smile."

Andy McCain was just 5 years old when his father was shot down and captured in 1967 by the North Vietnamese.

He is one of three children from the senator's first marriage, to Carol McCain.

Andy McCain said he knew his father was being tortured but didn't understand what that meant.

"The one statement of fact that really made that time bearable was we did know he was alive," McCain said.

During John McCain's 5 1/2 years as a POW, Carol McCain was alone at their Florida home with their three children.

Andy McCain says their Navy community rallied around them.

"If something's wrong, ... the community takes care of itself."

Two years after John McCain was captured, Carol McCain was in a car accident that nearly killed her.

"What I didn't have an appreciation for, until my dad had come back, was how hard this must have been during that time for my mother," he said.

John and Carol McCain were divorced in 1980. The future senator married Cindy Hensley a few weeks later.

Andy McCain, who is now 56, is a top executive with Phoenix-based Hensley Beverage Co., which is owned by his stepmother, Cindy McCain.

The McCain documentary, "For Whom the Bell Tolls," airs at 5 p.m. Monday, Memorial Day, on HBO.

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