After Senator John McCain’s Sad Passing On 25th August 2018, Commemorations for him have been taking place all week
and on the 31st August 2018 the family of the US War Hero said their goodbyes to him inside the Capitol Rotunda alongside dignitaries where wreaths were laid in front of Senator McCain’s casket.
A further National Memorial Service took place in Washington yesterday including the family and friends of Senator McCain, and National and International Dignitaries, both past and present, including former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush & Bill Clinton.
Senator John Sidney McCain III was an American Politician, Military Officer and War Hero who was a Senator in the United States for Arizona from January 1987 until his death on August 25 2018.
Senator McCain graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1958 and was commissioned into the United States Navy, where he became a Naval Aviator. During the Vietnam War he nearly died in the 1967 USS Forrestal Fire and whilst on a mission over Hanoi in 1967, he was shot down by the North Vietnamese and endured years of torture as a prisoner of war, yet when he was offered early repatriation he refused to go, believing that there were other’s who should be repatriated before himself.
When Senator McCain did eventually return to the US, he had sustained substantial physical disabilities from his years of torture, but his love for his Country only grew, claiming “I fell in love with my Country, when I was a prisoner in someone else’s.”
Senator McCain retired from the Navy as a Captain in 1981, and moved to Arizona, where he went into Politics and had a long and distinguished career.
Tributes were held throughout the week for Senator McCain, with high profile dignitaries saying wonderful things about him.
Vice President Mike Pence said Americans had “marvelled at the iron will of John McCain” and praised him for holding fast “to his faith in America through six decades of service.”
Former US President Barack Obama said “John believed in honest argument and hearing other views, and praised Senator McCain’s “spirit” and ability to “find common ground”. He also called Senator McCain “an extraordinary man – a warrior, a statesman, and a patriot.”
And in the words of Senator McCain’s daughter Meghan…..
“John Sidney McCain III was many things. He was a sailor, he was an aviator, he was a husband, he was a warrior, he was a prisoner, he was a hero, he was a Congressman, he was a Senator, he was Nominee for President of the United States. These are all of the titles and roles of a life that’s been well lived. He was a ‘Great Man’. I admired him for all of these things, but I love him because he was a great father”. Meghan went on to say that Senator McCain “was defined by a love of Country, and an even stronger love for his wife and children, and the best of John McCain, the greatest of his titles, and the most important of his roles was as a father.”
Just a few of Senator John McCain’s famous Quotes:-
“The First Role of Government Is To Help People In Crisis Or Need. That’s Why We Have Government” – John McCain
“War Is Wretched Beyond Description, And Only A Fool Or A Fraud Could Sentimentalize It’s Cruel Reality” – John McCain
“Most Great Leaders In History That I’ve Studied Always Need To Get As Wide A Range Of Opinions As Possible So That They Can Have Sufficient Information To Make the Right Decisions” – John McCain
“I Believe In Evolution, But I Also Believe When I Hike The Grand Canyon And See It At Sunset That The Hand Of God Is There Also” – John McCain
REST IN PEACE SENATOR JOHN McCAIN – A TRULY ‘GREAT MAN’