Senator John McCain recently passed away at the age of 81 after a struggle with brain cancer for over a year.
He was a naval bomber pilot, prisoner of war, conservative maverick, giant of the Senate, twice-defeated presidential candidate and an abrasive American hero with a twinkle in his eye. The warrior politician, who survived plane crashes, several bouts of skin cancer and brushes with political oblivion, often seemed to be perpetually waging a race against time and his own mortality while striving to ensure that his five-and-a-half years as a Vietnam prisoner of war did not stand as the defining experience of his life. He spent his last few months out of the public eye in his adopted home state of Arizona, reflecting on the meaning of his life and accepting visits from a stream of friends and old political combatants.
John McCain’s heroism in Vietnam and his lasting impact on the US military
A-4 Skyhawks were US Navy carrier-based attack planes that flew some of the most dangerous missions in Vietnam. According to Naval History and Heritage Command, these subsonic jets were increasingly vulnerable to North Vietnam’s air defenses by the mid-1960s and suffered the highest loss rate of any Navy plane in Vietnam. Thirty percent of the planes in McCain’s squadron were battle casualties during the year he served.
On Oct. 26, 1967 McCain was on his twenty-third mission — a bombing mission over Hanoi. He took a calculated risk to attack his target at an altitude low enough to be struck by North Vietnamese missiles, and managed to release his bombs right before his plane was struck. The missile struck one of the A-4’s wings. McCain bailed out at high speed, according to Naval History and Heritage Command, which broke both his arms, his right leg and knocked him unconscious.
The 31-year-old officer would spend the next two years in solitary confinement. He was routinely beaten and would eventually signed a confessional of criminal wrongdoing and apology, which was permissible under the military’s code of conduct, according to NHHC. McCain would become one of the leaders of the POW resistance at the “Plantation” prison where he continued to be held.
After his return to the US, McCain spent five months recuperating. Some wounds never fully heal. He never regained the ability to raise his arms above his head. McCain became a US Navy liasion to Congress and decided to embark on a political career rather than stay in and try to make admiral. He would retire in 1981, according to NHHC, after a distinguished career, in which he received the Silver Star, Legion of Merit with Combat ‘V’ and gold star, the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Purple Heart among other awards.
McCain returned to Vietnam in 2000 and visited the former prison, which was turned into a museum.
John McCain and his wife Cindy show their respects during a ceremony in April 2000 on an airfield in Vietnam, honoring the repatriation of recently recovered remains of American soldiers who had gone missing during the Vietnam war. The McCains visited Vietnam to mark the 25th anniversary of the end of the war. Throughout his tenure in the US Senate, McCain often drew attention to veterans affairs and has remained an active advocate for prisoners of war and missing service members.
John McCain greets supporters during a door to door campaign swing in South Carolina in 2008. The senator campaigned against junior Senator Barack Obama, who went on to win the historic election.
Many celebrities have reacted to the death of the politician: