Arizona’s Vietnamese community felt an especially tight bond with Sen. John McCain.

After spending five and a half years as a prisoner of war in Hanoi, he sponsored immigration programs in Congress that brought tens of thousands of people displaced by the Vietnam War to the states.

Mai Le publishes the Phoenix-based magazine Viet Lifestyles and is a host for the Asian Media Network. She said McCain was an advocate for all Asian-Americans and remembers when he stood up for Vietnam’s sovereignty in a border dispute with China.

“The Vietnamese community here in Arizona, we organized a protest and we did it right in front of Sen. John McCain’s office. And to our surprise, (he) walked out. He’s the first one from the Congress that protected the border of Vietnam.”

Le organized a candlelight vigil on Sunday night to pay tribute to McCain.

She believes there may be as many as 45,000 Vietnamese-Americans that are now living in Arizona.