TV and Projector News: September 2018

Saturday, September 29, 2018

Start of third term in the U.S. Senate

Photo of McCain's father and grandfather that appeared on the cover of his 1999 family memoir

In November 1998, McCain won re-election to a third Senate term; he prevailed in a landslide over his Democratic opponent, environmental lawyer Ed Ranger.

In the February 1999 Senate trial following the impeachment of Bill Clinton, McCain voted to convict the president on both the perjury and obstruction of justice counts, saying Clinton had violated his sworn oath of office.

In March 1999, McCain voted to approve the NATO bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, saying that the ongoing genocide of the Kosovo War must be stopped and criticizing past Clinton administration inaction.

Later in 1999, McCain shared the Profile in Courage Award with Feingold for their work in trying to enact their campaign finance reform, although the bill was still failing repeated attempts to gain cloture.

In August 1999, McCain's memoir Faith of My Fathers, co-authored with Mark Salter, was published; a reviewer observed that its appearance "seems to have been timed to the unfolding Presidential campaign."

The most successful of his writings, it received positive reviews, became a bestseller, and was later made into a TV film.

The book traces McCain's family background and childhood, covers his time at Annapolis and his service before and during the Vietnam War, concluding with his release from captivity in 1973.

According to one reviewer, it describes "the kind of challenges that most of us can barely imagine. It's a fascinating history of a remarkable military family."

John Sidney McCain III

John Sidney McCain III

(August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018)

The 1992 christening of USS John S. McCain at Bath Iron Works, with his mother Roberta, son Jack, daughter Meghan, and wife Cindy

was an American statesman and military officer who served as a United States Senator from Arizona from January 1987 until his death.

He previously served two terms in the United States House of Representatives and was the Republican nominee for President of the United States in the 2008 election.

McCain graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1958 and was commissioned into the United States Navy. He became a naval aviator and flew ground-attack aircraft from aircraft carriers.

During the Vietnam War, he was almost killed in the 1967 USS Forrestal fire. While on a bombing mission during Operation Rolling Thunder over Hanoi in October 1967, he was shot down, seriously injured, and captured by the North Vietnamese.

He was a prisoner of war until 1973. He experienced episodes of torture and refused an out-of-sequence early release. The wounds that he sustained during the war left him with lifelong physical disabilities. He retired from the Navy as a captain in 1981 and moved to Arizona, where he entered politics.

In 1982, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives, where he served two terms. He entered the U.S. Senate in 1987 and easily won reelection five times, the final time in 2016.

Highly Contested Primary Election was won by John McCain

Growing family

In 1984, McCain and Cindy had their first child together, daughter Meghan, followed two years later by son John Sidney (Jack) IV, and in 1988 by son James (Jimmy).

In 1991, Cindy McCain brought an abandoned three-month-old girl needing medical treatment to the U.S. from a Bangladeshi orphanage run by Mother Teresa. The McCains decided to adopt her and named her Bridget.

The John and Cindy McCain residence in Phoenix, Az.

McCain decided to leave the Navy. It was doubtful whether he would ever be promoted to the rank of full admiral, as he had poor annual physicals and had not been given a major sea command.

His chances of being promoted to rear admiral were better, but he declined that prospect, as he had already made plans to run for Congress and said he could "do more good there."

McCain retired from the Navy on April 1, 1981, as a captain. He was designated as disabled and awarded a disability pension. 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.

McCain won a highly contested primary election with the assistance of local political endorsements, his Washington connections, and money that his wife lent to his campaign. He then easily won the general election in the heavily Republican district.

McCain in 1983, during his first term in the House of Representatives

First two terms in U.S. Senate

McCain's Senate career began in January 1987, after he defeated his Democratic opponent, former state legislator Richard Kimball, by 20 percentage points in the 1986 election.

McCain succeeded longtime American conservative icon and Arizona fixture Barry Goldwater upon the latter's retirement as U.S. senator from Arizona.

President Ronald Reagan greets John McCain as First Lady Nancy Reagan looks on, March 1987

Senator McCain became a member of the Armed Services Committee, with which he had formerly done his Navy liaison work; he also joined the Commerce Committee and the Indian Affairs Committee.

He continued to support the Native American agenda. As first a House member and then a senator—and as a lifelong gambler with close ties to the gambling industry—McCain was one of the main authors of the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which codified rules regarding Native American gambling enterprises.

McCain was also a strong supporter of the Gramm-Rudman legislation that enforced automatic spending cuts in the case of budget deficits.

Vietnam War assignment

Lieutenant Commander McCain being interviewed after his return from Vietnam, April 1973

Lieutenant Commander McCain greeting President Richard Nixon in May 1973

McCain requested a combat assignment and was assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal flying A-4 Skyhawks. His combat duty began when he was 30 years old in mid-1967, when Forrestal was assigned to a bombing campaign, Operation Rolling Thunder, during the Vietnam War.

Stationed in the Gulf of Tonkin, McCain and his fellow pilots became frustrated by micromanagement from Washington, and he later wrote, "In all candor, we thought our civilian commanders were complete idiots who didn't have the least notion of what it took to win the war."

On July 29, 1967, McCain was a lieutenant commander when he was near the center of the USS Forrestal fire. He escaped from his burning jet and was trying to help another pilot escape when a bomb exploded; McCain was struck in the legs and chest by fragments.

The ensuing fire killed 134 sailors and took 24 hours to control. With the Forrestal out of commission, McCain volunteered for assignment with the USS Oriskany, another aircraft carrier employed in Operation Rolling Thunder There he was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal and the Bronze Star Medal for missions flown over North Vietnam.

Naval training, first marriage, and Vietnam War assignment

McCain began his early military career when he was commissioned as an ensign and started two and a half years of training at Pensacola to become a naval aviator. While there, he earned a reputation as a man who partied. He completed flight school in 1960 and became a naval pilot of ground-attack aircraft; he was assigned to A-1 Skyraider squadrons aboard the aircraft carriers USS Intrepid and USS Enterprise in the Caribbean and Mediterranean Seas. McCain began as a sub-par flier who was at times careless and reckless; during the early to mid-1960s, two of his flight missions crashed and a third mission collided with power lines, but he received no major injuries. His aviation skills improved over time, and he was seen as a good pilot, albeit one who tended to "push the envelope" in his flying.

Lieutenant McCain (front right) with his squadron and T-2 Buckeye trainer, 1965

At age 28 on July 3, 1965, McCain married Carol Shepp, who was a model from Philadelphia. McCain adopted her two young children Douglas (Doug) and Andrew (Andy). He and Carol then had a daughter named Sidney.

John McCain Article

This article is part of a series
about
John McCain

Campaign for the presidency
- 2008

Campaign for the presidency
- 2000

U.S. Senator from Arizona

Early Congressional career (1983–2000)

Senate career during 2001–2014

Political positions

Early life and military career

Cultural and political image

Electoral history

Senator John McCain

John McCain


United States Senator from Arizona
In office January 3, 1987 – August 25, 2018
Preceded by	Barry Goldwater
Succeeded by	Jon Kyl
Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee
In office January 3, 2015 – August 25, 2018
Preceded by	Carl Levin
Succeeded by	Jim Inhofe
Chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee
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
Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee
In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2005
Preceded by	Fritz Hollings
Succeeded by	Ted Stevens
In office January 20, 2001 – June 3, 2001
Preceded by	Fritz Hollings
Succeeded by	Fritz Hollings
In office January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2001
Preceded by	Larry Pressler
Succeeded by	Fritz Hollings
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona's 1st district
In office January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1987
Preceded by	John Jacob Rhodes
Succeeded by	John Jacob Rhodes III
Personal details
Born	John Sidney McCain III August 29, 1936 Coco Solo, Panama Canal Zone, U.S.
Died	August 25, 2018 (aged 81) Cornville, Arizona, U.S.
Cause of death	Glioblastoma
Resting place	United States Naval Academy Cemetery, Annapolis, Maryland
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Carol Shepp (m. 1965; div. 1980) Cindy Hensley (m. 1980)
Children	7, including Meghan
Parents	John S. McCain Jr. and Roberta Wright
Relatives	Joe McCain (brother)
Education	United States Naval Academy (BS)
Signature
Website	Senate website
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1958–1981
Rank	Captain
Battles/wars	Vietnam War (POW) Operation Rolling Thunder (WIA)
Awards	Silver Star Bronze Star Medal (3) with Combat "V" Purple Heart Legion of Merit (2) with Combat "V" Distinguished Flying Cross Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (2) with Combat "V"