John McCain has fielded the unlikeliest of endorsements --- from his former captor in the Vietnam War.

Tran Trong Duyet, who was in charge of the so-called "Hanoi Hilton" where McCain was imprisoned for more than five years after his plane was shot down in 1967, told the British Broadcasting Corporation that he now considers McCain his "friend" and that if he had the chance he would vote for him for president.

"If I were American, I'd vote for John McCain," Duyet, now 75, told the BBC. "I think he'd make a very capable president. He's done so much to improve relations between our two countries."

Duyet, who called McCain "very conservative" and "very loyal to his country," said he has followed the Arizona senator's career since he left the prison.

"I wish him success in the presidential election," he said.

Duyet said that while McCain was imprisoned the two used to argue over the war, but he now wants to "leave the past behind."

The presumptive GOP nominee is a former Navy pilot whose plane was taken down during a raid over Hanoi, was treated as somewhat of a prize at the time since his father was a renowned admiral. However, McCain refused to take advantage of his pedigree to be released from prison ahead of his fellow captors.

McCain has drawn moderate attention to his time as a prisoner of war on the campaign trail. In his first major TV ad of the general election, he speaks about his five and a half years as a POW. The ad shows footage of his plane wreckage and of him wounded at the Hanoi prison. In the ad he says: "I hate war. And I know how terrible its costs are. I'm running for president to keep the country I love safe."

McCain's wife Cindy visited Vietnam on a charity mission last week.

Though McCain and the Navy say he was tortured, and his medical records show he has degenerative arthritis from his war injuries, Duyet disputed that claim.

"We never tortured any prisoners," Duyet told the BBC, adding that McCain "lies to American voters" to summon support for his presidential bid.

The BBC noted that Duyet's account is impossible to verify.

Click here to read the full story on McCain's former captor from the BBC.