John S. McCain III

Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame
Enshrined 1997

John S. McCain was born August 29, 1936, in the Panama Canal Zone. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in June 1958. After graduation from Navy pilot training, McCain had several assignments in fighter bomber squadrons. In Vietnam, he served aboard the carrier USS Forrestal and USS Oriskany. On 26 October 1967, while flying an A­4Es off the Oriskany, McCain was shot down over Hanoi by a North Vietnamese missile. In the subsequent bailout, both arms and his right leg were broken. He then spent five and a half years as a POW, enduring an extreme amount of torture inflicted by the North Vietnamese guards who tried to break down his resolve. They failed! He returned to freedom in March 1973 and served at the Naval War College until July 1977. From July 1977 until retirement in 1981 as a Captain, McCain served in the office of Legislative Liaison for the Navy.