John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and naval officer who represented Arizona in the United States Congress for over 35 years, first as a U.S. representative from 1983 to 1987, then as a U.S. senator from 1987 until his death in 2018. A member of the Republican Party, he was the party's nominee in the 2008 presidential election.
Born into the prominent McCain family in the Panama Canal Zone, McCain graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1958 and received a commission in the U.S. Navy. He became a naval aviator and flew ground-attack aircraft from aircraft carriers. During the Vietnam War, he almost died in the 1967 USS Forrestal fire. While on a bombing mission during Operation Rolling Thunder over Hanoi in October 1967, McCain was shot down, seriously injured, and captured by the North Vietnamese. He was a prisoner of war until 1973. McCain experienced episodes of torture and refused an out-of-sequence early release. He sustained wounds that left him with lifelong physical disabilities. McCain retired from the Navy as a captain in 1981 and moved to Arizona.
In 1982, McCain was elected to the House of Representatives, where he served two terms. Four years later, he was elected to the Senate, where he served six terms. While generally adhering to conservative principles, McCain also gained a reputation as a "maverick" for his willingness to break from his party on certain issues, including LGBT rights, gun regulations, and campaign finance reform where his stances were more moderate than those of the party's base. McCain was investigated and largely exonerated in a political influence scandal of the 1980s as one of the Keating Five. He then made regulating the financing of political campaigns one of his signature concerns, which eventually resulted in the passage of the McCain–Feingold Act in 2002. With Russ Feingold, McCain would receive the 1999 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. He was also known for his work in the 1990s to restore diplomatic relations with Vietnam. McCain chaired the Senate Commerce Committee from 1997 to 2001 and 2003 to 2005, where he opposed pork barrel spending and earmarks. He belonged to the bipartisan "Gang of 14", which played a key role in alleviating a crisis over judicial nominations.
McCain entered the race for the 2000 Republican presidential nomination, but lost a heated primary season contest to George W. Bush. He secured the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, beating fellow candidates Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee, though he lost the general election to Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. McCain subsequently adopted more orthodox conservative stances and attitudes and largely opposed actions of the Obama administration, especially with regard to foreign policy matters. In 2015, he became Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He refused to support Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election and later became a vocal critic of the first Trump administration. While McCain opposed the Obama-era Affordable Care Act (ACA), he cast the deciding vote against the American Health Care Act of 2017, which would have partially repealed the ACA. After being diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2017, he reduced his role in the Senate to focus on treatment, dying from the disease in 2018.
Early life and military career (1936–1981)
Early life and education
John Sidney McCain III was born on August 29, 1936, at Coco Solo Naval Air Station in the Panama Canal Zone, to naval officer John S. McCain Jr. and Roberta Wright McCain. He had an older sister, Sandy, and a younger brother, Joe. At that time, the Panama Canal was under U.S. control.
His father and his paternal grandfather, John S. McCain Sr., were also Naval Academy graduates and both became four-star admirals in the United States Navy.Nowicki, Dan and Muller, Bill. "John McCain Report: At the Naval Academy" , The Arizona Republic (March 1, 2007). Retrieved November 10, 2007; "How the biography was put together" , The Arizona Republic (March 1, 2007). Retrieved June 18, 2008. ("McCain's grades [at the Naval Academy] were good in the subjects he enjoyed, such as literature and history. Gamboa said McCain would rather read a history book than do his math homework. He did just enough to pass the classes he didn't find stimulating. 'He stood low in his class,' Gamboa said. 'But that was by choice, not design.'") In addition, his grand-uncle William A. McCain and great grand-uncle Henry Pinckney McCain served as general officers in the United States Army. The McCain family moved with their father as he took various naval postings in the United States and in the Pacific.Alexander, Man of the People, p. 19. As a result, the younger McCain attended a total of about 20 schools. In 1951, the family settled in Northern Virginia, and McCain attended Episcopal High School, a private preparatory boarding school in Alexandria.Alexander, Man of the People, p. 22.McCain was christened and raised Episcopalian. See Nichols, Hans. "McCain Keeps His Faith to Himself, at Church and in Campaign", Bloomberg (April 25, 2008). He then identified as a Baptist, although he had not been baptized as an adult, and was not an official member of the church he attended. See Warner, Greg. "McCain's faith: Pastor describes senator as devout, but low-key", Associated Baptist Press (April 8, 2008). Retrieved September 6, 2008. Also see Hornick, Ed. "McCain and Obama cite moral failures" , CNN (August 16, 2008): "McCain, who was raised an Episcopalian and now identifies himself as Baptist, rarely discusses his faith." Retrieved August 16, 2008. Also see Reston, Maeve and Mehta, Seema. "Barack Obama and John McCain to Meet at Saddleback Church", Los Angeles Times, (August 16, 2008). Archived from the original on September 12, 2008: "McCain [is] an Episcopalian who attends a Baptist church in Phoenix..." Retrieved August 16, 2008. He excelled at wrestling and graduated in 1954.Alexander, Man of the People, p. 28. He referred to himself as an Episcopalian as recently as June 2007, after which date he said he came to identify as a Baptist.
Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, McCain entered the United States Naval Academy, where he was a friend and informal leader for many of his classmates and sometimes stood up for targets of bullying. He also fought as a lightweight boxer. He earned the nickname "John Wayne" "for his attitude and popularity with the opposite sex." McCain did well in academic subjects that interested him, such as literature and history, but studied only enough to pass subjects that gave him difficulty, such as mathematics.McCain, Faith of My Fathers, p. 134. He came into conflict with higher-ranking personnel and did not always obey the rules. "He collected demerits the way some people collect stamps." His class rank (894 of 899) was not indicative of his intelligence nor his Intelligence quotient (IQ), which had been tested to be 128 and 133.Alexander, Man of the People, 207. McCain scored 128 and then 133 on IQ tests. McCain graduated in 1958.
Naval training, first marriage, and Vietnam War assignment
McCain began his early military career when he was commissioned as an ensign, and started two and a half years of training at Pensacola to become a naval aviator.Alexander, Man of the People, p. 32. While there, he earned a reputation as a man who partied.Woodward, Calvin. "McCain's WMD Is A Mouth That Won't Quit" . Associated Press. USA Today (November 4, 2007). Retrieved November 10, 2007. He completed flight school in 1960, and became a naval pilot of ground-attack aircraft; he was assigned to A-1 Skyraider squadronsMcCain, Faith of My Fathers, p. 156. aboard the aircraft carriers and Feinberg, Barbara. John McCain: Serving His Country, p. 18 (Millbrook Press 2000). . in the Caribbean and Mediterranean Seas.Timberg, American Odyssey, pp. 66–68. McCain began as a sub-par flier who was at times careless and reckless; during the early to mid-1960s, two of his flight missions crashed, and a third mission collided with power lines, but he received no major injuries.Vartabedian, Ralph and Serrano, Richard A. "Mishaps mark John McCain's record as naval aviator" , Los Angeles Times (October 6, 2008). Retrieved October 6, 2008. His aviation skills improved over time, and he was seen as a good pilot, albeit one who tended to "push the envelope" in his flying.
On July 3, 1965, McCain was 28 when he married Carol Shepp, who had worked as a runway model and secretary."John McCain", Iowa Caucuses '08, The Des Moines Register. Retrieved November 8, 2007. McCain adopted her two young children, Douglas (1959–2026) and Andrew (born 1962).Alexander, Man of the People, p. 92 He and Carol then had a daughter, Sidney (born 1966).Alexander, Man of the People, p. 33Steinhauer, Jennifer. "Bridging four Decades, a Large, Close-Knit Brood" , The New York Times (December 27, 2007). Retrieved December 27, 2007. The same year, he was a one-day champion on the game show Jeopardy!
McCain requested a combat assignment,McCain, Faith of My Fathers, pp. 167–68. and was assigned to the aircraft carrier flying A-4 Skyhawks.McCain, Faith of My Fathers, pp. 172–73. His combat duty began in mid-1967, when Forrestal was assigned to a bombing campaign, Operation Rolling Thunder, during the Vietnam War.McCain, Faith of My Fathers, pp. 185–86. Stationed in the Gulf of Tonkin, McCain and his fellow pilots became frustrated by micromanagement from Washington; he later wrote, "In all candor, we thought our civilian commanders were complete idiots who didn't have the least notion of what it took to win the war."Karaagac, John. John McCain: An Essay in Military and Political History, pp. 81–82 (Lexington Books 2000). .
On July 29, 1967, McCain was a lieutenant commander when he was near the center of the USS Forrestal fire. He escaped from his burning jet and was trying to help another pilot escape when a bomb exploded;Weinraub, Bernard. "Start of Tragedy: Pilot Hears a Blast As He Checks Plane" , The New York Times (July 31, 1967). Retrieved March 28, 2008. McCain was struck in the legs and chest by fragments.Timberg, American Odyssey, pp. 72–74. The ensuing fire killed 134 sailors.McCain, Faith of My Fathers, pp. 177–79.US Navy Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships – Forrestal . States either Aircraft No. 405 piloted by LCDR Fred D. White or No. 416 piloted by LCDR John McCain was struck by the Zuni. With the Forrestal out of commission, McCain volunteered for assignment with the , another carrier employed in Operation Rolling Thunder.Timberg, American Odyssey, 75. There, he was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal and the Bronze Star Medal for missions flown over North Vietnam.
Prisoner of war
McCain was taken prisoner of war on October 26, 1967. He was flying his 23rd bombing mission over North Vietnam when his A-4E Skyhawk was shot down by a missile over Hanoi.Nowicki, Dan & Muller, Bill. "John McCain Report: Prisoner of War" , The Arizona Republic (March 1, 2007). Retrieved November 10, 2007. McCain fractured both arms and a leg when he ejected from the aircraft,Dobbs, Michael. "In Ordeal as Captive, Character Was Shaped" , The Washington Post (October 5, 2008) and nearly drowned after he parachuted into Trúc Bạch Lake. Some North Vietnamese pulled him ashore, then others crushed his shoulder with a rifle butt and bayoneted him. McCain was then transported to Hanoi's main Hỏa Lò Prison, nicknamed the "Hanoi Hilton".Hubbell, P.O.W., p. 363