John McCain has died at the age of 81 after a battle with an aggressive form of brain cancer. The Arizona senator passed away at his home in Sedona, and in a statement confirming his death, his office explained, “Senator John Sidney McCain III died at 4:28pm on August 25, 2018. With the Senator when he passed were his wife Cindy and their family. At his death, he had served the United States of America faithfully for sixty years.”
McCain is a war hero hero, who after graduating from the US Naval Academy, went on to serve in the Vietnam War as a naval aviator, flying ground-attack aircraft. During a Hanoi bombing mission in 1967, his plane was shot down,which seriously injured him and led to his capture by the Vietnamese, and spent the next five and a half years as a prisoner of war.
After retiring from the Navy, McCain focused on a political career and was elected in the US House of Representatives in 1982. He has also run for President twice — once in 2000, and again in 2008.
Take a look back on John McCain’s life in photos.
1936
Future Sen. John S. McCain III (R-AZ) as a baby on grandfather Admiral John S. McCain Sr.'s (1884 - 1945) lap in a family portrait circa 1936.
1938
Future Sen. John McCain as toddler, sitting on sofa with his sister Sandy, circa 1938.
1940s
Future US Senator John S. McCain III (C) as a young boy with his grandfather Vice Admiral John S. McCain Sr. (L) and father Commander (late admiral) John S. McCain Jr. in a family photo from the 1940s.
1964
A portrait of American Navy Lieutenant (and future US Senator) John Sidney McCain III in uniform, 1964.
1973
American prisoner of war, Navy Lt. Commander John McCain III, smiles from a bus window on arrival at Clark Air Base in the Philippines, after his release from Hanoi during the Vietnam War, March 14, 1973. McCain was taken prisoner on October 26, 1967.
1973
Portrait of American soldier and Vietnam prisoner of war (and future US Senator) John McCain as he sits on a sofa during a interview on April 24, 1973. About a month prior, he had been released and returned from Vietnam.
1977
1986
American politician US President Ronald Reagan meets with Senator John McCain in the White House's Oval Office in Washington DC on July 31, 1986.
1986
Arizona Senators McCain (R) and DeConcini (Dem) at a news conference.
1992
US Senator John McCain, Senator John Kerry, President George Bush, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Colin Powell, and General John Vessey attend a press conference about soldiers missing in action during the Vietnam War.
1993
U.S. Representative Pete Peterson (L), and U.S. Senators John McCain (R) and John Glenn (rear) leave Hanoi's central prison on June 1. Once nicknamed the Hanoi Hilton, it is where McCain and Peterson were detained as POW's during the Vietnam War.
1996
Portrait of American politician US Senator John S. McCain as he poses in the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington DC, July 1996.
1996
Texas Sen. Phil Gramm (C) onstage with supporters, (Sen. McCain 3rd from left), kicking off his campaign for GOP presidential nomination in 1996.
1998
Sen. John McCain prepares to leave his Capitol Hill office on June 17, 1998, one day after the tobacco bill he drafted was dropped by the Senate without ever going to a vote. McCain, who was critical of his own party and said the battle was not over, was applauded by Democrats as he left the Senate floor.
1999
Sen. John McCain joins patrons for breakfast at Ham House in Greenville, S.C., where McCain kicked off his run for the Republican presidential nomination.
1999
1999
Arizona Senator and Republican presidential hopeful John McCain (R) and his wife Cindy (C) greet supporters prior to the GOP debate on the campus of Arizona State University on November 21, 1999 in Tempe, Arizona. Republican presidential candidates Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, radio commentator Alan Keyes and financier Steve Forbes debated without front runner George W. Bush.
1999
Republican presidential hopefuls Senator John McCain, Steve Forbes, Texas Gov. George W. Bush, and Alan Keyes after the televised "The Republicans: A New Hampshire Forum" primary debate on December 2, 1999, in Manchester, New Hampshire. This was the first debate that featured all six GOP candidates.
2000
2000
Republican presidential hopeful John McCain answers questions at a news conference on February 11, 2000 in New York. McCain fell behind in the key state of South Carolina in a poll released that day.
2000
US Arizona Senator and Republican presidential hopeful John McCain waves to students at the UCLA campus on March 6, 2000 in Los Angeles, CA, on the eve of the multi-state Super Tuesday primaries.
2000
US President Bill Clinton is warmly greeted by former presidential candidate Sen. John McCain at the annual Radio/TV Correspondents Dinner on April 6, 2000 in Washington, DC.
2000
John McCain and his wife, Cindy McCain, smile for the camera at their family ranch near Sedona, Arizona.
John McCain and George W. Bush speak with reporter on Bush's campaign train while in California.
2001
Sen. John McCain hangs out with wives of the players of the Arizona Diamondbacks during a welcoming tour of the world champions sponsored by McCain and the Arizona Congressional Delegation.
2002
Battalion Chief Tom Meara of Battalion 9 greets Republican presidential candidate John McCain who arrives bearing pizzas for a short visit to Engine 54 on 8th Ave at 48th St. in Midtown Manhattan.
2004
2004
Senator John McCain arrives with his wife Cindy and daughter Megan at "Live From New York It's Wednesday Night" on September 1, 2004 at Cipriani on 42nd Street
2004
Senator John McCain of Arizona acknowledges the applause from the delegation during the evening session of the 2004 Republican National Convention at Madison Square Garden.
2005
Senator John McCain and Senator Hillary Rodham attend a press conference with the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund at the Capitol, in Washington, on July 27, 2005. They announced the building of the Center for the Intrepid and the National Armed Forces Physical Rehabilitation Center, a state-of-the-art advance training skills facility to be located at the in San Antonio, Texas.
2005
US President George W. Bush holds up a birthday cake for US Senator John McCain after coming off Air Force One on August 29, 2005 at Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, AZ.
2007
US Senator John McCain and his wife Cindy greet supporters during a rally on April 25, 2007 in Manchester, New Hampshire. McCain officially announced his bid for the presidency with a campaign rally and kicked off a four-day tour with stops in South Carolina, Iowa, Nevada and Arizona.
2007
Senator John McCain talks with supporters and signs copies of his book at the Sugar & Spice Drive-In in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on Sunday, February 18, 2007. McCain, campaigning in Iowa for the first time since creating his presidential campaign committee, was questioned on the Iraq war, highlighting how closely the Republican lawmaker's 2008 aspirations may be linked to the conflict, the Washington Post reported.
2007
Sen. John McCain attends a briefing with the press after the senate luncheons.
2008
Republican presidential hopefuls stand together on stage during a Fox News television debate in Myrtle Beach on January 10, 2008. From left are: actor and former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson; former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney; Arizona Senator John McCain; former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee; former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani, and Texas Congressman Ron Paul.
2008
Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain speaks during a town hall meeting at Fantasy of Flight on January 27, 2008 in Polk City, Florida.
2008
Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain waves to supporters while introduced at a Vets for Freedom rally while Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) greets veterans on Capitol Hill on April 8, 2008 in Washington, DC.
2017
Sen. John McCain leaves a meeting where a new version of a GOP healthcare bill was unveiled to Republican senators at the U.S. Capitol on July 13, 2017 in Washington, DC.
2017
Sen. John McCain leaves the the Senate chamber at the U.S. Capitol after voting on the GOP 'Skinny Repeal' health care bill on July 28, 2017 in Washington, DC.
2017
Sen. John McCain moves through the U.S. Capitol in a wheelchair on November 30, 2017 in Washington, DC.
PHOTOS: Getty Images