[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 99 (Tuesday, July 26, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 26, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
``A LEGACY OF TRADITION AND LEADERSHIP: THE McCAIN FAMILY''--A TRIBUTE 
   TO SENATOR JOHN McCAIN AND THE McCAIN FAMILY AT MARINE BARRACKS, 
                             WASHINGTON, DC

  Mr. NUNN. Mr. President, in June when the Senate was debating the 
defense bill, I made a short statement about the commissioning ceremony 
for the U.S. John McCain--named after Senator John McCain's father and 
his grandfather. I pointed out the extensive legacy of outstanding 
service in uniform of the McCain family for many, many generations.
  This legacy of tradition and leadership was honored again last Friday 
night at Marine Barracks, Washington, DC--the oldest post in the Marine 
Corps. At what many consider the Nation's premier military parade, the 
guest of honor and reviewing official was Senator John S. McCain.
  Senator McCain was joined by many members of his immediate and 
extended family and many friends for what was a most impressive 
gathering and event. The Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. 
Richard D. Hearney--himself a highly decorated combat pilot as is 
Senator McCain--was the host of this tribute of military precision and 
pageantry to one of our Nation's real heroes and his family--John S. 
McCain, our colleague.
  I ask unanimous consent that the narration that accompanied the 
ceremony be placed in the Record at this point.
  There being no objection, the narration was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

        A Legacy of Tradition and Leadership: The McCain Family

       Military service is a special calling and, to many 
     Americans, a proud family tradition as much as it is a 
     profession. Names such as Lee, Roosevelt, Pershing, 
     Eisenhower, and MacArthur have emerged generation after 
     generation. In the annals of military history, another name--
     McCain--can be traced back over two hundred years and 
     represents a lineage and legacy of honorable military 
     service--a family tradition of honor, courage, and 
     commitment. In fact, there has been a McCain in the service 
     of his country since the Revolutionary War, when a McCain 
     served on General George Washington's staff. Tonight we pay 
     tribute to three generations of McCains, beginning with 
     Admiral John S. McCain, and concluding with his grandson, the 
     honorable John S. McCain, the third, Senator from the State 
     of Arizona.
       John Sidney McCain graduated from the United States Naval 
     Academy in nineteen oh-six. At age 52, Captain McCain became 
     a naval aviator after having served thirty-two years of sea 
     and shore duty. At the end of World War Two, as a Vice 
     Admiral, he witnessed the Japanese surrender aboard the 
     U.S.S. Missouri. His uncle, Henry P. McCain and brother, 
     William, both retired from the United States Army as General 
     officers.
       Admiral McCain's son, John Sidney McCain Junior, was a 
     nineteen thirty-one graduate of the United States Naval 
     Academy. During World War Two, he distinguished himself in 
     battle as a submarine commander by sinking three Japanese 
     combatants and several patrol craft. He rose to the rank of 
     admiral and served as commander in chief, U.S. Naval 
     Forces Europe. Shortly thereafter, he became commander in 
     chief, Pacific, in which capacity he directed the American 
     forces' gradual disengagement from Vietnam between 
     nineteen sixty-eight and nineteen seventy-two. It was 
     during those years that his son, Lieutenant Commander John 
     S. McCain, the third, lay seriously wounded in a North 
     Vietnamese prison after having been captured on October 
     twenty-sixth, nineteen sixty-seven.
       A nineteen fifty-eight graduate of the Naval Academy, John 
     McCain had earned his wings as a naval aviator at Pensacola, 
     Florida and had flown his first mission in the Caribbean 
     during the nineteen sixty-two Cuban missile crisis. In 
     Vietnam, on his twenty-third combat mission, he was shot down 
     by a Soviet missile over Hanoi at forty-five hundred feet. 
     After ejecting, he landed in a lake, his right leg and left 
     arm broken, his right arm shattered. Lieutenant Commander 
     McCain remained a prisoner of war for five and one-half years 
     until March fifteenth, nineteen seventy-three. Today, John S. 
     McCain continues to serve his country--now in his second term 
     as a United States Senator from Arizona.
       Ladies and gentleman, we are pleased to honor the 
     distinguished McCain family and privileged to have Senator 
     John S. McCain, the third, as our reviewing official for this 
     evening's parade. Accompanying Senator McCain in the 
     reviewing area are General Richard D. Hearney, Assistant 
     Commandant of the Marine Corps * * * and Colonel John Sollis, 
     commanding officer, marine barracks.

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