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| John S. McCain III | |
|---|---|
| Name | John S. McCain III |
| Caption | Official portrait, 2009 |
| Birth date | August 29, 1936 |
| Birth place | Coco Solo, Panama Canal Zone |
| Death date | August 25, 2018 |
| Death place | Prescott, Arizona |
| Occupation | United States Navy officer, United States Senator |
| Alma mater | United States Naval Academy |
| Spouse | Carol Shepp (m. 1965) |
| Children | John Sidney McCain IV, Zoe McCain, Jack McCain |
John S. McCain III was a United States naval aviator, prisoner of war, and long-serving United States Senator from Arizona who ran for President of the United States in 2008. Born into a family of United States Navy admirals, he attended the United States Naval Academy and served in the Vietnam War before entering elective politics, becoming known for work on defense policy, campaign finance reform, and foreign relations. His career intersected with many prominent figures and institutions including the Republican Party, Democratic Party, and international leaders across NATO, Israel, and Iraq.
McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone at Coco Solo into a family prominent in United States Navy history; his father, John S. McCain Jr., and grandfather, John S. McCain Sr., were both four-star admirals who served in the World War II and Korean War eras. He grew up in military communities including Washington, D.C., Coronado, California, and Virginia, and attended preparatory schools before entering the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. While at the academy he encountered future leaders and classmates from institutions such as United States Military Academy graduates, and later flew with squadrons associated with Carrier Air Group operations aboard aircraft carriers like USS Forrestal (CV-59). His family connections linked him to figures associated with Department of Defense leadership, Pentagon planners, and naval strategy debates influenced by thinkers from Naval War College.
After graduating from the United States Naval Academy in 1958, McCain trained as a naval aviator at Naval Air Station Pensacola and served in fighter squadrons flying A-4 Skyhawk and A-6 Intruder-type missions with deployments on carriers such as USS Enterprise (CVN-65) and USS Forrestal (CV-59). His service years coincided with Cold War operations that involved interactions with Pacific Fleet commanders, Admiral Hyman G. Rickover-era nuclear policy debates, and contingency planning framed by Vietnam War strategy overseen by officials including Robert McNamara and Henry Kissinger. He received training influenced by curricula at Naval Postgraduate School and operational doctrines shaped by Joint Chiefs of Staff guidance, and he engaged with naval leaders who later entered politics, such as John Lehman and James Stockdale.
During the Vietnam War in 1967, while flying an A-4 Skyhawk over Hanoi, McCain was shot down and captured by North Vietnamese forces amid operations tied to campaigns like Operation Rolling Thunder and the broader air war directed from Saigon. He was imprisoned in facilities including the Hỏa Lò Prison (often called the "Hanoi Hilton") where he endured torture and solitary confinement alongside other American POWs such as James Stockdale and Donn F. Porter. His captivity intersected with diplomatic efforts by the Nixon administration, negotiations led by envoys linked to Paris Peace Accords, and public advocacy by organizations like the National League of POW/MIA Families. Released in 1973 after Operation Homecoming, he returned to the United States, recuperated at Naval Hospital Bethesda, and later testified in forums involving Senate Armed Services Committee members and veterans' groups such as the American Legion.
After retiring from active United States Navy service, McCain moved to Arizona and entered electoral politics, winning a seat in the United States House of Representatives in 1982 before election to the United States Senate in 1986. In the Senate he served on committees including the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, collaborating with colleagues such as John Warner, Ted Kennedy, Joseph Lieberman, Lindsey Graham, and Russ Feingold. He co-sponsored legislation addressing issues influenced by agencies like the Federal Communications Commission, Department of Homeland Security, and Central Intelligence Agency, and he played a central role in the bipartisan McCain-Feingold Act (campaign finance reform) and oversight hearings involving Torture memos, Guantanamo Bay detention camp, and Iraq War policy debates overseen by George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations. His foreign policy stances connected him with NATO allies including United Kingdom, France, and Germany, and with Middle East interlocutors such as Israel and Saudi Arabia.
McCain sought the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States in 2000 and again in 2008, mounting nationwide campaigns that engaged networks including Republican National Committee, Campaign finance networks, and media outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, and Fox News. In 2008 he selected Sarah Palin as his running mate and faced the Democratic ticket of Barack Obama and Joe Biden in debates moderated by journalists from ABC News and CNN. His policy platform emphasized military readiness in coordination with NATO and United Nations missions, trade agreements like those negotiated with World Trade Organization frameworks, energy policies involving agencies such as the Department of Energy and projects linked to Alaska, and immigration reforms debated with figures including Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney. He advocated campaign finance limits as embodied in the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act and pursued positions on Supreme Court nominations that engaged senators from both parties, while his foreign policy record included support for interventions in Afghanistan and cautious positions on Iraq War troop levels.
McCain married Carol Shepp in 1965; their family life in Arizona included children who engaged with institutions like the United States Naval Academy and civic organizations such as the American Red Cross and Wounded Warrior Project. His public persona was shaped by relationships with politicians across the spectrum including Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and John Kerry, and by commentators from The Wall Street Journal to The New Yorker. After his Senate tenure he remained active in public debates until his death from glioblastoma in 2018, leaving a legacy invoked in discussions at institutions like Harvard Kennedy School, Brookings Institution, and think tanks such as the Council on Foreign Relations and Heritage Foundation. His name is commemorated in biographies, documentaries, and archives including holdings at the Library of Congress and in exhibits at museums like the National Museum of the United States Navy.
Category:1936 births Category:2018 deaths Category:United States Navy officers Category:United States Senators from Arizona Category:American prisoners of war