admin Posted August 26, 2018 Share Posted August 26, 2018 John McCain, who shed a playboy image in his youth to become a fighter pilot, revered prisoner of war and both an independent voice in the Republican Party and its 2008 presidential nominee, died on Saturday, little more than a year after he was told he had brain cancer. He was 81. McCain’s office said in a statement "Senator John Sidney McCain III died at 4:28 p.m. on August 25, 2018." He announced on July 19, 2017, that he had been diagnosed with a glioblastoma, an aggressive type of brain tumor. On Friday his family announced he was discontinuing treatment. "With the Senator when he passed were his wife Cindy and their family. At his death, he had served the United States of America faithfully for sixty years," McCain's office said in the statement. His daughter, Meghan McCain, said in a statement that "I was with my father at his end, as he was with me at my beginning." "All that I am is thanks to him. Now that he is gone, the task of my lifetime is to live up to his example, his expectations, and his love,” she said. View image on Twitter Meghan McCain ✔@MeghanMcCain I love you forever - my beloved father @SenJohnMcCain 7:41 PM - Aug 25, 2018 246K 66.4K people are talking about this Twitter Ads info and privacy McCain’s wife, Cindy McCain, tweeted: “My heart is broken. I am so lucky to have lived the adventure of loving this incredible man for 38 years. He passed the way he lived, on his own terms, surrounded by the people he loved.” She said he died in "the place he loved best." In his 36 years in Congress, McCain became one of the country's most respected and influential politicians, challenging his fellow lawmakers to reach across the aisle for the good of the country, and often sparring with reporters with a biting if self-deprecating wit. On a variety of issues — torture, immigration, campaign finance, the Iraq War — McCain was often known as the moral center of the Senate and of the Republican Party. Meghan McCain remembers her father Sen. John McCain AUG.25.201802:48 Last year, in his last act of defiance, McCain returned to the Capitol less than a week after his cancer was diagnosed to cast his vote on the Republican effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act — the biggest legislative achievement of President Barack Obama, the man who defeated him in the 2008 election. McCain first voted in favor of debating the bill, giving his fellow Republicans hope that their long-sought goal of repealing Obamacare was in sight. McCain then dashed those hopes by casting the decisive vote against repeal. Before the vote, McCain denounced the rise of partisanship in a heartfelt speech from the Senate floor on July 25, 2017. "Why don’t we try the old way of legislating in the Senate, the way our rules and customs encourage us to act?" McCain said. "Merely preventing your political opponents from doing what they want isn’t the most inspiring work." 2017: Senator McCain Speaks On Senate Floor Following Health Care Vote JUL.25.201715:09 But in recent months, the man who had been a mainstay on Capitol Hill for more than three decades was noticeably absent. He missed a White House ceremony on Dec. 12, 2017, in which President Donald Trump signed the annual defense bill into law — one of McCain's signature achievements. A statement issued the following day by the senator's office said he was at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland receiving treatment for the "normal side effects of his ongoing cancer therapy" and looked forward to returning to work as soon as possible. John McCain was a man of deep conviction and a patriot of the highest order. He was a public servant in the finest traditions of our country. McCain's life was punctuated by wild highs and lows, from the horrific conditions he endured for nearly 2,000 days as a prisoner of war to subsequent professional successes that brought him to the forefront of American politics. Over the course of his career he rallied against pork-barrel spending and went against his own party's president, George W. Bush, on strategy for the Iraq war. He earned a reputation as a party maverick by advocating campaign finance reform, lending his name to the bipartisan McCain-Feingold Act of 2002, and supporting overhauling the nation's immigration system over the years Bush said in a statement Saturday: "Some lives are so vivid, it is difficult to imagine them ended. Some voices are so vibrant, it is hard to think of them stilled. John McCain was a man of deep conviction and a patriot of the highest order. He was a public servant in the finest traditions of our country. And to me, he was a friend whom I'll deeply miss," and he and Laura Bush expressed their condolences to the McCain family. by Taboola SPONSORED STORIES It's Like Amazon, But Everything Sells in 90 SecondsTophatter This Tiny Device Gives The Power Back To The PeopleXYO Network Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) leaves the the Senate chamber at the U.S. Capitol after voting on the GOP 'Skinny Repeal' health care bill on July 28, 2017 in Washington, DC.Justin Sullivan / Getty Images The pinnacle of McCain's political career came in 2008, when he clinched the Republican nomination for president, only to lose to Obama amid the global financial meltdown and dragged down by Bush's low approval ratings. His contentious choice for a running mate, Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska at the time, was also believed to have contributed to the loss, and is still seen by some as a tarnish on his reputation. But long before then, McCain was a Navy brat who had little interest in being studious. John Sidney McCain III was born on Aug. 29, 1936, to a prominent naval family steeped in patriotism. Both his father and grandfather were four-star admirals, with his father, John McCain Jr., advancing to commander in chief of Pacific forces during the Vietnam War. Recommended John McCain discontinues brain cancer treatment Chuck Schumer wants to rename Senate building after John McCain While McCain followed in his family's military footsteps, he did so with his own flair: When he graduated from the Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1958, he was ranked 894th of 899 graduates. In a speech to midshipmen at his alma mater in October 2017, McCain joked about his abysmal academic performance. "My superiors didn’t hold me in very high esteem in those days," he said. "To be honest, I wasn’t too thrilled to be here back then, and I was as relieved to graduate — fifth from the bottom of my class — as the Naval Academy was to see me go." Related PHOTOS From POW to presidential contender: John McCain's life in pictures After graduation, McCain volunteered for combat duty in the Vietnam War and, as a lieutenant commander, got orders to ship out in 1967. He narrowly escaped death in July of that year, when, while preparing for a routine bombing mission, an explosion on the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal engulfed his plane in flames, killing 134 men on board. Only three months later, on Oct. 26, 1967, McCain's plane was shot down over North Vietnam. Both of his arms and his knee were broken, and McCain was knocked unconscious and taken as a prisoner of war. That began a five-and-a-half-year nightmare inside a prison where Vietnamese soldiers, upon learning that McCain was the son of an admiral, set out to use him for propaganda purposes. They tortured and beat him, but McCain refused an early release, denying communist North Vietnam a propaganda victory, and followed a code of conduct that POWs must be released in the order they were captured. When the war ended in 1973, McCain finally returned to a hero's welcome. In 2008, he spoke passionately about the patriotism he maintained while imprisoned in Hanoi. "I fell in love with my country when I was a prisoner in someone else's," he said in accepting the Republican presidential nomination. U.S. Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain (R-AZ) listens as he is introduced at a campaign rally in Colorado Springs, Colorado on Sept. 6, 2008.Brian Snyder / Reuters file Obama on Saturday said in a statement: "John McCain and I were members of different generations, came from completely different backgrounds, and competed at the highest level of politics. But we shared, for all our differences, a fidelity to something higher — the ideals for which generations of Americans and immigrants alike have fought, marched, and sacrificed." "Few of us have been tested the way John once was, or required to show the kind of courage that he did. But all of us can aspire to the courage to put the greater good above our own. At John’s best, he showed us what that means. And for that, we are all in his debt," Obama said. President Trump tweeted: "My deepest sympathies and respect go out to the family of Senator John McCain. Our hearts and prayers are with you!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
admin Posted August 27, 2018 Author Share Posted August 27, 2018 Legendary American JOHN MCCAIN passed away at his ranch in Arizona on Saturday after a battle with brain cancer. He was 81. McCain announced his diagnosis a little over a year ago, after having surgery to remove a blood clot in his brain. He returned to the Senate, where he was in his SIXTH term, but his health kept him away from Washington since December. He served his country to the end, and it's amazing that he was able to serve this long, since he ALMOST DIED during the Vietnam War. He was a Navy pilot, and in October of 1967, he was shot down, seriously injured, and captured by the North Vietnamese. He was a prisoner of war for more than FIVE YEARS. During that time, he was tortured . . . and when he was finally released, he had a lot of physical disabilities, like never again being able to raise his arms above his head. McCain has been in Congress since 1982. He served two terms in the House of Representatives, followed by six terms in the Senate, beginning in 1987. He ran for President twice. In the 2000 election, he lost the Republican nomination to George W. Bush. And in 2008, he was the Republican nominee, and infamously chose Sarah Palin as his running mate. Of course, he lost to Barack Obama. He did not run in 2016. McCain was once asked how he wanted to be remembered, and he said, quote, "That I made a major contribution to the defense of the nation." McCain and President Trump were not on the best terms. After McCain's death, Trump Tweeted, quote, "My deepest sympathies and respect go out to the family of Senator John McCain. Our hearts and prayers are with you!" Donald J. Trump ✔@realDonaldTrump My deepest sympathies and respect go out to the family of Senator John McCain. Our hearts and prayers are with you! 7:44 PM - Aug 25, 2018 205K 121K people are talking about this Twitter Ads info and privacy However, Trump reportedly nixed a planned White House statement that praised McCain as a "hero." He said he preferred to just stick with the Tweet to the family. But at least the First Lady and Vice President had better sense when it came to acknowledging McCain's years of service. Melania Trump ✔@FLOTUS Our thoughts, prayers and deepest sympathy to the McCain Family. Thank you Senator McCain for your service to the nation. 7:44 PM - Aug 25, 2018 96.2K 18K people are talking about this Twitter Ads info and privacy Vice President Mike Pence ✔@VP Karen and I send our deepest condolences to Cindy and the entire McCain family on the passing of Senator John McCain. We honor his lifetime of service to this nation in our military and in public life. His family and friends will be in our prayers. God bless John McCain. 8:46 PM - Aug 25, 2018 35K 6,856 people are talking about this Twitter Ads info and privacy And the tension between Trump and McCain was mutual. McCain reportedly asked that Trump NOT be at his funeral. Former Presidents George W. Bush and Obama will be there, and are both expected to speak. According to McCain's official website, a memorial service will be held at Washington National Cathedral this Saturday. After the funeral, Republican Arizona Governor Doug Ducey will name a replacement who will serve in the Senate until the 2020 election, when someone else will be elected to finish the remainder of McCain's term through 2022. (Here's a CNN news report on McCain's death.) Originally posted on August 27th, 2018 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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