John McCain demonstrated his loyalty to the United States by his service in Vietnam, one of the men who was there with him told the Maryland delegation Tuesday.

"It was a commitment to the group. And it was a commitment to the principles, the values of what the country stands for," Everett Alvarez Jr., an honorary co-chair of the Maryland delegation, told fellow delegates during at the Embassy Suites hotel.

"The reason we did it is because we depended on each other. It was not something you could do by yourself," said Alvarez. "It was total interdependence on each other."

Alvarez said he has a hard time calling his friend "senator."

"He's just John," Alvarez said.

But Alvarez did say he would have no problem using another title for McCain.

"Someday shortly I will have the privilege to call him Mr. President," he said.