While a prisoner of war, John McCain was interviewed by Dr. Fernando Barral, a Spanish psychiatrist residing in Cuba, on 24 January, 1970. A transcript of a translation of that interview has been declassified and can be found on the internet. Here is Dr Barral's “opinion on the personality” of Lt Commander John McCain:
He showed himself to be intellectually alert during the interview. From a morale point of view he is not in traumatic shock. He is neither dejected nor depressed. He was able to be sarcastic, and even humorous, indicative of psychic equilibrium. From the moral and ideological point of view he showed us he is an insensitive individual without human depth, who does not show the slightest concern who does not appear to have thought about the criminal acts he committed against a population from the almost impunity of his airplane, and that nevertheless those people saved his life, fed him, and looked after his health, and he is now healthy and strong. I believe that he bombed densely populated places for sport. I noted that he was hardened, that he spoke of banal things as if he were at a cocktail party.
