John McCain Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! == Early life and military career (1936β1981) == {{Main|Early life and military career of John McCain}} === Early life and education === John Sidney McCain III was born on August 29, 1936, at [[Coco Solo]] Naval Air Station in the [[Panama Canal Zone]], to naval officer [[John S. McCain Jr.]] and [[Roberta McCain|Roberta (Wright) McCain]]. He had an older sister, Sandy, and a younger brother, [[Joe McCain|Joe]].<ref name="timberg-bio-ch1">{{Cite book|last=Timberg|first=Robert|chapter-url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/first/t/timberg-mccain.html|title=John McCain, An American Odyssey|chapter=The Punk|author-link=Robert Timberg|via=The New York Times|publisher=Simon and Schuster|date=1999|isbn=978-0-684-86794-6|access-date=August 4, 2015|url=https://archive.org/details/johnmccainameric00timb}}</ref> At that time, the [[Panama Canal]] was under U.S. control,<ref>{{Cite book|author-link=Samuel Eliot Morison|last=Morison|first=Samuel Eliot|title=The Two-Ocean War: A Short History of the United States Navy in the Second World War|publisher=[[Naval Institute Press]]|date=2007|page=119}}</ref> and he was granted [[Citizenship of the United States|U.S. citizenship]] at the age of eleven months.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Immerwahr |first=Daniel |author-link=Daniel Immerwahr |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1086608761 |title=How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States |date=2019 |others=Straus, and Giroux Farrar |isbn=978-0-374-71512-0 |location=New York |oclc=1086608761 |quote=McCain was, per the 1937 statute, a citizen by virtue of his birth. But he wasn't born a citizen, as no law made him a citizen at the time of his birth. Arguably, then, he was not a 'natural born citizen' and thus not eligible for the presidency. As Gabriel Chin, the law professor who unearthed this, put it, McCain was born 'eleven months and a hundred yards short of citizenship.' |access-date=December 3, 2022 |archive-date=June 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605215508/https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1086608761 |url-status=live }}</ref> McCain's family tree includes [[Scotch-Irish Americans|Scots-Irish]] and English ancestors.<ref>{{cite web|last=Roberts|first=Gary|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915022255/http://www.newenglandancestors.org/research/services/56_ancestry_john_mccain.asp|url=http://www.newenglandancestors.org/research/services/56_ancestry_john_mccain.asp|archive-date=September 15, 2008|title=On the Ancestry, Royal Descent, and English and American Notable Kin of Senator John Sidney McCain IV|website=New England Historic Genealogical Society|date=April 1, 2008|access-date=May 19, 2008}}</ref> His great-great-great-grandparents owned [[High Rock Farm]], a plantation in [[Rockingham County, North Carolina]].<ref>Burritt, Mary (October 16, 2016). [https://www.greensboro.com/news/rockingham-county-historian-bob-carter-combines-discretion-scholarship/article_3deb10a8-5f74-526d-b6f0-b020d86f0f9f.html "Rockingham County Historian Bob Carter Combines Discretion, Scholarship."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702181846/https://www.greensboro.com/news/rockingham-county-historian-bob-carter-combines-discretion-scholarship/article_3deb10a8-5f74-526d-b6f0-b020d86f0f9f.html |date=July 2, 2019 }} ''[[News & Record]]'' (Greensboro.com). Retrieved April 29, 2020.</ref> His father and his paternal grandfather, [[John S. McCain Sr.]], were also [[Naval Academy (United States)|Naval Academy]] graduates and both became [[four-star admiral]]s in the [[United States Navy]].<ref name="az-naval">Nowicki, Dan and [[Bill Muller|Muller, Bill]]. [https://www.azcentral.com/news/specials/mccain/articles/0301mccainbio-chapter2.html "John McCain Report: At the Naval Academy"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906090218/http://www.azcentral.com/news/specials/mccain/articles/0301mccainbio-chapter2.html |date=September 6, 2014 }}, ''[[The Arizona Republic]] '' (March 1, 2007). Retrieved November 10, 2007; [https://www.azcentral.com/news/specials/mccain/articles/0301mccainbio-postscript.html "How the biography was put together"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080829111658/http://www.azcentral.com/news/specials/mccain/articles/0301mccainbio-postscript.html |date=August 29, 2008 }}, ''The Arizona Republic'' (March 1, 2007). Retrieved June 18, 2008. ("McCain's grades [at the Naval Academy] were good in the subjects he enjoyed, such as literature and history. Gamboa said McCain would rather read a history book than do his math homework. He did just enough to pass the classes he didn't find stimulating. 'He stood low in his class,' Gamboa said. 'But that was by choice, not design.'")</ref> The McCain family moved with their father as he took various naval postings in the United States and in the Pacific.<ref name="timberg-bio-ch1" /><ref>Alexander, ''Man of the People'', p. 19.</ref> As a result, the younger McCain attended a total of about 20 schools.<ref name="ap-wmd" /> In 1951, the family settled in [[Northern Virginia]], and McCain attended [[Episcopal High School (Alexandria)|Episcopal High School]], a private preparatory boarding school in [[Alexandria, Virginia|Alexandria]].<ref>Alexander, ''Man of the People'', p. 22.</ref><ref>McCain was christened and raised Episcopalian. See Nichols, Hans. [http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=aHH18X6Vsqzk "McCain Keeps His Faith to Himself, at Church and in Campaign"]{{dead link|date=November 2019|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, Bloomberg (April 25, 2008). He then identified as a Baptist, although he had not been baptized as an adult, and was not an official member of the church he attended. See Warner, Greg. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090318030725/http://www.abpnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3229&Itemid=121 "McCain's faith: Pastor describes senator as devout, but low-key"], [[Associated Baptist Press]] (April 8, 2008). Retrieved September 6, 2008. Also see Hornick, Ed. [http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/08/16/warren.forum/index.html "McCain and Obama cite moral failures"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080818024018/http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/08/16/warren.forum/index.html |date=August 18, 2008}}, [[CNN]] (August 16, 2008): "McCain, who was raised an Episcopalian and now identifies himself as Baptist, rarely discusses his faith." Retrieved August 16, 2008. Also see Reston, Maeve and Mehta, Seema. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080912033715/http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-saddleback17-2008aug17,0,140426.story "Barack Obama and John McCain to Meet at Saddleback Church"], ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', (August 16, 2008). Archived from [https://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-saddleback17-2008aug17,0,140426.story the original] on September 12, 2008: "McCain [is] an Episcopalian who attends a Baptist church in Phoenix{{nbsp}}..." Retrieved August 16, 2008.</ref> He excelled at [[scholastic wrestling|wrestling]] and graduated in 1954.<ref>Alexander, ''Man of the People'', p. 28.</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://alextimes.com/2007/06/episcopal-fetes-a-favorite-son/|title=Episcopal fetes a favorite son|newspaper=Alexandria Times|date=June 12, 2007|access-date=March 19, 2012|archive-date=August 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180809060417/https://alextimes.com/2007/06/episcopal-fetes-a-favorite-son/|url-status=live}}</ref> He referred to himself as an [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopalian]] as recently as June 2007, after which date he said he came to identify as a Baptist.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/16/AR2007091600864.html|title=McCain Says He's Been Baptist for Years|last=Smith|first=Bruce|date=September 17, 2007|access-date=August 8, 2018|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|agency=[[Associated Press]]|issn=0190-8286|archive-date=August 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803183943/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/16/AR2007091600864.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[File:McCain at Annapolis.JPG|upright|thumb|McCain at the [[United States Naval Academy|Naval Academy]], 1954|alt=Formal portrait of young, dark-haired man in white naval uniform]] Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, McCain entered the [[United States Naval Academy]], where he was a friend and informal leader for many of his classmates<ref name="timberg-ns-ch1" /> and sometimes stood up for targets of [[bullying]].<ref name="az-naval" /> He also fought as a lightweight [[boxing|boxer]].<ref name="nw051407">{{Cite news|last=Bailey|first=Holly|url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/34694|title=John McCain: 'I Learned How to Take Hard Blows'|work=[[Newsweek]]|date=May 14, 2007|access-date=December 19, 2007|archive-date=January 25, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090125125048/http://www.newsweek.com/id/34694|url-status=live}}</ref> He earned the nickname "John Wayne" "for his attitude and popularity with the opposite sex."<ref name="BBCNews2018Aug26-KeyMoments">{{Cite web |last=Zurcher |first=Anthony |date=August 26, 2018 |title=The key moments in John McCain's life |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44009916 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210824230208/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44009916 |archive-date=August 24, 2021 |access-date=August 24, 2021 |website=[[BBC News]] |language=en-GB}}</ref> McCain did well in academic subjects that interested him, such as literature and history, but studied only enough to pass subjects that gave him difficulty, such as mathematics.<ref name="az-naval" /><ref>McCain, ''Faith of My Fathers'', p. 134.</ref> He came into conflict with higher-ranking personnel and did not always obey the rules. "He collected demerits the way some people collect stamps."<ref name="BBCNews2018Aug26-KeyMoments" /> His [[class rank]] (894 of 899) was not indicative of his intelligence nor his [[Intelligence quotient|IQ]], which had been tested to be 128 and 133.<ref name="timberg-ns-ch1" /><ref>Alexander, ''Man of the People'', 207. McCain scored 128 and then 133 on [[IQ]] tests.</ref> McCain graduated in 1958.<ref name="timberg-ns-ch1">{{Cite book|last=Timberg|first=Robert|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=89xm-0eIfG8C&pg=PA31|title=Nightingale's Song|publisher=Simon and Schuster|pages=31β35|isbn=978-0-684-82673-8|date=September 11, 1996}}</ref> === Naval training, first marriage, and Vietnam War assignment === [[Early life and military career of John McCain#Naval training, early assignments, first marriage, and children|McCain began his early military career]] when he was commissioned as an [[Ensign (United States)|ensign]], and started two and a half years of training at [[Pensacola, Florida|Pensacola]] to become a naval aviator.<ref name="alexander-32">Alexander, ''Man of the People'', p. 32.</ref> While there, he earned a reputation as a man who partied.<ref name="ap-wmd">Woodward, Calvin. [https://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2007-11-03-998821539_x.htm "McCain's WMD Is A Mouth That Won't Quit"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315155128/http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2007-11-03-998821539_x.htm |date=March 15, 2012 }}. [[Associated Press]]. ''[[USA Today]]'' (November 4, 2007). Retrieved November 10, 2007.</ref> He completed flight school in 1960, and became a naval pilot of [[ground-attack aircraft]]; he was assigned to [[A-1 Skyraider]] squadrons<ref>McCain, ''Faith of My Fathers'', p. 156.</ref> aboard the [[aircraft carrier]]s {{USS|Intrepid|CV-11|6}} and {{USS|Enterprise|CVN-65|6}}<ref name="feinberg">Feinberg, Barbara. ''John McCain: Serving His Country'', p. 18 (Millbrook Press 2000). {{ISBN|0-7613-1974-3}}.</ref> in the [[Caribbean Sea|Caribbean]] and [[Mediterranean Sea]]s.<ref name="timberg-bio">Timberg, ''American Odyssey'', pp. 66β68.</ref> McCain began as a sub-par flier<ref name="timberg-bio" /> who was at times careless and reckless;<ref name="lat100608" /> 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.<ref name="lat100608">Vartabedian, Ralph and Serrano, Richard A. [https://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-aviator6-2008oct06,0,876358,full.story "Mishaps mark John McCain's record as naval aviator"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081021160309/http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-aviator6-2008oct06,0,876358,full.story |date=October 21, 2008 }}, ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' (October 6, 2008). Retrieved October 6, 2008.</ref> His aviation skills improved over time,<ref name="timberg-bio" /> and he was seen as a good pilot, albeit one who tended to "[[Flight envelope|push the envelope]]" in his flying.<ref name="lat100608" /> [[File:McCainWithSquadron.jpg|upright=1.35|thumb|alt=Four military pilots posed in, on, or in front of, silver jet with United States markings|Lieutenant McCain (front right) with his squadron and [[T-2 Buckeye]] trainer, 1965]] On July 3, 1965, McCain was 28 when he married [[Carol Shepp]], who had worked as a runway model and secretary.<ref name="dmr-mccain">[https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20080625184356/http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=caucus&template=detail&candidate=mccain "John McCain"], ''Iowa Caucuses '08'', ''[[The Des Moines Register]]''. Retrieved November 8, 2007.</ref> McCain adopted her two young children, Douglas and Andrew.<ref name="feinberg" /><ref name="alexander-92">Alexander, ''Man of the People'', p. 92</ref> He and Carol then had a daughter whom they named Sidney.<ref>Alexander, ''Man of the People'', p. 33</ref><ref name="nyt122707">Steinhauer, Jennifer. [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/27/us/politics/27mccainkids.html "Bridging four Decades, a Large, Close-Knit Brood"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180829223159/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/27/us/politics/27mccainkids.html |date=August 29, 2018 }}, ''[[The New York Times]]'' (December 27, 2007). Retrieved December 27, 2007.</ref> The same year, he was a one-day champion on the game show [[Jeopardy!|''Jeopardy''!]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/politics/2008-06-30-2937395846_x.htm |title=McCain recalls loss on ''Jeopardy!'' |last=Fouhy |first=Beth |work=[[USA Today]] |date=June 30, 2008 |access-date=June 3, 2013 |archive-date=October 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006103643/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/politics/2008-06-30-2937395846_x.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> McCain requested a combat assignment,<ref>McCain, ''Faith of My Fathers'', pp. 167β68.</ref> and was assigned to the aircraft carrier {{USS|Forrestal}} flying [[A-4 Skyhawk]]s.<ref>McCain, ''Faith of My Fathers'', pp. 172β73.</ref> [[Early life and military career of John McCain#Vietnam operations|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]].<ref name="dmr-mccain" /><ref name="mccain-185">McCain, ''Faith of My Fathers'', pp. 185β86.</ref> 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."<ref name="mccain-185" /><ref name="Karaagac">Karaagac, John. ''John McCain: An Essay in Military and Political History'', pp. 81β82 (Lexington Books 2000). {{ISBN|0-7391-0171-4}}.</ref> On July 29, 1967, McCain was a [[lieutenant commander (United States)|lieutenant commander]] when he was near the center of the [[1967 USS Forrestal fire|USS ''Forrestal'' fire]]. He escaped from his burning jet and was trying to help another pilot escape when a bomb exploded;<ref name="nyt073167">Weinraub, Bernard. [http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/flash/politics/20080203_MCCAIN_TIMELINE/content/pdf/19670731b.pdf "Start of Tragedy: Pilot Hears a Blast As He Checks Plane"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171229220753/http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/flash/politics/20080203_MCCAIN_TIMELINE/content/pdf/19670731b.pdf |date=December 29, 2017 }}, ''[[The New York Times]]'' (July 31, 1967). Retrieved March 28, 2008.</ref> McCain was struck in the legs and chest by fragments.<ref name="timberg-73">Timberg, ''American Odyssey'', pp. 72β74.</ref> The ensuing fire killed 134 sailors and took 24 hours to control.<ref name="ff-178">McCain, ''Faith of My Fathers'', pp. 177β79.</ref><ref name="DANFS">US Navy [http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/f3/forrestal.htm Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships β Forrestal] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080320002709/http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/f3/forrestal.htm |date=March 20, 2008}}. States either Aircraft No. 405 piloted by LCDR Fred D. White or No. 416 piloted by LCDR John McCain was struck by the Zuni.</ref> With the ''Forrestal'' out of commission, McCain volunteered for assignment with the {{USS|Oriskany}}, another aircraft carrier employed in Operation Rolling Thunder.<ref>Timberg, ''American Odyssey'', 75.</ref> There, he was awarded the [[Navy Commendation Medal]] and the [[Bronze Star Medal]] for missions flown over North Vietnam.<ref name="ap050708" /> === Prisoner of war === McCain was taken [[Early life and military career of John McCain#Prisoner of war|prisoner of war]] on October 26, 1967. He was flying his 23rd bombing mission over [[North Vietnam]] when his [[A-4E Skyhawk]] was shot down by a missile over [[Hanoi]].<ref name="az-pow">Nowicki, Dan & Muller, Bill. [https://www.azcentral.com/news/specials/mccain/articles/0301mccainbio-chapter3.html "John McCain Report: Prisoner of War"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150605054859/http://www.azcentral.com/news/specials/mccain/articles/0301mccainbio-chapter3.html |date=June 5, 2015 }}, ''[[The Arizona Republic]]'' (March 1, 2007). Retrieved November 10, 2007.</ref><ref name="hub-363" /> McCain fractured both arms and a leg when he ejected from the aircraft,<ref name=Dobbs>Dobbs, Michael. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/04/AR2008100402351.html "In Ordeal as Captive, Character Was Shaped"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904183401/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/04/AR2008100402351.html? |date=September 4, 2017 }}, ''[[The Washington Post]]'' (October 5, 2008)</ref> and nearly drowned after he parachuted into [[TrΓΊc BαΊ‘ch Lake]]. Some North Vietnamese pulled him ashore, then others crushed his shoulder with a rifle butt and bayoneted him.<ref name="az-pow" /> McCain was then transported to Hanoi's main [[Hα»a LΓ² Prison]], nicknamed the "Hanoi Hilton".<ref name="hub-363">Hubbell, ''P.O.W.'', p. 363</ref> Although McCain was seriously wounded and injured, his captors refused to treat him. They beat and [[interrogated]] him to get information, and he was given medical care only when the North Vietnamese discovered that his father was an admiral.<ref name="hub-364">Hubbell, ''P.O.W.'', p. 364</ref> His status as a [[prisoner of war]] (POW) made the front pages of major American newspapers.<ref name="nyt102867j">[[R. W. Apple, Jr.|Apple Jr., R. W.]] [http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/flash/politics/20080203_MCCAIN_TIMELINE/content/pdf/19671028.pdf "Adm. McCain's son, Forrestal Survivor, Is Missing in Raid"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415031004/http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/flash/politics/20080203_MCCAIN_TIMELINE/content/pdf/19671028.pdf |date=April 15, 2016 }}, ''[[The New York Times]]'' (October 28, 1967). Retrieved November 11, 2007.</ref><ref>[https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/165690022.html?dids=165690022:165690022&FMT=ABS&FMTS= "Admiral's Son Captured in Hanoi Raid"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130808212456/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/165690022.html?dids=165690022:165690022&FMT=ABS&FMTS= |date=August 8, 2013 }}, [[Associated Press]]. ''[[The Washington Post]]'' (October 28, 1967). Retrieved February 9, 2008 (fee required for full text).</ref> McCain spent six weeks in the hospital, where he received marginal care. He had lost {{convert|50|lb|kg|0}}, he was in a chest cast, and his gray hair had turned white.<ref name="az-pow" /> McCain was sent to a different camp on the outskirts of Hanoi.<ref>Timberg, ''American Odyssey'', p. 83</ref> In December 1967, McCain was placed in a cell with two other Americans, who did not expect him to live more than a week.<ref>Alexander, ''Man of the People'', 54.</ref> In March 1968, McCain was placed into [[solitary confinement]], where he remained for two years.<ref>Timberg, ''American Odyssey'', p. 89</ref> In mid-1968, his father John S. McCain Jr. was named commander of all U.S. forces in the Vietnam theater, and the North Vietnamese offered McCain early release<ref name="hub-451">Hubbell, ''P.O.W.'', pp. 450β51</ref> because they wanted to appear merciful for propaganda purposes,<ref>Rochester and Kiley, ''Honor Bound'', p. 363</ref> and also to show other POWs that elite prisoners were willing to be treated preferentially.<ref name="hub-451" /> McCain refused repatriation unless every man taken in before him was also released. Such early release was prohibited by the POWs' interpretation of the military [[Code of the United States Fighting Force|Code of Conduct]], which states in Article III: "I will accept neither parole nor special favors from the enemy."<ref>{{cite web|title=Executive Orders|url=https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/10631.html|website=National Archives|access-date=October 24, 2017|date=August 15, 2016|archive-date=August 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180825143232/https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/10631.html|url-status=live}}</ref> To prevent the enemy from using prisoners for propaganda, officers were to agree to be released in the order in which they were captured.<ref name="az-pow" /> Beginning in August 1968, McCain was subjected to a program of severe torture.<ref name="hub-453">Hubbell, ''P.O.W.'', pp. 452β54</ref> He was bound and beaten every two hours; this punishment occurred at the same time that he was suffering from heat exhaustion and [[dysentery]].<ref name="az-pow" /><ref name="hub-453" /> Further injuries brought McCain to "the point of suicide," but his preparations were interrupted by guards. Eventually, McCain made an anti-U.S. propaganda "confession."<ref name="az-pow" /> He had always felt that his statement was dishonorable, but as he later wrote, "I had learned what we all learned over there: every man has his breaking point. I had reached mine."<ref>Timberg, ''American Odyssey'', pp. 95, 118</ref><ref name="usnwr73">McCain, John. [https://www.usnews.com/articles/news/world/2008/01/28/john-mccain-prisoner-of-war-a-first-person-account.html "How the POW's Fought Back"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013133940/http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/world/2008/01/28/john-mccain-prisoner-of-war-a-first-person-account.html |date=October 13, 2008}}, ''[[U.S. News & World Report]]'' (May 14, 1973), reposted in 2008 under title "John McCain, Prisoner of War: A First-Person Account". Retrieved January 29, 2008. Reprinted in ''Reporting Vietnam, Part Two: American Journalism 1969β1975'', pp. 434β63 ([[The Library of America]] 1998). {{ISBN|1-883011-59-0}}.</ref> Many U.S. POWs were tortured and maltreated to extract "confessions" and propaganda statements;<ref>Hubbell, ''P.O.W.'', pp. 288β306.</ref> virtually all of them eventually yielded something to their captors.<ref>Hubbell, ''P.O.W.'', pp. 548β49</ref> McCain received two to three beatings weekly because of his continued refusal to sign additional statements.<ref>Alexander, ''Man of the People'', p. 60</ref> McCain refused to meet various anti-war groups seeking peace in Hanoi, wanting to give neither them nor the North Vietnamese a propaganda victory.<ref>Alexander, ''Man of the People'', p. 64</ref> From late 1969, treatment of McCain and many of the other POWs became more tolerable,<ref>Rochester and Kiley, ''Honor Bound'', pp. 489β91</ref> while McCain continued to resist the camp authorities.<ref>Rochester and Kiley, ''Honor Bound'', pp. 510, 537</ref> McCain and other prisoners cheered the [[Operation Linebacker II|U.S. "Christmas Bombing" campaign]] of December 1972, viewing it as a forceful measure to push North Vietnam to terms.<ref name="usnwr73" /><ref>Timberg, ''American Odyssey'', pp. 106β07</ref> McCain was a prisoner of war in North Vietnam for five and a half years, until his release on March 14, 1973, along with 108 other prisoners of war.<ref name="nyt031573">Sterba, James. [http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/flash/politics/20080203_MCCAIN_TIMELINE/content/pdf/19730315.pdf "P.O.W. Commander Among 108 Freed"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415031012/http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/flash/politics/20080203_MCCAIN_TIMELINE/content/pdf/19730315.pdf |date=April 15, 2016 }}, ''[[The New York Times]]'' (March 15, 1973). Retrieved March 28, 2008.</ref> His wartime injuries left him permanently incapable of raising his arms above his head.<ref name="vf0207">[[Todd S. Purdum|Purdum, Todd]]. [https://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/02/mccain200702 "Prisoner of Conscience"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150120054149/http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/02/mccain200702 |date=January 20, 2015}}, ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'', February 2007. Retrieved January 19, 2008.</ref> After the war, McCain, accompanied by his family and his second wife [[Cindy McCain|Cindy]], returned to the site on a few occasions in efforts of trying to come to terms with what had happened to him there during his capture.<ref>{{cite news |title=McCain, in Vietnam, Finds the Past isn't Really the Past |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/27/world/mccain-in-vietnam-finds-the-past-isn-t-really-past.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527141248/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/27/world/mccain-in-vietnam-finds-the-past-isn-t-really-past.html |archive-date=May 27, 2015 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=The New York Times |date=April 27, 2000 |access-date=July 31, 2018|last1=Landler |first1=Mark }}</ref> === Commanding officer, liaison to Senate, and second marriage === McCain was reunited with his family when he [[Early life and military career of John McCain#Return to United States|returned]] to the United States. His wife [[Carol McCain|Carol]] had been severely injured by an automobile accident in December 1969. She was then four inches shorter, in a wheelchair or on crutches, and substantially heavier than when he had last seen her. As a returned POW, he became a celebrity of sorts.<ref name="az-return">{{Cite book|last1=Nowicki|first1=Dan|last2=Muller|first2=Bill|chapter-url=https://www.azcentral.com/news/specials/mccain/articles/0301mccainbio-chapter4.html|title=John McCain Report|chapter=Back in the U.S.A.|publisher=The Arizona Republic|date=March 1, 2007|access-date=November 10, 2007|archive-date=November 23, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081123055444/http://www.azcentral.com/news/specials/mccain/articles/0301mccainbio-chapter4.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[File:John McCain 19742.jpg|thumb|alt=White-haired man in thirties sitting in a chair, pack of cigarettes readily available|Lieutenant Commander McCain being interviewed after his return from Vietnam, April 1973]] [[File:Richard Nixon Greets John McCain.jpg|thumb|right|Lieutenant Commander McCain greeting President Nixon, May 1973]] McCain underwent treatment for his injuries that included months of [[physical therapy]].<ref name="Kristof">{{Cite news|author-link=Nicholas Kristof|last=Kristof|first=Nicholas|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/27/us/pow-to-power-broker-a-chapter-most-telling.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091218213311/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/27/us/pow-to-power-broker-a-chapter-most-telling.html |archive-date=December 18, 2009 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=P.O.W. to Power Broker, A Chapter Most Telling|newspaper=The New York Times|date=February 27, 2000|access-date=April 22, 2007}}</ref> He attended the [[National War College]] at [[Fort McNair]] in Washington, D.C., during 1973β1974.<ref>Alexander, ''Man of the People'', 81.</ref> He was rehabilitated by late 1974, and his flight status was reinstated. In 1976, he became [[Commanding Officer]] of a training squadron that was stationed in Florida.<ref name="az-return" /><ref name="dict-va174">[http://www.history.navy.mil/download/va154174.pdf ''Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080308224044/http://www.history.navy.mil/download/va154174.pdf |date=March 8, 2008}}, Volume 1, [[Naval Historical Center]]. Retrieved May 19, 2008.</ref> He improved the unit's flight readiness and safety records,<ref>Vartabedian, Ralph. [https://articles.latimes.com/2008/apr/14/nation/na-mccainsquadron14 "McCain has long relied on his grit"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415031056/http://articles.latimes.com/2008/apr/14/nation/na-mccainsquadron14 |date=April 15, 2016 }}, ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' (April 14, 2008). Retrieved September 2, 2008.</ref> and won the squadron its first-ever [[Meritorious Unit Commendation]].<ref name="dict-va174" /> During this period in Florida, he had extramarital affairs, and his marriage began to falter, about which he later stated: "The blame was entirely mine".<ref>Timberg, ''American Odyssey'', pp. 123β24</ref><ref name="az-arizona" /> [[Early life and military career of John McCain#Senate liaison, divorce, and second marriage|McCain served as the Navy's liaison]] to the U.S. Senate beginning in 1977.<ref name=Frantz>Frantz, Douglas, [https://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/21/us/2000-campaign-arizona-ties-beer-baron-powerful-publisher-put-mccain-political.html "The 2000 Campaign: The Arizona Ties; A Beer Baron and a Powerful Publisher Put McCain on a Political Path"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611105152/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/21/us/2000-campaign-arizona-ties-beer-baron-powerful-publisher-put-mccain-political.html |date=June 11, 2014 }}, ''[[The New York Times]]'', A14 (February 21, 2000). Retrieved November 29, 2006. {{Cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9404E5DD1430F932A15751C0A9669C8B63 |title=The 2000 Campaign: The Arizona Ties; A Beer Baron and a Powerful Publisher Put McCain on a Political Path |access-date=November 6, 2008 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014230547/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9404E5DD1430F932A15751C0A9669C8B63 |archive-date=October 14, 2007 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=February 21, 2000 |last1=Frantz |first1=Douglas }}</ref> In retrospect, he said that this represented his "real entry into the world of politics, and the beginning of my second career as a public servant."<ref name="az-return" /> His key behind-the-scenes role gained congressional financing for a new [[supercarrier]] against the wishes of the [[Carter administration]].<ref name="Kristof" /><ref>Timberg, ''American Odyssey'', pp. 132β34</ref> In April 1979,<ref name="Kristof" /> McCain met [[Cindy Lou Hensley]], a teacher from [[Phoenix, Arizona]], whose [[Jim Hensley|father]] had founded [[Hensley & Co.|a large beer distributorship]].<ref name="az-arizona">Nowicki, Dan and Muller, Bill. [https://www.azcentral.com/news/specials/mccain/articles/0301mccainbio-chapter5.html "John McCain Report: Arizona, the early years"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724131214/http://www.azcentral.com/news/specials/mccain/articles/0301mccainbio-chapter5.html |date=July 24, 2008 }}, ''[[The Arizona Republic]]'' (March 1, 2007). Regarding his first marriage, McCain said that he "had not shown the same determination to rebuild (his) personal life" as he had shown in his military career, and that "marriages can be hard to recover after great time and distance have separated a husband and wife. We are different people when we reunite{{nbsp}}... But my marriage's collapse was attributable to my own selfishness and immaturity more than it was to Vietnam, and I cannot escape blame by pointing a finger at the war. The blame was entirely mine." Retrieved November 21, 2007.</ref> They began dating, and he urged his wife, Carol, to grant him a divorce, which she did in February 1980; the uncontested divorce took effect in April 1980.<ref name="alexander-92" /><ref name="Kristof" /> The settlement included two houses, and financial support for her ongoing medical treatments due to her 1969 car accident; they remained on good terms.<ref name="az-arizona" /> McCain and Hensley were married on May 17, 1980, with Senators [[William Cohen]] and [[Gary Hart]] attending as [[groomsmen]].<ref name="dmr-mccain" /><ref name="az-arizona" /> McCain's children did not attend, and several years passed before they reconciled.<ref name="nyt122707" /><ref name="Kristof" /> John and Cindy McCain entered into a [[prenuptial agreement]] that kept most of her family's assets under her name; they kept their finances apart, and filed separate [[Tax return (United States)|income tax returns]].<ref name="ap041808">[https://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/18/politics/main4027276.shtml "McCain Releases His Tax Returns"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080421091921/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/18/politics/main4027276.shtml|date=April 21, 2008}}, [[Associated Press]] for [[CBS News]] (April 18, 2008). Retrieved April 24, 2008.</ref> [[File:Phoenix-John Mccain House-1951-1.jpg|left|thumb|The residence of John and Cindy McCain in Phoenix, Arizona]] McCain decided to leave the Navy. It was doubtful whether he would ever be promoted to the rank of [[Admiral (United States)|full admiral]], as he had poor annual physicals and had not been given a major sea command.<ref>Timberg, ''American Odyssey'', p. 135</ref> His chances of being promoted to [[rear admiral (lower half)|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."<ref name="Kirkpatrick">Kirkpatrick, David. [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/29/us/politics/29mccain.html "Senate's Power and Allure Drew McCain From Military "] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180707012542/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/29/us/politics/29mccain.html |date=July 7, 2018 }}, ''[[The New York Times]]'' (May 29, 2008). Retrieved May 29, 2008.</ref><ref name="wapo101308">[[Michael Leahy (author)|Leahy, Michael]]. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/12/AR2008101202306.html "Seeing White House From a Cell in Hanoi"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180707040424/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/12/AR2008101202306.html |date=July 7, 2018 }}, ''[[The Washington Post]]'' (October 13, 2008). Retrieved October 17, 2008.</ref> McCain retired from the Navy as a [[Captain (United States O-6)|captain]] on April 1, 1981.<ref name="ap050708" /><ref>Alexander, ''Man of the People'', p. 93</ref> He was designated as disabled and awarded a [[veteran's pension|disability pension]].<ref>Vartabedian, Ralph. [https://articles.latimes.com/2008/apr/22/nation/na-pension22 "John McCain gets tax-free disability pension"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180823202902/http://articles.latimes.com/2008/apr/22/nation/na-pension22 |date=August 23, 2018 }}, ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' (April 22, 2008).</ref> Upon leaving the military, he moved to Arizona. His numerous military decorations and awards include: the [[Silver Star]], two [[Legion of Merit]]s, [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]], three Bronze Star Medals, two [[Purple Heart]]s, two [[Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal]]s, and the [[Prisoner of War Medal]].<ref name="ap050708">Kuhnhenn, Jim. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090627082502/http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/05/07/navy_releases_mccains_military_record/ "Navy releases McCain's military record"]. [[Associated Press]]. ''[[Boston Globe]]'' (May 7, 2008). 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