John McCain’s office released a statement in July, 2017 that McCain, 80 at the time, was diagnosed with a primary glioblastoma, a type of brain tumor, Mayo Clinic doctors directly involved in the senator’s care told CNN. The senator had undergone surgery to remove a blood clot, and lab results from that surgery confirmed the presence of brain cancer.
McCain recently announced that he was discontinuing medical treatment for the disease, and inevitably lost his battle with cancer within the day. McCain passed away on August 25, surrounded by his wife, Cindy, and his family.
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 28: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) arrives for work on Capitol Hill hours after voting NO on the GOP ‘Skinny Repeal’ health care bill, on July 28, 2017 in Washington, DC. Three Senate Republicans voted no to block a stripped-down, or ‘Skinny Repeal,’ version of Obamacare reform. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
McCain was a Navy fighter pilot during the Vietnam War, according to History.com. He was taken prisoner after his plane was shot down, and he subsequently suffered five and a half years of torture and confinement before his release in 1973.
“McCain eventually spent five and a half years in various prison camps, three and a half of those in solitary confinement, and was repeatedly beaten and tortured before he was finally released, along with other American POWs, on March 14, 1973, less than two months after the Vietnam cease fire went into effect. McCain earned the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross,” History.com reports.
Below are pictures from his time as a POW, preserved in the National Archives.
Photograph: McCain waiting for the rest of the group to leave the bus at airport after being released as POW
Record Group 428
General Records of the Department of the Navy, 1947-2004
Citation: 428-GX Box 262 N 11556665
Rediscovery #10473
10473_2007_001
President Richard Nixon Greets Former Vietnam Prisoner of War John McCain, Jr. at a Pre-POW Dinner Reception
Before his death, McCain decided against having Trump at his funeral, but made sure to invite former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, who are expected to speak.
McCain and Trump shared a strained relationship over the last several years. During Trump’s presidential campaign, they bickered fiercely and often, with Trump going so far as to claim that the Senator wasn’t actually a war hero, referring to McCain’s five year imprisonment during the Vietnam War, when his plane was shot down and he was captured.
“He’s not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured,” Trump said at a campaign event in Iowa in 2015. The comment was not well received, and pundits predicted that Trump’s bid for the White House was sunk.
Below are several pictures from McCain’s time as a POW, during both his capture, his imprisonment, and his release five and a half years after his plane was shot down.
P368426 01: (File Photo) Senator John Mccain Is Pulled Out Of A Hanoi Lake By North Vietnamese Army Soldiers And Civilians October 26, 1967 In Hanoi, North Vietnam. Mccain’s A-4E Skyhawk Was Shot Down By A Surface-To-Air Missile. Mccain Broke Both Arms And His Right Knee Upon Ejection And Lost Consciousness Until He Hit The Water. (Photo By Getty Images)
HANOI, VIET NAM: This file picture taken in 1967 shows US Navy Airforce Major John McCain lying on a bed in a Hanoi hospital as he was being given medical care for his injuries. John McCain, a current US presidential hopeful, was captured in 1967 at a lake in Hanoi after his Navy warplane was downed by the Northern Vietnamese army during the Vietnam War. One of his rescuers said 24 February 2000, McCain was well treated after being pulled from the lake by villagers. McCain said that upon capture he was beaten by an angry mob and bayoneted in the groin. (B/W ONLY) AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read AFP/Getty Images)
P368426 08: (File Photo) U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Russell G. Ogan, Foreground, Points The Way To Navy Lt. Cmdr. John Mccain To A Waiting C-141A Starlifter Cargo Transport Aircraft March 14, 1973 In Hanoi, North Vietnam. Senator Mccain Had Just Been Released From A North Vietnamese Prison Camp. (Photo By Usaf/Getty Images)
P368426 05: (File Photo) A Mug Shot Of Senator John Mccain As A P.O.W. Taken By The North Vietnamese Sometime Between 1967-73 (Photo By Getty Images)
P368426 02: (File Photo) U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Jay Coupe, Left, Escorts Lt. Cmdr. John Mccain To A Waiting U.S. Air Force C-141A Starlifter Cargo Transport Aircraft At Gia Lam Airport March 14, 1973 In Hanoi, North Vietnam. Senator Mccain Had Just Been Released From A North Vietnamese Prison Camp. (Photo By Getty Images)
