It is the ultimate American quest.
We search for greatness.
We seek out that unique quality in our leaders.
We call them heroes.
We found it in Sen. John McCain.
The nation paused this weekend to mourn the loss of true American greatness. McCain, the son of admirals, was a Navy fighter pilot. Shot down over North Vietnam, he spent more than five years as a prisoner of war. Every time he was offered his freedom, perhaps in exchange for turning his back on his country, he showed his steely resolve, rejecting any such notion.
He always insisted that before he be granted his freedom, those taken captive before him be set free.
At his funeral service attended by nearly everyone of consequence on the American political scene, it was left for McCain's daughter to properly convey what we have lost.
"We gather to mourn the passing of American greatness," she told the assembled crowd, who would soon hear similar words of praise for McCain from the two men who had defeated him for the highest office in the land, former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
As we bury a vision of American greatness, many wonder who will rise up to carry the mantle of the American ideal, especially in a time when so much of our politics, and American leadership, is poisoned by petty, partisan concerns.
We search for new heroes.
For a man like Ralph Galati.
What kind of a man was Sen. John McCain?
Ask Galati. Most of us have read of McCain's heroics, the unthinkable torture he endured during those five-plus years in captivity.
Ralph Galati lived it.
The Wallingford resident also spent time in the Hanoi Hilton, where he saw first-hand the leadership and resolve of the man who later would be known as the Senate's "Maverick."
Galati was 23 when he crossed paths with McCain in that infamous Hanoi prisoner of war camp.
Galati was a graduate of the former Our Lady of Peace School in Ridley Township, St. James High School in Chester and St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia. He signed up for Air Force ROTC.
He was on his 69th mission in just 90 days when he and his pilot were shot down over North Vietnam.
In his 14 months as a POW, Galati encountered McCain, 11 years his senior.
Back in Delaware County, Galati's family had no idea where he was or what his condition might be. His wife, Rosemary, had given birth to their daughter Christine four days after her husband was shot down.
What kind of man was John McCain?
After his release, McCain found himself in Philadelphia. He sought out Galati's family in person to deliver the news that he had talked to Ralph, that he was OK and would soon be home.
Galati was released a month later, on March 28, 1973.
Over the past 45 years, Galati has become a warrior for veterans' issues. For his work he was awarded the very first Freedom Medal from the Delaware County Veterans Memorial Association, as well as the Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation Legion of Honor Gold Medial, the Delaware County Bar Association Themis Award, the Daughters of the American Revolution Honor Medal and a slew of others.
When he learned of the senator's glioblastoma brain cancer diagnosis back in January, Galati looked to return the kindness the future senator had once shown his family.
He wrote McCain a heartfelt note, telling him how much he meant to him and his family.
"I always looked at Sen. McCain as a great statesman, but more importantly, as a great American citizen who really loved his country," Galati said. "He was a man of character, with good, solid values. He served our country well and always tried to do what he thought was best for America."
Traits that easily also could be used to describe Galati.
The country is lesser for the loss of a man like Sen. John McCain.
But rest assured American greatness remains, in men like Ralph Galati.
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