Born 29 August 1936. USNA 58. POW 67-73. Retired from the US Navy as a Captain in 1981. US Representative 82-86. US Senator (Arizona) 1986 - 2018.
From Military Hall of Honor: United States Naval Officer, US Congressman, US Senator. He was elected as a Republican to represent Arizona’s 1st Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives, serving from January 3, 1983 to January 3, 1987, and then as a Republican Senator from Arizona to the United States Senate, serving from January 3, 1987 until his death in office on August 25, 2018. He was also the Republican Party candidate for United States President in 2007, a race he lost to then-Illinois senator Barack Obama. The son of Admiral John Sidney McCain Jr, and grandson of Admiral John Sidney McCain, he graduated from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. He went on to serve in the United States Navy as a ground-attack pilot during the War in Vietnam. In 1967, he was nearly killed in a severe accidental fire aboard the aircraft carrier “USS Forrestal” (CV-59), which was stationed in the Gulf of Tonkin in Vietnam. Later that year, he was shot down over Hanoi and captured by the North Vietnamese. He spent five and half years as a prisoner-of-war, where he endured torture and years of solitary confinement before being released in 1973. In 1977, he became the Navy's liaison to the United States Senate and four years later, retired from the Navy as a captain on April 1, 1981. Upon leaving the military, he moved to Arizona. His numerous military decorations and awards include the Silver Star, two Legion of Merits, Distinguished Flying Cross, three Bronze Star Medals, two Purple Hearts, two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals, and the Prisoner of War Medal. In 1977, he became the Navy's liaison to the United States Senate and four years later, retired from the Navy. In 1982, he ran, as a Republican, in the 1st District of Arizona and was successful in the general election that fall. He went on to serve in the House of Representatives for four years before deciding to seek the Senate seat of retiring Senator Barry Goldwater in 1986. He was successful in his Senate run and went to serve in the Senate for almost six terms before his passing. During his tenure in the Senate, he chaired the Senate Indian Affairs, Commerce and Armed Services Committees. He was considered a "maverick" through most of his tenure and took various stances on issues that were contradictory to his party's leadership in the Senate. He was the co-sponsor of the major campaign reform bill, the McCain-Feingold Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, parts of which were later struck down by the Supreme Court. In 2000, he made an unsuccessful run for the Republican presidential nomination, but eight years later, was successful in gaining his party's presidential nomination. He, along with running mate, Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska, were defeated in the general election by the Democratic ticket of Barack Obama and Joseph Biden. He continued his "maverick" stance in the Senate through the remainder of his tenure in the Senate. He was diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2017 and underwent treatment before ending the treatment right before his passing.