page_title: John McCain
section_title: Tributes
hierarchical_section_title: John McCain / Death and funeral / Tributes
caption_attribution_description: In honor of Senator John McCain, his wife Cindy and family laid a wreath at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial accompanied by Defense Secretary James Mattis and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly. Photo credit Tami A Heilemann DOI
context_page_description: John Sidney McCain III was an American politician and military officer, who served as a United States Senator for Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. 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, which he lost to Barack Obama.
  McCain graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1958 and received a commission in the United States Navy. He became a naval aviator and flew ground-attack aircraft from aircraft carriers. During the Vietnam War, McCain almost died 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. McCain was a prisoner of war until 1973. He experienced episodes of torture and refused an out-of-sequence early release. During the war, McCain sustained wounds that 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, McCain was elected to the United States House of Representatives, where he served two terms.
context_section_description: McCain received many tributes and condolences, including from Congressional colleagues, all living former Presidents – Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama – and former Vice President Joe Biden, as well as Vice President Mike Pence and President Richard Nixon's daughters Tricia Nixon Cox and Julie Nixon Eisenhower. French President Emmanuel Macron, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who had just taken office the previous day, and former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, British Prime Minister Theresa May and former Prime Minister David Cameron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and foreign minister Heiko Maas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Afghanistan chief executive Abdullah Abdullah, Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the 14th Dalai Lama, and former Vietnamese ambassador to Washington Nguyễn Quốc Cường also sent condolences.
  Colonel Trần Trọng Duyệt, who ran the Hỏa Lò Prison when McCain was held there, remarked, "At that time I liked him personally for his toughness and strong stance. Later on, when he became a US Senator, he and Senator John Kerry greatly contributed to promote Vietnam-US relations so I was very fond of him. When I learnt about his death early this morning, I feel very sad. I would like to send condolences to his family." In a TV interview, Senator Lindsey Graham said McCain's last words to him were "I love you, I have not been cheated." His daughter, Meghan McCain, shared her grief, stating that she was present at the moment he died.
  At the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards, McCain was recognized in the "In Memoriam" segment, right before Aretha Franklin. Many fans questioned the inclusion of McCain in the segment because he wasn't known for television. He had, however, appeared in various television projects, including hosting and several cameo appearances on Saturday Night Live. He also made appearances on Parks and Recreation and 24.
  Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced that he would introduce a resolution to rename the Russell Senate Office Building after McCain. A quarter peal of Grandsire Caters in memory of McCain was rung by the bellringers of Washington National Cathedral the day following his death. Another memorial quarter peal was rung on September 6 on the Bells of Congress at the Old Post Office in Washington.
caption: Cindy McCain, Secretary James Mattis and Chief of Staff John F. Kelly lay a wreath at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
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