John McCain is one of the most admired leaders in the
United States government, but his deeply felt memoir of
family and war is not a political one and ends before his
election to Congress. With candor and ennobling power,
McCain tells a story that, in the words of Newsweek, "makes
the other presidential candidates look like pygmies."
John McCain learned about life and honor from his
grandfather and father, both four-star admirals in the U.S.
Navy. This is a memoir about their lives, their heroism,
and the ways that sons are shaped and enriched by their
fathers.
John McCain's grandfather was a gaunt, hawk-faced man known
as Slew by his fellow officers and, affectionately, as
Popeye by the sailors who served under him. McCain Sr.
played the horses, drank bourbon and water, and rolled his
own cigarettes with one hand. More significant, he was one
of the navy's greatest commanders, and led the strongest
aircraft carrier force of the Third Fleet in key battles
during World War II.
John McCain's father followed a similar path, equally
distinguished by heroic service in the navy, as a submarine
commander during World War II. McCain Jr. was a slightly
built man, but like his father, he earned the respect and
affection of his men. He, too, rose to the rank of four-
star admiral, making the McCains the first family in
American history to achieve that distinction. McCain Jr.'s
final assignment was as commander of all U.S. forces in the
Pacific during the Vietnam War.
It was in the Vietnam War that John McCain III faced the
most difficult challenge of his life. A naval aviator, he
was shot down over Hanoi in 1967 and seriously injured.
When Vietnamese military officers realized he was the son
of a top commander, they offered McCain early release in an
effort to embarrass the United States. Acting from a sense
of honor taught him by his father and the U.S. Naval
Academy, McCain refused the offer. He was tortured, held in
solitary confinement, and imprisoned for five and a half
years.
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