The McCain family is a prominent American naval family. Its member include Admirals John S. McCain Sr. (1884–1945) and John S. McCain Jr. (1911–1981), who were the first father-and-son pair to achieve four-star admiral rank in the U.S. Navy, and John S. McCain III (1936–2018) who served in 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 ...

and as a Congressman and

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

from

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

Family heritage

William Alexander McCain (1817–1863) lived in Carroll County, Mississippi. During his life, he owned a

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

there known alternately as "Teoc" (the Choctaw name for the creek it was located on) and "Waverly", as well as 52

enslaved people Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

(some of whose descendants share the surname and call themselves the " black McCains"). John S. McCain Sr. (1884–1945) was an admiral in the U.S. Navy during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and was posthumously promoted to the rank of

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

. His older brother, another William Alexander McCain, attended the University of Mississippi before transferring to West Point. He retired with the rank of brigadier general, and was awarded the

Army Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. ...

for actions in World War I and an

Oak Leaf Cluster An oak leaf cluster is a ribbon device to denote preceding decorations and awards consisting of a miniature bronze or silver twig of four oak leaves with three acorns on the stem. It is authorized by the United States Armed Forces for a spec ...

during World War II. An uncle, Henry Pinckney McCain (1861–1941), also attended West Point and later retired from the Army as a major general. Camp McCain, a World War II training base and current Mississippi National Guard training site, located in Grenada County, Mississippi, was named for him. John S. McCain Jr. (1911–1981), was a

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

commander in World War II and later served as a Commander in Chief Pacific Command (CINCPAC) during the

. He and his father were the first father-and-son pair to achieve four-star admiral rank in the U.S. Navy. His son John S. McCain III (1936–2018), also served in the Vietnam War and spent five years as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

in the " Hanoi Hilton" and other North Vietnamese camps from 1967 to 1972. Following his retirement from the Navy, he served as both a Congressman and Senator from

. He ran for President twice, in 2000 and in 2008. Another grandson, Joe McCain, attended the US Naval Academy but served in the US Navy as an enlisted man. John Sidney "Jack" McCain IV attended and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2009 and is a naval aviator. Jack McCain IV was awarded his diploma at Annapolis by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

, the man who defeated his father in 2008. Jack McCain IV is married to Captain Renee Swift-McCain (USAF Reserve). Another great-grandson of John S. McCain Sr., James Hensley "Jimmy" McCain, enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2006. He finished a tour of duty in 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 ...

in 2008. A third, Douglas McCain, served as a Navy A-6E Intruder carrier pilot before turning to commercial aviation.

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Family heritage

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Further reading