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Joseph Pinckney McCain II (born April 26, 1942) is an American
stage actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...
, newspaper reporter, and the brother and only living sibling of the late U.S. Senator and two-time presidential candidate
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...
.


Early life and education

Joseph Pinckney McCain II was born to John S. McCain Jr. and Roberta McCain on April 26, 1942, in the naval base hospital in
New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the outlet of the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, which empties into Long Island Sound. The cit ...
. His father's perpetual traveling for Navy assignments meant that Joe had attended 17 different schools by the time he completed 9th grade. He entered the
United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...
, but left in 1961 during his first year. Although he had tried to emulate his older brother, father (against his advice), grandfather and forebears, he later said "I just didn't like all the formations and inspections and things like that." He then attended the Norfolk Division of the
College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public university, public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III of England, William III and Queen ...
which became
Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (ODU) is a Public university, public research university in Norfolk, Virginia, United States. Established in 1930 as the two-year Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary, it began by educating people with fewer ...
, where he later said he "discovered fraternities and beer and girls."


Vietnam era

Joe McCain was a member of the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
and in 1965 to 1966 served as an enlisted man aboard the during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
. During that conflict and his brother's long time as a prisoner of war, the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia, which included Joe, heightened awareness of the POWs' plight. In 1970, McCain sat in a bamboo cage in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, eating simulated POW food to dramatize the plight of POWs. In the same year, he and two other brothers of POWs traveled around the U.S. circulating petitions to be presented to
North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954 Geneva Conference, 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it o ...
ese representatives, and sought the signatures of opponents of the Vietnam War as well as those supporting it. He then helped bring 13 tons of mail to the North Vietnamese delegation at the Paris Peace Talks, demanding humane treatment for the POWs.


Career

Following Vietnam, McCain tried both
journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...
and
medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...
before moving to acting. He worked at the '' San Diego Union'' and ''San Diego Evening Tribune'', but got in trouble at one for perpetrating a prank. He subsequently became a dinner theater actor. McCain married around 1998, but divorced in 2008, having no children. His brother John died on August 25, 2018, at the age of 81, and his sister Sandy died on November 6, 2019, at the age of 85.


Political involvement


2000 presidential election

McCain was a volunteer manager for his brother's 2000 presidential campaign in his home state of
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
, making over 100 campaign appearances. He expressed anger at some of the tactics that
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
used in defeating his brother, and said that the Republican Party needed to be reformed.


Possible congressional run

In 2001, Republican Party activists in
Northern Virginia Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several County (United States), counties and independent city (United States), independent cities in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. ...
tried to recruit McCain to run for the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 8th congressional district against the incumbent Democrat Jim Moran. They believed McCain's personal characteristics, combined with his brother's name and appeal to moderate voters, would allow an effective challenge. McCain declined to run, however, due to the growing Democratic tilt of the district, saying, "I don't mind running uphill for anything. But it looked like it was going to be a vertical wall."


Political views

In 2005, McCain was vocal in his reaction to revelations of
Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse During the early stages of the Iraq War, members of the United States Army and the Central Intelligence Agency were accused of a series of human rights violations and war crimes against detainees in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. These abuses ...
during the
Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...
, saying "To be fighting from supposedly the higher ground, and yet to have allowed this kind of stuff that goes on in Abu Ghraib – it destroys the fact we're fighting for the better cause. It's just awful."


2008 presidential election

During his brother's 2008 presidential campaign, McCain acted as a low-key surrogate. He was aware of the past foibles of presidential siblings and offered self-deprecating lines such as, "I'm the discount John McCain. They call me McKmart." On October 15, 2008, ''
The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...
'' obtained an e-mail written by McCain with the subject title "Shoaling" that spoke about his unhappiness with unnamed top campaign officials who "control the message" of his brother's run for president. McCain also received press coverage for remarks made in early October. In the context of describing his naval service postings in
Arlington, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...
and
Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...
, McCain jokingly described northern Virginia as "communist country", for which he later apologized.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCain, Joe 1942 births Living people American activists American Episcopalians United States Navy personnel of the Vietnam War American male musical theatre actors Male actors from Connecticut Military personnel from Connecticut McCain family National League of POW/MIA Families Old Dominion University alumni Writers from New London, Connecticut The San Diego Union-Tribune people United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy sailors Virginia Republicans