Sunday, August 26, 2018

Senator John McCain Passes Away

 
Senator John McCain passed away on August 25, 2018. He was 81.
 
He was a Naval Officer. He was also a Senator from 1987 until his death. He was the Republican Party’s candidate for the President of the United States in 2008 and lost the election to Barrack Obama.
 
He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1958. Both his father and grand father were 4 star Admirals in the U.S. Navy. He was a naval aviator.
 
While McCain was on a mission in Vietnam in 1967 bombing Hanoi, his plane was shot down and was captured by the North Vietnamese. He was seriously injured at that time. He was a POW (Prisoner of War).
 
The North Vietnamese came to know he is the son of the Chief of U.S. Navy. They then offered him to release and return him to the United States immediately unharmed. But the young John McCain refused and said he will stay with the other POWs. The North Vietnamese took that gesture as McCain was a headstrong and wanted to teach him a lesson. He was subjected to the most brutal punishment and torture for any American POW with the North Vietnamese. He was released in 1973.
 
After returning home McCain entered politics. He was elected Senator 5 times from 1987 to 2016. He was very independent as a Senator. He was a Republican. But disregarded the party line many times and voted with his conscience. He was nominated as the Republican Presidential Candidate in 2008 against Barrack Obama and lost the election.
 
John McCain served his country very well. May he rest in peace.

14 comments:

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    1. Thanks for your comments Dee. I appreciate it.

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  2. RIP John McCain - a true American hero.

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    1. Thanks for your comments The Cagey Bee. I appreciate it.

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  3. I was familiar with the name because of his Presidential nomination, but didn't know any history about him. Good to know.

    Destination Infinity

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    1. Thanks for your comments Rajesh. McCain was a national hero.

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  4. Suffice it to say fmr President Obama had said of Senator John McCain as ‘a man of integrity,’
    I have also read that “ McCain was a rare Washington figure who was liked and respected — for who he was. It made him a popular figure nationally, seen by the public as a man above politics. But he was never quite popular enough to take the White House, leaving him in the Senate, where his bipartisan friendships, ironically, didn’t serve him as well.”
    It is sad such a man should have missed the Presidential bus though to an equally good person.

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    1. Thanks for your tribute to Senator McCain. You also said he missed the Presidential bus to an equally good person. Debatable. On service to the country, McCain stands above Obama.

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  5. An amazing personality. What I most vividly remember is his concession speech in 2008, which watched on TV while in San Francisco.
    He paid such glowing tributes to Obama and to the people of the US, who elected their first African-American president. No rancour. No ill will. Only humility, respect and admiration. How things have changed in eight years!
    Another significant moment which I remember is how he surprised everyone and returned to the senate (while undergoing treatment for cancer) to cast a crucial vote on the Healthcare bill last year. He voted for further debate on the bill, but more importantly, in his speech, he differed with his party's president Trump and said he would not vote for the bill in the present form. It was another statesman-like speech.
    NYT recently carried an article on how he meticulously planned his funeral.
    A really great man who strode multiple platforms, from military to politics, with flying colours.
    America has lost a very good human being.
    May his soul rest in peace.

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    1. Thanks for your comments Pradeep. Senator McCain was really a great man.

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  6. I too remember him as the candidate during the Presidential election and Obama won. I remember reading also that he was a straight forward person and not a corrupt politician. This might have been a drawback when you are in politics. Our country needs a person like him now. RIP Senator MacCain

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    1. Thanks for your comments Sandhya. Senator McCain was a very straight forward person.

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  7. I am illiterate when it comes to politics. He sounds like a great person. RIP.

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  8. 'Pranaam' for his soul. Seems a man of principles and integrity.

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