John Sidney McCain III (born August 29; 1936) is the senior United States Senator from Arizona and was the Republican presidential nominee for the 2008 United States presidential election.

McCain followed his father and grandfather; both four-star admirals; into the United States Navy; graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1958. He became a naval aviator; flying ground-attack aircraft from aircraft carriers. During the Vietnam War; he was almost killed in the 1967 USS Forrestal fire. In October 1967; while on a bombing mission over Hanoi; he was shot down; seriously injured; and captured by the North Vietnamese. He was a prisoner of war until 1973.

Despite spending five and a half years as a prisoner of war and suffering torture in the 'Hanoi Hilton' prison; McCain is known for his work in the 1990s to restore diplomatic relations with Vietnam.