Vietnamese residents from Southern California paying respects to Sen. McCain

PHOENIX (AP/KSAZ) -- A group of Vietnamese residents came from Southern California was spotted at the Arizona State Capitol Wednesday, as they paid respects to late Sen. John McCain.

The group was seen wearing identical yellow graphic t-shirts that read "We salute...our hero Senator John McCain. Vietnamese Refugee Community". The t-shirt also sports three red stripes. Coincidentally, the flag of South Vietnam, a country that battled North Vietnam in the Vietnam Conflict, also features a similar design.

Derrick Nguyen said a radio station in the Little Saigon community of Orange County announced it would provide bus transportation to the ceremony Wednesday. Nguyen, an attorney and a community organizer, said more than 100 people signed up but several stayed back because of the heat and timing.

McCain, who died Saturday after a brain cancer battle, was in a Skyhawk dive bomber that was shot down over Hanoi in 1967. He was taken prisoner and held in the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" prison for more than five years.

In Vietnam, as news of McCain's death reached the country over the weekend, scores of people in Hanoi paid their respects to McCain at the U.S. Embassy, and at a monument by Truc Bach lake, where he landed after parachuting from his damaged plane.

Hoang Thi Hang, a Hanoi resident who signed the condolence book at the embassy, said he had great respect for McCain's compassion. "He had compassion for everyone, whether they were rich or poor, whatever their background. And that is important in life."