American Navy Lieutenant, and future U.S. Senator John Sidney McCain III, circa 1964.
When John McCain made his first bid for public office in 1982, running for a House seat in Arizona, critics blasted him as a carpetbagger, pointing out that he’d only lived in the state for 18 months.
“Listen, pal, I spent 22 years in the Navy,” the exasperated candidate reportedly shot back at one event. Then, after explaining that career military people tend to move a lot, he delivered a retort that made the attacks against him seem ridiculously petty: “As a matter of fact… the place I lived longest in my life was Hanoi.”
McCain won the election, launching a political career that earned him two terms in the House, six in the Senate, and his party’s presidential nomination in 2008. But even after four decades in public life, McCain’s experience as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam continued to define him in the minds of many Americans, admirers and detractors alike. While he ulti
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John McCain
American politician and military officer (1936–2018)
For other uses, see John McCain (disambiguation).
John McCain
Official portrait, 2009
In office January 3, 1987 – August 25, 2018
Preceded by
Barry Goldwater
Succeeded by
Jon Kyl
In office January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1987
Preceded by
John Jacob Rhodes
Succeeded by
John Jacob Rhodes III
Senatorial positions
In office January 3, 2015 – August 25, 2018[a]
Preceded by
Carl Levin
Succeeded by
Jim Inhofe
In office January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2007
Preceded by
Ben Nighthorse Campbell
Succeeded by
Byron Dorgan
In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 1997
Preceded by
Daniel Inouye
Succeeded by
Ben Nighthorse Campbell
In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2005
Preceded by
Fritz Hollings
Succeeded by
Ted Stevens
In office January 20, 2001 – June
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Early life and military career of John McCain
Events in the life of McCain from 1936 to 1981
The early life and military career of John Sidney McCain III spans the first forty-five years of his life (1936–1981). McCain's father and grandfather were admirals in the United States Navy. McCain was born on August 29, 1936, in the Panama Canal Zone, and attended many schools growing up as his family moved among naval facilities. McCain graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1958. He married the former Carol Shepp in 1965; he adopted two children from her previous marriage and they had another child together.
As a naval aviator, McCain flew attack aircraft from carriers. During the Vietnam War, he narrowly escaped death in the 1967 Forrestal fire. On his twenty-third bombing mission during Operation Rolling Thunder in October 1967, he was shot down over Hanoi and badly injured. He subsequently endured five and a half years as a prisoner of war, including periods of