A Son of the Navy

John Sidney McCain was born in a Naval hospital on August 29, 1936 in the Panama Canal Zone. The son and grandson of Navy admirals, John McCain learned early the time-honored values of duty, honor and country. In his family, those aren't just words; they're articles of faith.

At the age of 17, young John followed in his father's and grandfather's footsteps to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. There he began a remarkable lifetime of service - and devotion - to America.

Graduating in 1958, John was commissioned an ensign in the Navy and trained to become an aircraft carrier pilot. Nearly all the men in the McCain family had made their reputations during wartime. And John wanted to keep faith with them. A veteran aircraft carrier pilot, he asked to go to Vietnam.

The Forrestal Disaster

Lt. Commander McCain was assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal off the coast of Vietnam. On July 29, 1967, McCain, an A-4 Skyhawk pilot, was preparing to take off on a bombing mission over North Vietnam, when a horrifying disaster struck. A missile accidentally fired from a nearby plane, striking the fuel tanks on McCain's plane.

In the ensuing explosions and fire, McCain escaped from his plane by crawling onto its nose and diving into the fire on the ship's deck. He turned to help a fellow pilot whose flight suit had burst into flames. But before McCain could reach him, more bombs exploded, blowing him back 10 feet,

It took 24 hours to contain the inferno on the Forrestal. By the time it was all over, 134 men lost their lives, hundreds more were injured, and more than 20 planes were destroyed. It was the worst non-combat-related accident in American Naval history.

After the Forrestal disaster, McCain could have returned home. But he would have none of that. Instead he volunteered for more combat duty aboard the carrier USS Oriskany, It was a fateful decision that would stop the clock on John McCain's life and separate him from his family, and from America, for five and a half years.

The Hanoi Hilton

In the early morning of October 26, 1967, just 3 months after the Forrestal disaster, Lt. Commander McCain departed for his 23rd bombing mission over North Vietnam. This one was particularly dangerous. McCain and his fellow pilots were targeting a power plant in the center of Hanoi.

As McCain was completing his bombing mission, a Soviet-made surface-to-air missile struck his plane, shearing off the right wing. McCain ejected as his plane spiraled violently to earth. The force of the ejection knocked him unconscious and both of his arms and one leg were broken.

He regained consciousness as he plunged into a lake near his bombing target. Quickly, an angry mob gathered, seeking retribution for the rain of bombs. Dragging him from the lake, they broke his shoulder with a rifle butt and bayoneted him repeatedly. They loaded McCain into a truck and delivered him to the infamous - and hated - "Hanoi Hilton."

Denied medical treatment for days, McCain's condition deteriorated badly. His fellow POW's, shocked at his appearance, thought McCain was near death. But they were determined that he survive. And thanks to their care, his health gradually improved.

Within a few months of McCain's becoming a prisoner of war, his father, Admiral Jack McCain, was appointed commander of all U.S. forces in the Pacific. The North Vietnamese, sensing a propaganda prize, offered McCain early release.

But McCain refused early release, citing the code of conduct that prisoners of war should be released in the order in which they were captured. His captors demanded he accept their offer. McCain refused, over and over again. For his repeated defiance, his communist captors savagely beat him.

Before it was over, John McCain spent 5 years as a prisoner of war, two of them in solitary confinement.

Returning Home

By 1973 the Vietnam War was over. McCain and nearly 600 fellow POW's were released and came home, ending the longest incarceration in U.S. history.

After extensive physical rehabilitation, John McCain regained flight status and continued his service to his country. But sadly, like a lot of prisoners of war, John's marriage ended several years later.

Nearing the end of his Navy career, now-Captain John McCain's last duty assignment was as the Navy's liaison to the U.S. Senate. It was during this time that he met Cindy Hensley, from Phoenix. John and Cindy were married in 1980 and made their home in Arizona.

The House and the Senate

By 1982, an Arizona House seat opened up. John, sensing a new way to serve, announced his candidacy. Campaigning door-to-door, he outworked his 5 opponents and won the Republican primary. And he went on to win the election. Maintaining a ritual of returning home to Arizona every weekend, McCain was re-elected overwhelmingly two years later.

By 1986, Barry Goldwater announced his retirement from the U. S. Senate. John was elected to succeed him and continue Goldwater's tradition of independence and plain-talk conservatism. Now in his third term in the Senate, McCain was re-elected in November 1998 with nearly 70% of the vote. In that election, he won 65% of the women's vote, nearly 55% of Hispanics and even 40% of Democrats.

The Cause of Freedom

From day one in Washington, John McCain has been guided by one cause above all others: the fight for freedom. His mission is to make government smaller and taxes lower, so American families have the freedom to chart their own course and small business can create new opportunities.

For John McCain, smaller government and lower taxes aren't just talk. He means it. For years he's been on a one-man crusade against wasteful spending in Washington. Because of his crackdown on waste in government, he's been nicknamed "The Sheriff."

John McCain knows that cutting waste means we can lower the tax burden on American families. And eliminate both the inheritance tax and the unfair marriage penalty that punishes people who marry.

John McCain is determined to save Social Security once and for all by stopping the politicians from raiding Social Security funds to pay for new government programs and wasteful spending.

But most of all, John McCain worries about what kind of country we're leaving our children. He's protecting them from the evils of Internet smut by promoting the use of filtering technology. And his education plan will send federal dollars directly to local school districts, bypassing the Washington bureaucrats and their rules and regulations. He believes that parents and teachers know best how to strengthen America's schools.

John McCain is the nation's foremost leader in national defense and foreign policy matters. As recent events in Kosovo unfolded, McCain has been hailed by many for being the de facto commander-in-chief, offering leadership and clarity of purpose. He knows that America has defeated some of the greatest evils ever known to mankind - Nazism, communism, fascism and today's madmen and terrorists - only by staying strong. Because weakness only encourages the enemies of freedom.

But John McCain knows that no matter what the issue, we can't have real government reform without first reforming our campaign and lobbying laws. Time and again he's dared Washington to follow his lead to break the stranglehold that special interests and their money have on the political process.

A life-time of experiences unmatched by any other candidate. Proven leadership that's not afraid to tackle the big issues. A devotion to America that's never wavered. John McCain is a man more tested and better prepared than anyone to lead America into the 21st century.

John McCain for president. The character to do what's right. And the courage to fight for it.

-- Vern (bacon17@ibm.net), January 28, 2000

Answers

The Bush campaign and the New York state GOP are trying to keep John McCain off the ballot in New York. Call Governor George Pataki at (518) 474-7516 and the state Republican Chairman, Bill Powers, at (518) 462-2601 urging them to drop their efforts to keep John McCain off the ballot.

-- Vern (bacon17@ibm.net), January 28, 2000.

One Bush is enough,one Republican is one too many..

-- Liberator (feeding@the trough.com), January 28, 2000.

John McCain was a firend of the enemy!

-- I (was@there.com), January 28, 2000.

John McCain's media suck-up campaign has made him an enemy of the Republican Party.

Whether he is an enemy of the country only his North Vietnam captors and fellow prisoners know for sure.

:-(

-- cgbg jr (cgbgjr@webtv.net), January 28, 2000.

No matter who gets elected, shortly after taking the oath, he will get a visit from a little man in a green suit who will explain how things are really done.

He will dare not rebel, lest all that he loves be destroyed. He will then be owned.

Kook

-- Y2Kook (Y2Kook@usa.net), January 28, 2000.

Oh, you like the idea of the national media controlling the flow of national information in the weeks prior to an election? The Democrats and their national media like this idea.

You like the idea of private groups NOT being allowed to issue ads prior to an election....only "approved" national sources would be allowed to advertise under his law. The Democrats and their national media like this idea.

You like the idea of the federal goverment paying the national media to run advertising campaigns for the natinoal elections, and outlawing other advertising and campaigns ..... the national media does.

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (Marietta, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), January 28, 2000.

John McCain???? NO Way...just another parasitic politician!

-- GW (links2u@hotmail.com), January 28, 2000.

---Kook is 100% correct on this issue. It doen't matter who of any national party gets "elected" to the highest office, they are mostly controlled once there. And if they don't "play ball", the puppet masters can completely ruin someone if they choose to within one week using the mass media they control and use. I still vote every chance, but am of the opinion that both the end results of the vote, and what happens politically after that has no relevance to what the people may or may not want. Reality is that huge multinationals run the world now. "Politicians" are just front men, in most instances. Pick any country, look at where the big money is, that's where you'll find the control. And if you notice, those various "leaders" come and go weekly, but the multinationals doing business there stay all the time. And the people in those countries stay about the same level of non-freedom that they had the previous "president" or "dictator" or "prime minister".

This is why the small local elections are so very important, and why it's so unfortunate that they historically get the lowest voter interest and turnout. In everyplace where I've lived since becoming of voting age, I have seen so many positions where the incumbent was running unopposed, and where even the office was virtually unknown to the average voter. Last time I voted, this was the case in a little under 1/2 of the positions, and the overall voter turnout, was well below even 1/2 of the estimated number of potential voters in my precinct. Those are the really important positions, and I think that if any grassroots activists really want to make a difference, get a pro- Constitutional sheriff elected in your county. Work up from there. If the old sheriff is a rubber stamp for the feds and part of some sort of local party machine, then get the bum out. My opinion, your mileage may vary, of course. We have had no president in my memory who has come to terms with restoring this country to being a representative Republic, as we are supposed to be. All of them-Republicans or Democrats, continue the illegal tax, the illegal federal reserve private bank, the large standing army-all the various infringements of our born-with rights. For the presedential race, I intend-so far- to write in L. Neil Smith as his positions are the closest to mine, and I believe that he has the most clear view of history, what the Constitution says, and is not a professional politician, as all the other "front runners" are. McCain has certainly shown much bravery in the past, but he's still a professional politician, and that's one class of people who all need to be replaced as soon as possible. Mc Cain suffered much in captivity, but he also thought it was quite proper to fight an illegal undeclared war, and he suffered for that position. In my opinion he will, if elected, continue that dangerous philosophy. I don't think L. Neil Smith would do that. I DO think that if/when we had a clear cut case of imminent invasion, or any sort of state sponsored threat against the US, that he would go to congress, present the case, get congress to vote on it, and if the outcome was "war", then "war" would be fought with the intention of WINNING, and winning in a short time, and doing the job COMPLETELY. It WOULD NOT be for making defense industries rich, or "jump starting" the economy, or propping up some dictator, or protecting some international energy company from competition, or to get control of some illegal multi billion dollar drug smuggling route, or to divert media attention domestically, or any of the other reasons we've had "wars" since the end of WW2. If anyone wishes, please click the link, you might like what you see.

-- zog (zzoggy@yahoo.com), January 28, 2000.

Mc Cain....

Statist TO THE CORE like Al Bore and all the rest. He aand his kind will never have the "courage" to do what is truly needed and spoken about on this forum daily. Never hear the word FREEDOM in anything said or referenced on either side of the fiasco known as politics in America. It's sad to say that freedom maybe not be what the average boob in America wants now. Mr. Mc Cain talks of tax cuts in the miniscule billions when the budget is nearing 2 trillion! Just throwing morsels of food to the tax-whipped straving lapdogs and the masses eat it up gladly and willingly. The people should be rejecting these idiots and just maybe they are by not voting and tuning out to the daily intelligence assaults.

Wake up Vern!

-- PJC (paulchri@msn.com), January 28, 2000.

There are too many questions about McCain...apparently a very unstable personality. Also, I have my doubts about where his loyalties are and what the REAL story was from his days in Vietnam. Another loser.

-- Irving (irvingf@myremarq.com), January 28, 2000.

McCain is a fascist who wants to use the federal government to take over private industry and confiscate their profits for government use. After the tobacco industry, what will be next? McCain is anti-Constitution, just like Clinton.

-- Y2kObserver (Y2kObserver@nowhere.com), January 28, 2000.

Keyes......our last hope of saving the Constitution. What's left of it.

-- Will continue (farming@home.com), January 28, 2000.

I posted this on the other thread but also moved it here:

While I'll agree he may not be a hero- You must also agree he was in a prisoner of war camp not at a resort at Disneyworld. No matter how the Viet cong tried to make him feel more "at home" because he was an admirals son HE WAS STILL IN A PRISONER OF WAR CAMP.

He was not on a sightseeing on a siberean train-red-in-chief, he was not taking pictures for the stars and bars- al gore, he was not in the national guard-dan q., nor was he in a fraternity at yale or harvard-george w.

To me this alone makes him infinateley more qualified and yes I would say this if he were a Democrat but there doesn't seem to be many of them-Democrat POW's running for prez. that is--

IRVING WERE YOU IN VIETNAM?

and y2k observer although I may never get the opprutunity to vote for McCain you need to learn some manners.

Calling him a facist was way off. and yes I hail form the great state of Kentucky the number one producer of burley in the nation.

Will continue cant agree Pat B. is probably who I'll vote for. At least when he plays the race card it'll be my race (even though Keyes has only hinted of playing it)

-- Johnny (jljtm@bellsouth.net), January 28, 2000.