U.S. SENATOR
John McCain was born in Panama . Both his father and grandfather were Navy admirals. His father was commander of U.S. Naval Forces in the Pacific when the senator was shot down in Vietnam and became a POW (1967-1973).
In his biography, McCain, a self-described military brat, said that “the longest place he ever lived was at the prison camp in Hanoi .”
The decorated war hero retired from the Navy in 1981. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982. In 1986, he was elected to the Senate after Arizona ’s Barry Goldwater retired. In 2000, 2004, & 2008, McCain ran in the Republican primaries for President.