Aunt Donna's Quick Candidate Bio

John Sidney McCain III was born on August 29, 1936, at Coco Solo Naval Air Station in the Panama Canal Zone, the second of three children born to naval officer John S. McCain Jr. and his wife, Roberta. He attended Episcopal High School, a private preparatory boarding school in Alexandria, Virginia, graduating in 1954. Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, McCain graduated (fifth from the bottom of his class) from the Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1958. He also graduated from flight school in 1960.

With the outbreak of the Vietnam War, McCain volunteered for combat duty and began flying carrier-based attack planes. On October 26, 1967, during his 23rd air mission, McCain´s plane was shot down during a bombing run over the North Vietnamese. He broke both arms and one leg during the crash. McCain was moved to Hoa Loa prison, nicknamed the “Hanoi Hilton,” on December 9, 1969. McCain eventually spent five and a half years in various prison camps, three and a half of those in solitary confinement.

McCain was first elected to political office on November 2, 1982, winning a seat in the House of Representatives. In 1986, after the retirement of the longtime Arizona senator Barry Goldwater, McCain won election to the U.S. Senate. Although he emerged as a solid challenger to Governor George W. Bush of Texas, for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000, his large electoral deficit forced him to “suspend” his campaign and formally endorse Bush. McCain officially entered the 2008 presidential race on April 25, 2007, during an announcement in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.