When he tried to stand up, he was shot.

After that he was put in a full upper body cast and almost starved to death because he couldn't move his arms.

"You don't come out of all that without a lot of physical strength, will to live and inner power," said Kirk.

And you don't eventually emerge out of what wound up being 5 1/2 years of wartime captivity without a keen appreciation for what you've regained.

"Every day's the Fourth of July to guys like us," said Kirk.

No matter how old, or young, they might get.

"I wouldn't worry about John McCain's age," said the former POW. "I can assure you he's made an effort all his life to stay in shape."

It's no guarantee that the Republican nominee will outlast the actuarial tables, and it's only one man's opinion — and a biased one at that — but if there's one person you might not want to engage in a debate about age and the presidency, that person would be John McCain's old prison pal.

Ever since they got sprung, to hear Tom Kirk tell it, they've only been getting younger.

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Lee Benson is filing columns daily from the Republican National Convention. You can e-mail him at benson@desnews.com.