Funky, independent, trendsetter, nonconformist and unorthodox are just a few of the words used to describe the late US Senator John McCain. Since his death on August 25, 2018, not only his constituents and Washington, but also world leaders have been pouring hearts. Senator John McCain was a rare breed of patriot who willingly put the national interest ahead of his own political and partisan interests. Find out more about this man’s incredible life and why he’s called the underdog senator here.
His biography and life achievements
Senator John McCain was born John Sidney McCainIII on August 29, 1936 at a US naval station in the Panama Canal Zone. He was born into what could be described as a Navy Royalty family. His father, John S. McCain Jr., was a four-star admiral who would go on to become commander of the US Naval Forces Pacific Rim. His grandfather, John Sydney McCain Sr., was also a four-star admiral in the US Navy. His mother, who is still alive, is called Roberta and he had two other siblings.
Due to the nature of military life, the McCains never stayed in one place, instead following their father to the naval base where he was stationed. As a result, Senator John McCain received his elementary and high school education from about 20 different schools, including Episcopalian High School Virginia, from which he graduated in 1954. Following family tradition, McCain then attended the US Naval Academy in Maryland, from where he qualified as a non-commissioned officer in 1958. He then attended flight school and qualified as a naval pilot in 1960.
military career
John McCain had two careers in his life, the first being in the military and the second in the civil service.
As a naval pilot, John McCain served on various missions for the US Navy. When the Vietnam War broke out, he volunteered for active duty and went on various missions to bombard local targets.
On October 26, 1967, McCain’s planeHe was shot down over Hanoi, the capital of North Vietnam, and captured. John McCain was a prisoner of war (POW) for five and a half years during which he endured extreme forms of torture, beatings and ill-treatment at the hands of his captors. At one point he was offered his freedom, but he declined, insisting that those caught before him should be released first. He also refused to play into the hands of his captors, who knew his father as a senior naval officer and as such wanted to use his release to boost cheap popularity.
John McCain finally regained his freedom on March 14, 1973, but he was a changed man. Having sustained many injuries that he knew would prevent him from reaching the pinnacle of his naval career, he retired from the Navy in 1981. He received several awards for outstanding military service throughout his life, including Purple Heart, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Silver Star, and a Prisoner of War Medal.
Political career
John McCain got his first taste of politics when the Navy made him their Senate liaison in 1977. Finding politics interesting and challenging, he began to cultivate political ambitions, an ambition he later realized with the help of the influence of his wife’s family.
In 1981, after his marriage to Cindy Hensley, he was brought up in Phoenix, where his wife was based. There he worked in the PR department of his father-in-law’s beer factory. A year later, in 1982, he was elected to the House of Representatives. He served two terms, and in 1986 he was elected to the Senate to represent Arizona. The Arizona Senator served 30 years (6 terms) in the Senate.
As a Republican, Senator McCain was conservative on seething issues like gun control and abortion. He also fully supported the Iraq war. However, he also supported a number of “liberal” issues. He introduced various laws to combat global warming and to provide a well-defined path through which illegal immigrants could eventually become legal and even obtain citizenship.
He never hesitated to go against his party whenever he felt the national interest was at stake. In July 2017, Donald Trump’s no-no deal dealt a major blow to a plan to repeal Obamacare, which provides health insurance to millions of Americans. Unlike most politicians, who may or may not agree with the party line, Senator John McCain has never hesitated to stray from the party line when he felt it was wrong. This earned him the nickname “The Maverick Senator”.
Senator John McCain was also willing to reach across the aisle to ensure certain legislation was implemented. One of his most notable achievements in the Senate was a collaboration with Democratic Senator Russ Feingold that resulted in the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act. The law cleaned up political campaign funding in the United States, which had become a “quagmire.”
He also played a central role in restoring US-Vietnam relations despite his harrowing experiences. McCain contested the 2007 Democratic Party primary, but lost to Barack Obama.
Senator McCain’s influence was beyond the borders of the United States. He supported the US military intervention in Libya and even visited the rebels who ousted Gaddafi from power. After the Syrian civil war broke out, Senator McCain called on the United States not only to arm the rebels (whom he visited in 2013), but also to fight with them to oust the Assad regime.
John McCain was a human being and as such not without faults. In the 1980s, he was involved in a campaign finance scandal known as the Keating scandal, but his name was eventually cleared. His detractors have also argued that his “outsider” is just him playing to the gallery.
family (wife, children)
Senator John McCain was married twice in his lifetime. His first wife was Carol Shepp. They married on July 3, 1965. Carol Shepp already had two children from a previous marriage: Douglas and Andrew, who McCain adopted. They also had a daughter named Sydney.
However, the couple divorced in 1980 after his birth, separated for a while. During the time of their separation, McCain met Cindy Lou Hensley and began a relationship. They married on May 17, 1980. The marriage was blessed with four children, Meghan, Jonh Sidney IV and James. In 1991, the McCains adopted a little Bangladeshi girl they named Bridget.
John McCain’s daughter Meghan
Meghan whose full name is Meghan MargueriteMcCain has grown to be a well educated woman. She is a writer and political analyst and has appeared on various news programs on television networks such as Fox News, MSNBC and ABC Television. She is currently one of the hosts of the popular American talk show The View. Meghan, like her father, can be described as a political outsider. Although a Republican, she is liberal on certain issues, including gay rights, pro-life and supportive of contraceptive use and sex education.
Death of Senator John McCain
Senator John McCain was diagnosed with brain cancer in July 2017, for which he underwent multiple treatments. However, on July 24, 2018, the family announced that he had stopped further treatments. He died the next day on August 25, 2018 at his family home in Arizona. He was 81 years old at the time of his death.