John Sidney McCain, III was born in Panama Canal Zone, August 29, 1936. He attended school in Alexandria, Va., and graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1958. In 1973 he graduated from the National War College, Washington, D.C..

He was a pilot in the United States Navy from 1958 until 1981. From 1967 to 1973 he was a prisoner of war in Vietnam. He received numerous awards, including the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart, and Distinguished Flying Cross.

He was elected as a Republican in 1982 to the Ninety-eighth Congress (Arizona), reelected to the Ninety-ninth Congress in 1984 and served from January 3, 1983, to January 3, 1987. He was elected to the United States Senate in 1986, reelected in 1992, 1998, 2004, 2010 and again in 2016 for the term ending in 2023. He was chair of the Committee on Indian Affairs (One Hundred Fourth Congress; One Hundred Ninth Congress), and on the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (One Hundred Fourth through One Hundred Sixth Congresses, One Hundred Seventh Congress [January 20, 2001-June 6, 2001], One Hundred Eighth Congress). He pursued the Republican presidential nomination for 2000, and ran (unsuccessfully) for President of the United State as the Republican nominee in 2008. He passed away August 25, 2018, after a battle with brain cancer.