John McCain: Photos & Videos From When He Was Young

John McCain passed away from brain cancer. Born in 1936, McCain has been serving as a politician from Arizona since 1987. He leaves behind his wife, Cindy, and seven children: three daughters and four sons. Douglas McCain, 57. Andrew McCain, 55. Sidney McCain, 50. Meghan McCain, 32. John Sidney McCain IV, 31. James McCain, 29 Bridget McCain, 25. His sons Doug and Andy were born to his first wife, Carol Shepp, in a previous marriage, and McCain adopted them while they were married. After news of McCain’s cancer was first announced, a photo of him as a young man, where he was called an American hero, went viral. Here are more photos of McCain through the years, including when he was much younger.

McCain Was a POW and a War Hero

GettyA photo taken 26 October 1967 shows US Navy Airforce Major John McCain (C) being rescued from Hanoi’s Truc Bach lake by several Hanoi residents after his Navy warplane was downed by Northern Vietnamese army during the Vietnam War.

McCain was a POW during the Vietnam war. He was captured on October 26, 1967 while flying his 23rd bombing mission over Hanoi. His plane was shot down by a missile and he fractured both arms and a leg when he ejected. He parachuted into Truc Bach Lake and nearly drowned, until some North Vietnamese pulled him to the shore. He was bayoneted and inured, and then taken to Hoa Lo Prison (known sarcastically as “Hanoi Hilton.”)

McCain was beaten and interrogated at first, and given medical care after his captors learned that his father was an admiral. He was a prisoner of war for five-and-a-half years until he was released on March 14, 1973. He was in solitary confinement for two years, and when his father was offered a chance to get his son released early, McCain refused unless the other POWs were also released. While in captivity, he was tortured. At one point he was bound and beaten every two hours, he suffered dysentery, he attempted suicide, and was forced to make an anti-U.S. propaganda confession.

GettyA photo taken in 1967 shows US Navy Airforce Major John McCain being examined by a Vietnamese doctor.

John McCain Was Forced to Make an Anti-U.S. Propaganda Confession

While in captivity, McCain was beaten so much that he gave in to making an anti-U.S. propaganda tape, which you can listen to above. The tape resurfaced in late 2016, when independent news journalist Charles Johnson said he uncovered the recording because it had been mislabeled by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. McCain takes responsibility for flying bombing missions, claims he is guilty of crime against the Vietnamese people, and claims he was given humane treatment since captured. McCain never tried to hide the truth about the tape. He was tortured for days and made the confession after extreme physical abuse, a decision he regretted the rest of his life. The National Archives verified the tape as authentic.

In 1967, while he was in captivity, McCain was interviewed by a French journalist. He gave the interview believing the journalist would take a message back to his family. McCain said that the North Vietnamese staged the interview, making it look like he was being kept in a nice room with a big bed. They also tried to set his broken bones before the interview, which they hadn’t done before. You can watch that interview below:

John McCain Over the Years

Over the years, many pictures have been taken of John McCain. Here is a photo of him after he returned from Vietnam in 1973:

His grey hair turned snow white while he was in captivity.

This is the photo of him that went viral (the photo on the bottom right):

People began sharing photos of a young McCain, talking about how handsome he was:

Someone even took the photo of McCain and colorized it:

Here is McCain after returning from Vietnam: