John McCain's Interactive Family Tree | Finding Your Roots | PBS (original) (raw)

Republican Senator and Vietnam War veteran John McCain is a politician who isn’t afraid to say what he thinks — even when it pits him against his own party. He has shown himself, repeatedly, to be his own man – regardless of the consequences.

As a young man, John wasn’t always happy that his birthright was a career in the military.

“I was fairly wild when I was at the Naval Academy,” said McCain. “I was just an immature young man who was out to enjoy life. And I think part of it was sort of…kind of a rebellion, against the…the legacy.”

Yet when McCain was sent to fight in Vietnam, he endured an experience that left no doubt that he’d inherited the strength and spirit of his military ancestors.

On October 26, 1967, during a bombing mission over North Vietnam, McCain’s plane was hit by a surface-to-air missile, and he ended up at the famous prison that was known as “The Hanoi Hilton.” After 8 months of brutal torture, interrogation and isolation, McCain was singled out for an early release because his father was a high-ranking Naval officer. However, he refused to leave out of solidarity with his fellow POW’s and spent five more years in the nightmare of captivity. It’s something of a miracle that John McCain survived at all.

That same strength of character has informed his political career ever since.

Roll over each branch of John McCain’s interactive family tree to view images from the series and learn more about the Senator’s genealogical journey.

Note: the family tree is best viewed on a computer.

• Aug 29, 1936 (Coco Solo Air Base, Panama Canal Zone)
  • John Sydney. McCain Jr.
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  • Roberta Wright
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