10 things you didn’t know about John McCain

1. John Sidney McCain III was born on Aug. 29, 1936, in Panama at Coco Solo Naval Air Station. He was born into a prominent military family. His father, John McCain Jr., and grandfather, John McCain Sr., were the first father-son admiral pair in U.S. naval history.

2. In high school, he was a wrestler and was given the nicknames “Punk” and “McNasty.” Later in life, he was nicknamed “the white tornado” because of his prematurely gray hair.

3. After high school, he attended the United States Naval Academy and graduated in 1958. McCain’s two siblings, Jean “Sandy” and Joseph, also chose careers within the military.

4. He was married twice and had seven children, including one adopted daughter. Two of McCain’s sons are continuing the family’s military tradition: the youngest son, Jimmy, is a Marine, while another son, Jack, is in the Navy.

5. McCain served in the military from 1958 until 1981. His 1999 autobiography, “Faith of My Fathers ,” tells about his early life and capture as a POW while serving in Vietnam. The book was made into a television movie in 2005; a first-person account was published in U.S. News & World Report.

6. He was awarded several military decorations and awards, including the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Navy Commendation, and Prisoner of War. He received the Liberty Medal in October 2017.

7. McCain began a career in politics in 1977, serving as the Navy’s liaison to the U.S. Senate. From 1983 to 1986, McCain served in Congress as the U.S. representative for Arizona’s 1st Congressional District. His career as a U.S. senator for Arizona began in 1987.

8. He appeared on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” in 2002 in a mock edition of “Meet the Press.”

9. McCain ran for president twice. In his first campaign, in 2000, he withdrew from the race against Republican rival George W. Bush. In his second campaign, in 2008, he lost the election against Democratic rival Barack Obama.

10. Senator John McCain died at the age of 81 on Aug. 25, 2018. He was diagnosed with a glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer, in July 2017 and decided to discontinue treatment on Aug. 24, 2018. His remains will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, a honor presented to less than three dozen people in U.S. history, including former presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy.