McCain lived an extraordinary life – he had a brush with death in July 1967 when, as a Vietnam navy pilot, a missile exploded near his fuel tanks, causing a ship fire that killed 134 soldiers.
Three months later he was shot down over Vietnam, breaking both arms and a leg, and was captured by the North Vietnamese.
He was a loyal supporter of President George W Bush’s invasion of Iraq in 2003 and his choice of Sarah Palin as running mate in his unsuccessful bid for the White House in 2008 was widely mocked.
McCain’s legacy will be keenly debated among both parties. The six-term senator from Arizona remained outspoken to the end, especially in his criticism of fellow Republican Donald Trump.
McCain was offered early release because his father was a four-star admiral but he bravely rejected it until his fellow prisoners were also freed.
He spent five years in captivity, including more than two in solitary confinement, and was beaten and tortured almost daily. He retired from military service in 1981 and ran for Congress in Arizona the following year.
He earned a reputation as a military hawk, he was one of the Iraq war’s biggest champions and was also considered a maverick, often willing to defy his party and work with Democrats on issues such as campaign finance and immigration reform.
In 2000 he finished second to George W Bush in the Republican presidential primary following an ugly campaign.
And eight years later he beat Mitt Romney to the nomination, only to lose against Barack Obama.
John Sidney McCain III was in August 29, 1936 and die on August 25, 2018.
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