 Back at the " Hanoi Hilton " from November 1971 onward , McCain and the other POWs cheered the resumed bombing of the north starting in April 1972 , whose targets included the Hanoi area and whose daily orders were issued by Jack McCain , knowing his son was in the vicinity . Jack McCain 's tour as CINCPAC ended in September 1972 , despite his desire to have it extended so he could see the war to its conclusion . The old @-@ time POWs cheered even more during the intense " Christmas Bombing " campaign of December 1972 , when Hanoi was subjected for the first time to repeated B @-@ 52 Stratofortress raids . Although its explosions lit the night sky and shook the walls of the camp , scaring some of the newer POWs , most saw it as a forceful measure to compel North Vietnam to finally come to terms . 
