'He was a good friend': Biden visits the John McCain memorial in Hanoi, Vietnam

WASHINGTON − Before departing from Hanoi, Vietnam, President Joe Biden paid his respects at the John Sidney McCain III Memorial, honoring the former Arizona Republican senator who died in 2018 after a battle with brain cancer.

“I miss him. He was a good friend,” Biden said Monday at the memorial, which rests near Truc Bach Lake, where McCain’s aircraft was shot down during the Vietnam War in 1967. McCain was arrested and held captive for more than five years at the prison known as the “Hanoi Hilton.”

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry, who served in Vietnam, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken stood near Biden as he touched a wreath of red white and blue flowers that rested in front of the memorial and bowed his head, according to a pool report.

The president also shook the hands of the Marine and Navy officer standing on each side of the memorial and left one of his command coins there, the White House said.

"It was important to me" to visit the memorial, Biden said.

Biden and McCain met in the 1970s, when Biden was a senator and McCain was a Navy Senate liaison. Biden traveled widely as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and would pick McCain to accompany him. He also sought McCain’s advice before his discussions with foreign leaders.

Ted Kaufman, a former Delaware senator who is close to Biden, told USA TODAY that while Biden and McCain didn't agree on a number of policy issues, they "didn't personalize it."

"They really liked each other," Kaufman said.

Contributing: Nicole Gaudiano, The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'I miss him': Biden pays respects at John McCain memorial in Vietnam