John McCain is the United States Senator for Arizona and the Republican Party’s nominee for U.S. President in the 2008 election. He had a distinguished military career and won a Purple Heart medal in Vietnam. He entered politics in 1981 and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986. He is a conservative who has his own views on key issues.

 

McCain was born in 1936 in Panama to a U.S. naval officer. In 1951, his family returned to the USA and he attended a private school. Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, McCain entered the military. He loved boxing and showed many leadership skills during his training. He graduated from his naval academy in 1958.

 

McCain's combat duty began in 1967 when he was 30 years old. He was assigned to be a fighter pilot in the Vietnam War. His plane was shot down on his twenty-third bombing mission. Badly injured, he was taken to the infamous “Hanoi Hilton” prison and tortured. He spent almost six years there, two in solitary confinement. He returned to America as a hero.

 

McCain retired from the Navy in 1981 and set his sights on a political career. He spent four years in local politics in Arizona before becoming the state’s Senator in 1986. He won re-election by large majorities in 1992, 1998, and 2004. He has worked to restore relations with Vietnam during his time in office. Three of his sons have entered the military.