John S. McCain Sr.

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John S. McCain Sr.
Birth nameJohn Sidney McCain
Nickname(s)Slew
Born(1884-08-09)9 August 1884
Carroll County, Mississippi, U.S.
Died6 September 1945(1945-09-06) (aged 61)
Coronado, California, U.S.
Place of burial
Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance United States
Service/branch United States Navy
Years of service1906–1945
Rank Admiral
Commands held
Battles/wars
Awards
Spouse(s)Catherine Davey Vaulx
Relations{{ John S. McCain Jr. (son) | John S. McCain III (grandson) }}

John Sidney "Slew" McCain Sr. (9 August 1884 – 6 September 1945) was a United States Navy admiral and the patriarch of the McCain military family. McCain held several command assignments during the Pacific War of World War II. He was a pioneer of aircraft carrier operations. During World War II, he commanded all land-based air operations in support of the Guadalcanal campaign, and in 1944–1945, he led the Fast Carrier Task Force. His operations off the Philippines and Okinawa and air strikes against Formosa and the Japanese home islands caused tremendous destruction of Japanese naval and air forces in the closing period of the war. He died four days after the formal Japanese surrender ceremony.

Several of McCain's descendants also graduated from the United States Naval Academy. He and his son, John S. McCain Jr., were the first father–son pair to achieve four-star admiral rank in the U.S. Navy during World War II. His grandson, John S. McCain III, was a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War and later a congressman and 2008 presidential nominee. His great-grandsons, John S. McCain IV and James McCain, serve in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, respectively.

Early life, education, and family[edit]

John Sidney "Slew" McCain was born in Carroll County, Mississippi, on 9 August 1884, the third child and second son and namesake of plantation owner John Sidney McCain and his wife Elizabeth-Ann Young, who married in January 1877. His grandparents were William Alexander McCain and Mary Louisa McAllister. The family "Waverly" plantation was worked by 43 slaves. He had an older bother, William Alexander, and older sister, Katherine Louise, and three younger siblings, Mary James, Harry Hart and Joseph Pinckney.[1][2][3]

McCain attended the University of Mississippi for the 1901–1902 academic year , where he joined the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity, and then decided to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, where his brother William Alexander was enrolled. To practice for its entrance exams, he decided to take the ones for the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland; when he passed and earned an appointment from Senator Anselm J. McLaurin, he decided to attend there instead.[4][5][6]

On 25 September 1902, McCain entered the Naval Academy. He acquired the nickname "Slew". Each summer, midshipmen went on a training cruise to familiarize them with shipboard life. The 1903 cruise was on the USS Chesapeake, a barque skippered by Commander William F. Halsey Sr., whose son Bill Halsey, a midshipman two years ahead of McCain, was also in board. McCain then went to New York for Independence Day celebrations on the battleship USS Indiana, and returned to Annapolis on the sloop-of-war USS Hartford. The 1904 cruise was also on the Hartford, with a return trip on the battleship USS Massachusetts, and the 1905 cruise on the monitors USS Florida and Terror. McCain failed his annual physical in 1905 on account of defective hearing, but the condition was waived due to the great need for officers.[4][7]

McCain's academic performance was lackluster. When he graduated on 12 February 1906, he ranked 79th out of 116 in his class, and the yearbook labeled him "The skeleton in the family closet of 1906."[8][9] His classmates included William L. Calhoun, Aubrey W. Fitch, Frank J. Fletcher, Robert L. Ghormley, Isaac C. Kidd, Leigh Noyes, John H. Towers and Russell Willson.[8]

Early career and World War I[edit]

Midshipmen were not immediately commissioned, but had to first serve a year or two at sea. His first assignment, in April 1906, was the battleship USS Ohio, the flagship of the Asiatic Squadron, based at Manila Bay. After five months he was transferred to the protected cruiser USS Baltimore. Then, in January 1907, he became the executive officer of the patrol boat USS Panay, under the command of Ensign Chester W. Nimitz. In July, McCain became the engineering officer on the destroyer USS Chauncey. He was promoted to ensign on 18 March 1908.[10]

McCain as a young ensign listens to President Theodore Roosevelt as he stands on a gun turret to address the officers and men of the USS Connecticut, upon its return as a part of the Great White Fleet in February 1909 in Hampton Roads, Virginia

On 27 November 1908, McCain joined the battleship USS Connecticut for the home stretch of the Great White Fleet's world cruise from 1907 to 1909. The Connecticut sailed through the Suez Canal and participated in disaster relief efforts for the 1908 Messina earthquake in Sicily before reaching Hampton Roads on 22 February 1909. He was then ordered to report to the armored cruiser USS Pennsylvania on the West Coast.[11][12]

McCain married Katherine Davey Vaulx, who was eight years his senior, in Colorado Springs, Colorado on 9 August 1909, in a ceremony performed Vaulx's clergyman father, James Junius Vaulx. The couple had three children: John Sidney McCain Jr., James Gordon McCain, and Catherine Vaulx McCain.[13]

In December 1909, McCain joined the crew of the armored cruiser USS Washington as its engineering officer. He appeared before the examination board for promotion to the rank of lieutenant (junior grade) on 2 February 1911, and was questioned about his knowledge of seamanship, navigation, gunnery and engineering. He was promoted on 10 March, with seniority backdated to 13 February 1911.[12][13]

Duty afloat alternated with duty ashore, so McCain's next posting was to the Charleston Navy Yard, where he was in charge of the machinist's mates school. While there he was promoted to lieutenant on 5 August 1912, backdated to 1 July. While there, he temporarily commanded the torpedo boat USS Stockton during a naval review in New York from 13 to 15 October 1912.[14][15]

In April 1914, McCain became the executive officer and engineering officer] of the armored cruiser USS Colorado, the flagship for the Pacific Fleet. During 1914 and 1915, it patroled the Pacific coast of Mexico during the Mexican Revolution. On 11 September 1915, he joined the armored cruiser USS San Diego as its engineering officer. The ship was placed in reserve in February 1917, but was restored to active service after the American entry into World War I in April. McCain assumed the acting rank of lieutenant commander on 31 August. This became substantive on 16 January 1918, with seniority backdated to 22 September 1917.[11][16][15]

McCain and San Diego served on convoy duty in the Atlantic,[11] escorting shipping through the first dangerous leg of their passages to Europe. Based out of Tompkinsville, New York, and Halifax, San Diego operated in the weather-torn, submarine-infested North Atlantic. McCain left San Diego on 26 May 1918, two months before she was sunk on 19 July by a mine laid by a U-boat. He was assigned to the Bureau of Navigation in Washington, D.C., dealing with the assignment of naval personnel, with the rank of commander.[11][16][17]

Interwar period[edit]

McCain's Rear Admiral nomination

The Bureau of Navigation handled the assignment, classification and promotion of naval personnel. McCain had to deal with both the wartime expansion of the Navy to of 31,194 officers and 495,662 men in 1918, and its post-war demobilization that reduced the Navy to 10,109 officers and 108,950 enlisted personnel in 1920. The Bureau of Navigation sought to retain personnel with valuable skills in the regular service where possible. McCain served on a board that drafted regulations and legislation for such transfers. McCain published an article in the U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings on the wartime "hump" of officers and the system of promotion based on seniority.[18][19]

McCain joined the newly-commissioned battleship USS Maryland as its navigator while it was still fitting out at Newport News Shipbuilding in June 1921. He returned to the Bureau of Navigation in April 1923, working in the office of officer personnel, whose director was Captain William D. Leahy. McCain participated in another board, drafting legislation of an Equalization Bill that sought to provide officers in specialist staff corps with the same promotion opportunities as line officers.[20][21] The bill was eventually signed into law on 10 June 1926. He also convinced the General Board of the merits of raising the number of years of service for captains before mandatory retirement by a year.[22][23]

On 6 October 1925, McCain was called before a board of inquiry headed by businessman Dwight Morrow into the crash of the airship USS Shenandoah. McCain was asked about whether aviators should be a separate corps. McCain supported the position of the Bureau of Navigation and Bureau of Aeronautics that aviators should remain line officers, and therefore eligible to command ships, but he acknowledged that they had to forego flight pay during service at sea in non-aviation positions.[22]

McCain returned to sea duty in April 1926 to assume command of the cargo ship USS Sirius. In August he became the executive officer of the battleship USS New Mexico, which was commanded by Leahy. In February 1928, McCain entered the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. His 47 classmates included future admirals H. Kent Hewitt, Alan G. Kirk and Jesse B. Oldendorf. Students studied the works of Alfred Thayer Mahan, Julian Corbett and Herbert Richmond, with an emphasis on major naval actions like the Battle of Trafalgar, Battle of Tsushima and the Battle of Jutland. McCain wrote theses on the "Causes of the Spanish American War, and the Naval and Combined Operations in the Atlantic, Including the Transfer of the Oregon" and "Foreign Policies of the United States".[24][25][26]

On graduation he returned to the Bureau of Navigation, before assuming command of the ammunition ship USS Nitro. He was promoted to the temporary rank of captain on 25 September 1931. This became substantive in June 1932, and with seniority backdated to 30 June 1931.[24][17] He left Nitro on 1 April 1933 and returned to the Bureau of Navigation for his third and final tour of duty there. This time he worked on legislation to provide sailors for new ships autorized under the 1934 Vinson-Trammell Act.[24]

In 1935, McCain enrolled in flight training. Graduating at 52 in 1936, he became one of the oldest men to become a naval aviator[27] and from 1937 to 1939 he commanded the aircraft carrier USS Ranger. In January 1941, after promotion to rear admiral, he commanded the Aircraft Scouting Force of the Atlantic Fleet.[28]

Short in stature and of rather thin frame, McCain was gruff and very profane; he liked to drink and gamble. He showed courage and was regarded as a natural, inspirational leader. In the words of one biographical profile, McCain "preferred contentious conflict to cozy compromise."[29]

World War II[edit]

Vice Admiral McCain (L) and Admiral William Halsey, Commander of the Third Fleet, hold conference on board battleship New Jersey en route to the Philippines in December 1944.
Admiral McCain (R) with Admiral William Halsey on the battleship Missouri on September 2, 1945, shortly after the ceremony in which Japan surrendered, ending World War II.

After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the Navy appointed McCain as Commander, Aircraft, South Pacific in May 1942. As COMAIRSOPAC, he commanded all land-based Allied air operations supporting the Guadalcanal campaign in the Solomon Islands and south Pacific area. Aircraft under McCain's command, including the Cactus Air Force at Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, were key in supporting the defense of Guadalcanal from Japanese efforts to retake the island during this time.[28]

In October 1942, the Navy ordered McCain to Washington, D.C., to head the Bureau of Aeronautics. In August 1943, he became Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Air with the rank of vice admiral.[28]

McCain returned to combat in the Pacific in August 1944 with his appointment as commander of a carrier group in Marc Mitscher's Task Force 58 (TF 58), part of Raymond Spruance's Fifth Fleet. In this role, McCain participated in the Marianas campaign, including the Battle of the Philippine Sea, and the beginning of the Philippines campaign.[28] At the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Admiral William Halsey left in pursuit of a decoy force, leaving Rear Admiral Clifton "Ziggy" Sprague's Task Unit 77.4.3 (usually referred to by its radio callsign, "Taffy 3") to continue supporting forces ashore, defended by only a light screen of destroyers and destroyer escorts.

Taffy 3 came under attack from a much heavier Japanese force under Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita, provoking the Battle off Samar. Sprague promptly pleaded for assistance from Halsey, who was responsible for protecting the northern approach to the landing site. Halsey had contemplated detaching a battle group, Task Force 34 (TF 34), but chose to bring all available battle groups north to pursue the Japanese carrier force. Hearing Sprague's pleas (including messages in plain language, not even bothering to encrypt them as the situation grew desperate), Admiral Nimitz sent Halsey a terse message which was decoded as:

Where is, repeat, where is Task Force Thirty Four? The world wonders.

The final phrase, "The world wonders", was not intended to be part of Nimitz's message in whole; it was cryptographic security padding that had been added to the end of the actual message which should have been removed by the decrypter. This unfortunate inclusion infuriated Halsey, who then sent McCain's Task Group 38.1 (TG 38.1) to assist.[30]

McCain had been monitoring the original pleas for help and, recognizing the seriousness of the situation, turned around without awaiting orders.[citation needed] His ships raced downwind toward the battle, briefly turning into the wind to recover returning planes. At 10:30, a force of Curtiss SB2C Helldivers, Grumman TBF Avengers, and Grumman F6F Hellcats was launched from USS Hornet, USS Hancock, and USS Wasp at the extreme range of 330 miles (610 km). Though the attack did little damage, it strengthened Kurita's decision to retire.[31]

On October 30, 1944, McCain assumed command of Task Force 38 (TF 38). He retained command of the fast carrier task force that he led through the Battle of Okinawa and raids on the Japanese mainland.[28]

While conducting operations off the Philippines, McCain, as Chief of Staff of Third Fleet, participated in Halsey's decision to keep the combined naval task force on station rather than avoid a major storm, Typhoon Cobra (later known also as "Halsey's Typhoon"), which was approaching the area. The storm sank three destroyers and inflicted heavy damage on many other ships. Some 800 men were lost, in addition to 146 aircraft. A Navy court of inquiry found that Halsey committed an error of judgment in sailing into the typhoon, but did not recommend sanction.[32] McCain was ordered by the Navy Department on July 15 to hand over command of Task Force 38 to Admiral John H. Towers and, after a furlough, become deputy head of the Veterans Administration.

Death[edit]

John S. "Slew" McCain Sr. and John S. "Jack" McCain Jr., on board a U.S. Navy ship in Tokyo Bay, c. September 2, 1945. The senior McCain died four days later.

By war's end in August 1945, the stress of combat operations, lifelong anxiety, and probable heart disease had taken its toll on McCain. He requested home leave to recuperate, but Halsey insisted that he be present at the Japanese surrender ceremony in Tokyo Bay on September 2. Departing immediately after the ceremony, McCain died just four days later of a heart attack at his home in Coronado, California.[33] His death was front-page news across the United States.[33][34] He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.[35]

In 1949, McCain was posthumously promoted to full admiral (O-10) by a resolution of Congress.[36] This followed a recommendation of Secretary of the Navy Francis P. Matthews, who said that McCain's combat commendations would have earned him the promotion had he not died so soon after the war.[36] During his career, McCain was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal and two Gold Stars in lieu of subsequent awards.[37]

Family heritage[edit]

McCain's grandfather, William Alexander McCain (1817–1863) lived in Carrollton, Carroll County, Mississippi. During his life, he owned a 2,000-acre (8.1 km2) plantation there known alternately as "Teoc" (the Choctaw name for the creek it was located on) and "Waverly", as well as 52 slaves (some of whose descendants share the surname and call themselves the "black McCains").[38] He was married in 1840 to Mary Louisa McAllister (1812–1882).

McCain's father, the elder John Sidney McCain, known as J. S. McCain, served as sheriff and, later, President of the Board of Supervisors of Carroll County.

McCain's older brother, another William Alexander McCain, also attended the University of Mississippi before transferring to the United States Military Academy. William A. McCain would eventually retire with the rank of brigadier general, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for actions in World War I, as well as the Oak Leaf Cluster 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.

McCain's son, John S. McCain Jr., was a submarine commander in World War II and later served as a Commander in Chief Pacific Command (CINCPAC) during the wars in Korea and Vietnam.

McCain's grandson, John S. McCain III, was a U.S. Navy captain during the Vietnam War; his life and military career was known for spending five years as a prisoner of war 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 Arizona. He ran for President twice, in 2000 (losing the Republican nomination to George W. Bush) and in 2008, when he won the Republican Party's nomination but lost the general election to Barack Obama. His book Faith of My Fathers recounts his heritage and his experiences as a midshipman at Annapolis, a naval aviator and prisoner of war. Senator McCain's brother Joe McCain attended the US Navy Academy but served in the US Navy as an enlisted man.

John S. McCain III claimed a royal connection on his campaign website: "McCain's family roots in Europe are Scots-Irish. His great-aunt was a descendant of Robert the Bruce, an early Scottish king. McCain's roots in America date to the American Revolution. John Young, an early McCain ancestor, served on George Washington's staff."[39] John Young's ancestry has been traced to John Lamont, Baron McGorrie (the "red baron of Inverchaolain and Knockdow"; 1540–1583).[40][41] According to DNA testing, Senator McCain was related through his mother to John Washington, a great-great-grandfather of President George Washington.[42]

Admiral McCain's great-grandson John Sidney "Jack" McCain IV attended and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2009[43] and is a naval aviator. Jack McCain IV was awarded his diploma at Annapolis by President Obama, the man who defeated his father in 2008. Jack McCain IV is married to Capt. Renee Swift-McCain (USAF Reserve). Another great-grandson, James Hensley "Jimmy" McCain, enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2006.[44] He finished a tour of duty in the Iraq War in 2008.[45] Another, Douglas McCain, served as a Navy A-6E Intruder carrier pilot before turning to commercial aviation.[46]

Namesakes[edit]

McCain Field, the operations center at Naval Air Station Meridian, Mississippi, was named in his honor.[29]

The guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DL-3) (in service 1953–1978) was named for him, and the destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG-56) (in service 1994–present) was named for Admiral John S. McCain Sr., Admiral John S. McCain Jr., and, as of a rededication ceremony 11 July 2018, Senator John S. McCain III.

McCain was a would-be author who wrote fiction that was never published, including some adventure stories under the name Casper Clubfoot.[47]


Awards[edit]

Gold star
Gold star
Navy blue ribbon with central gold stripe
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Naval Aviator badge
1st
Row 		Navy Cross Navy Distinguished Service Medal
with two 5⁄16" Gold Stars
2nd
Row 		Mexican Service Medal World War I Victory Medal
with "ESCORT" clasp 		American Defense Service Medal
with "FLEET" clasp
3rd
Row 		American Campaign Medal Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
with five 3/16 inch service stars 		World War II Victory Medal
4th
Row 		Navy Occupation Service Medal
with "ASIA" clasp 		Knight Commander, Order of the British Empire
(Military Division) 		Commander of the Order of the Sun of Peru
5th
Row 		Peruvian Aviation Cross, 1st Class Commander of the Order of Merit (Chile) Philippine Liberation Medal
with two stars

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ McCain & Salter 1999, p. 21.
  2. ^ Gilbert 2006, pp. 5–6.
  3. ^ Trimble 2019, pp. 5–6.
  4. ^ a b McCain & Salter 1999, pp. 22–23.
  5. ^ Gilbert 2006, pp. 9–10.
  6. ^ Trimble 2019, pp. 6–7.
  7. ^ Trimble 2019, pp. 6–8.
  8. ^ a b Gilbert 2006, p. 11.
  9. ^ Trimble 2019, p. 9.
  10. ^ Trimble 2019, pp. 9–10.
  11. ^ a b c d Reynolds 2002, p. 206.
  12. ^ a b Trimble 2019, p. 11.
  13. ^ a b Gilbert 2006, p. 14.
  14. ^ Trimble 2019, p. 12.
  15. ^ a b Gilbert 2006, pp. 15–16.
  16. ^ a b Trimble 2019, pp. 12–13.
  17. ^ a b Gilbert 2006, pp. 18–21.
  18. ^ Trimble 2019, pp. 13–14.
  19. ^ McCain 1923, pp. 19–37.
  20. ^ Trimble 2019, pp. 14–16.
  21. ^ McCain 1924, pp. 417–423.
  22. ^ a b Trimble 2019, pp. 16–19.
  23. ^ McCain 1925, pp. 737–745.
  24. ^ a b c Trimble 2019, pp. 20–24.
  25. ^ McCain, J. S. (1929). Causes of the Spanish American War, and the Naval and Combined Operations in the Atlantic, Including the Transfer of the Oregon (Thesis). U.S. Naval War College. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  26. ^ McCain, J. S. (1929). Foreign Policies of the United States (Thesis). U.S. Naval War College. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  27. ^ His contemporary Admiral William Halsey also graduated at age 52 as a flight aviator.
  28. ^ a b c d e Boatner, Biographical Dictionary, p. 351.
  29. ^ a b Leahy, Michael (31 August 2008). "A Turbulent Youth Under a Strong Father's Shadow". The Washington Post. Retrieved 8 November 2008.
  30. ^ McCain and Salter, Faith of My Fathers, 40–41.
  31. ^ "Wasp". DANFS. U.S. Naval Historical Center. 11 May 2005. Retrieved 4 September 2008.
  32. ^ Drury, Halsey's Typhoon.
  33. ^ a b "McCain dies suddenly at his home". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. 7 September 1945. p. 1.
  34. ^ "Admiral McCain dies". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. 7 September 1945. p. 1.
  35. ^ "Burial detail: McCain, John S". ANC Explorer. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  36. ^ a b "M'Cain Promotion Passed". Associated Press for The New York Times. 28 August 1949.
  37. ^ USS John S. McCain (DDG 56), [1].
  38. ^ Chideya, Farai (21 October 2008). "Black McCains Share Family's Struggles, Triumphs". NPR. Retrieved 26 October 2008.
  39. ^ McCain and Salter, Faith of My Fathers, p. 19.
  40. ^ "Ancestors of one Young family in America". Archived from the original on 10 February 2006. Retrieved 5 July 2007.
  41. ^ Ancestry of John McCain (b. 1936)
  42. ^ PBS Finding Your Roots broadcast February 9, 2016; he also has Native American ancestry.
  43. ^ Superville, Darlene (22 May 2009). "Obama vows not to send people to war without cause". Yahoo! News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 25 May 2009. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
  44. ^ "Sen. McCain's youngest son joins Marine Corps". Marine Corps Times. Associated Press. 31 July 2006. Archived from the original on 1 August 2006. Retrieved 1 August 2006.
  45. ^ "McCain win might stop sons from deploying". Navy Times. 10 March 2008. Retrieved 17 March 2008.
  46. ^ Jennifer Steinhauer (27 December 2007). "Bridging 4 Decades, a Large, Close-Knit Brood". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 December 2007.
  47. ^ Kirkpatrick, David D. (12 October 2008). "Writing Memoir, McCain Found a Narrative for Life". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 October 2008.

References[edit]

External links[edit]

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