[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 143 (Monday, August 27, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5945-S5947]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                        Remembering John McCain

  Mr. ISAKSON. Yesterday was a difficult day for me. I am 74 years old. 
I was born in 1944. Like many Americans, my youth was during the 
Vietnam era. The prime of my youth was the Vietnam era.
  In fact, my senior year in college, I got a graduation diploma and a 
draft notice on the same day. They were put in the same book. Everybody 
was going. Everybody was being called up for the draft. There was a 
lottery, but so many people were eligible that almost everybody in my 
age group would have been drafted if they didn't join the service.
  I joined. I joined the National Guard, which I am very proud of, and 
I am still a guardsman to this day. It also gave me the chance to serve 
my country in a way that would not put me at as much risk to go to 
Vietnam as it would if I were drafted. I consciously did that because I 
wanted to do everything I could to stay here and get married a few 
months later to my wife Dianne. I was of the age to be drafted, and I 
made the decision to find a way to serve that would not put me in a 
position of being drafted, where I lost control. I was able to do it, 
and a lot of people were, but a lot of people weren't. I know that. The 
ones who could know it, and the ones who couldn't know it. The 
Presiding Officer knows what I am talking about, being a guardswoman 
herself.
  I lost my best friend in Vietnam, Jackson Elliott Cox III, Waynesboro 
GA, Liberty County--Bird Dog Capital of the World.
  Jack and I graduated from college together. Jack went off for a 
weekend and came back and told us all he had joined the Marine Corps, 
was going to OCS, and was going to go to Vietnam and fight the bad 
guys. We all said: Jack, don't volunteer to do that. You could get 
killed.
  He said: No, I want to do it. It is a great country. I have had a 
great life, going to the University of Georgia, have a wonderful mom 
and dad, good friends like you all. I want to go to OCS and be an 
officer in the Marine Corps--and he did.
  A few years later, he was shot by a sniper in the 11th month of a 13-
month stint in Vietnam. Alex Crumbley, the superior court judge in 
Georgia years later; Pierre Howard, the Democratic Lieutenant Governor 
of Georgia; and myself--we were the three best friends, the ``Four 
Amigos,'' if you will. We went to 589 Liberty Street in Waynesboro and 
spent 3 nights and 4 days with Emily and Jack, Jack's dad and mom.
  When the Marine Corps brought the body back, it was lying in state in 
their dining room, and we had a wake and a service for him. We stood 
guard. We cried. We talked about the good times. We talked about the 
bad times. We felt sorry for ourselves because the life that had meant 
so much to all of us was gone.
  Jack felt a calling for the country, and he did a great service for 
the country. I am proud of him, and I am proud to have been his friend.
  I tried to do what I could but never in the category of a John McCain 
or a Jack Cox. There were a lot people my age who didn't do as much as 
they probably could have or might have done, and probably from time to 
time have second thoughts about it, too, because the Vietnam war was so 
tough.
  I had friends coming back who had to dress in blue jeans and khakis 
when they got off the troop train from wherever they were in Atlanta 
because people would get accosted on the street if they were in their 
uniform during that era. Today, we go to the airport, and if we have 
troops coming through who are going to fly back for duty somewhere, 
they will get standing ovations, and people will give up their seats to 
let them sit there. It wasn't like that in the 1960s and 1970s. It 
wasn't like that at all.

  In fact, people were risking their lives--58,000 did give their lives 
for all of us--and in many cases, we were making fun of them as a 
nation. It was terrible. It messed up our politics, messed up our 
country, messed up our people, and messed up everybody else. But 
America is a great country. What I am telling you is tragic to me, and 
I apologize to everybody that I didn't do everything I should have 
done, but I think all of us owe each other a commitment to say that we 
are never going to let America get that way again.
  Americans should always be as we were on 9/11 or 9/12 of 2001, when 
we all put American flags on our cars, we all sang the national anthem, 
and we said the Pledge of Allegiance after we were attacked. For a few 
months, we were the most patriotic Nation in the world. We ought to be 
that way every single day because every single day, just like those 
firemen and emergency medical people of 9/11, there are those who were 
in the Vietnam war, who signed up, who fought, risked their lives, and 
in some cases died, like John McCain and like my brother-in-law Rocky 
Davison, my wife's brother, who flew Navy A-4 reconnaissance planes in 
Vietnam--one of the most decorated pilots in the Navy during that era. 
People like him

[[Page S5946]]

were great. My father-in-law flew reconnaissance in World War II in the 
Pacific. He did everything he could to help the country during 
difficult times. There were so many people who did that for our 
country, and we owe all of them a debt of gratitude and a debt of 
thanks.
  We need to remember that we are all Americans. To those who saved us 
as a country, kept our freedom when we were about to lose it, fought 
for us, risked their lives, and died for us, we owe it to them, at 
times like this, to elevate them to the appropriate place in history. 
That is what I am trying to do with John McCain today.
  I want to elevate John. John was better than I am, and I know it. 
John was the best of my generation. John McCain was and is a great 
human being.
  I don't know what is going to be said in the next few days about John 
McCain by whomever is going to say it or what is going to be done, but 
anybody who in any way tarnishes the reputation of John McCain deserves 
a whipping because most of those who would do the wrong thing about 
John McCain didn't have the guts to do the right thing when it was 
their turn. We need to remember that.
  So I would say to the President or anybody in the world, it is time 
to pause and say that this was a great man who gave everything for us. 
We owe him nothing less than the respect that he earned, and that is 
what I intend to give John in return for what he gave me.
  John took me to Kosovo 20 years ago when President Clinton said that 
we were going to send some people over there to verify the crime sites, 
the ethnic cleansing. I went to Pristina with John. I went to 
Montenegro. I went to the World Security Conference in Munich a few 
years after that and got to sit with Vladimir Putin. I saw John McCain 
talk to Vladimir Putin as if they were next-door neighbors but also as 
if they were Dutch uncles. I was so proud to be from a country that had 
a guy like John McCain, who could break the ice with the toughest of 
our adversaries, speak up with pride for America, and calm them down 
when they needed to be calmed down.
  Yet John and I had some problems too. Mitch McConnell did me the 
worst favor of my lifetime when he made me the chairman of the Ethics 
Committee. That is a hard job, and nobody likes the person who chairs 
that committee because they are scared of them. But I got the Ethics 
Committee job at a time when John McCain was still on the special 
committee for the Ethics Committee to decide what to do on using 
airplanes during campaign events as candidates or for our PACs. John 
had access to a plane, which gave him an exemption from the rules that 
we passed. It made it tough as heck because he didn't have to worry 
about the cause and effects. But John took a second to understand the 
problems that a normal legislator, who might not have had access to a 
private plane, might have had. In the end, he took his circumstances 
and his ability to have a private plane and applied them to the changes 
that were made to be sure that everybody was being treated fairly. John 
didn't just expect things to be good for John; he expected things to be 
good for everybody. He always did that, and I always learned a lot from 
him.
  The other thing I learned was how to cuss. Let me tell you, John 
McCain could do a lot of things, but cussing was one of the best things 
he ever did. He was a consummate cusser, and he knew how to do it to 
have emphasis added. That is what the papers always say when they put 
the pound marks and things like that after some statements Jim Inhofe 
makes or I make.
  John and I were working on legislation. I am chairman of the 
Veterans' Affairs Committee. He was chairman of the Armed Services 
Committee. We had a huge veterans bill that we had to come together and 
have a meeting of the minds on in terms of healthcare. John was late 
for the meeting. He came into the meeting. He pulled the door behind 
him and slammed it. For 10 minutes he laid the best cussing on me and 
everybody else in the room that I had ever heard.
  He said: I haven't got time to put up with this anymore. Y'all just 
listen to what I have to say and tell me what you are going to do.
  That is a tough way to convene business, but John sometimes knew how 
to get us all to think, to get us all to talk. He would intimidate you 
enough so you would have to fight him for what you believe in, and you 
would get a better piece of legislation than if he just let it pass or 
if he had intimidated you to death. John knew exactly what he had the 
capability of doing, and he knew exactly when to apply the 
intimidation--and the thanks and the grace. He did it at the right time 
every single time. Did we agree all the time? No, but I know I am a 
better person, our country is a better country, and the world is a 
better place because of John McCain.
  In the next 3 or 4 days, as we go through and run into kids we know 
or relatives or my own children, whom I will be with this coming Sunday 
in the mountains, we are going to have a little meeting about John 
McCain just to make sure they know what I know and so I know that they 
know about a great American hero because I want them, when they have 
kids in their 40s--my kids are in their 40s today--to remember on 
Veterans Day, on Memorial Day, and on all other days, the John McCains 
of the world and those who will come after John, who will put their 
life and future and fortune on the line for the greatest country in the 
world, the United States of America.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
  Mr. INHOFE. Madam President, I can't think of anything more difficult 
than to speak after the last two speakers. Of course, I have known them 
for a long time. They are two totally different, opposite people.
  We have Susan Collins, who is a well-recognized moderate. She is one 
who understands and has great appreciation for the environment. She is 
not the kind of person you would associate with a tough guy like John 
McCain, who has gone out there and has done things that other people 
haven't done but just talked about.
  Then we heard the statement from the Senator from Georgia. You know, 
I was thinking about that. I am a few years older than he is. We have a 
lot of things in common. He was talking about his being drafted; I was 
drafted. I will always remember, I was actually enrolled many, many 
years ago--I was going to be at the University of Mexico in Mexico City 
in an international program. At that time, I was at the University of 
Colorado. I did all of my finals and all that early so that I could get 
back in time to go to Mexico.
  I got back to Tulsa, where I am from, and I got a letter from a very 
important person, the President of the United States. I thought, how 
nice of Eisenhower to remember me. It was my draft notice, so that 
changed my life. But it changed my life in a way that it was the 
greatest single experience I have ever had, and I wouldn't be doing 
what I am doing today if it were not for the discipline that comes from 
being in the military.
  We will always have heroes we deal with, and we are dealing with a 
hero when we deal with Senator McCain.
  I have often said that I think Timothy, who wrote 2 Timothy 4:7, had 
John McCain in mind when he said: ``I fought the good fight, I have 
finished the race, I have kept the faith.'' That is exactly what he 
did.
  He was kind of a mean guy. A lot of people didn't like John McCain. 
He wasn't the most lovable person to be around. But he was a fighter. 
He never shied away from a good fight. He was passionate for the causes 
that he believed in and a strong advocate for human rights and 
Democratic values, standing up for oppressed people around the world. 
That is the softer side of John McCain that a lot of people don't know 
about.
  He was a fighter but not just a fighter; he was a fighter for the 
people of Arizona. After he returned from the time he had spent in 
prison, he got back to Arizona, and he started fighting again. He did 
that for 36 years after his incarceration.
  He was shaped by his own military service and that of his father and 
grandfather. It has been said several times in statements about his 
father and grandfather--and I have done some studying on them--that is 
really what formed John McCain. Both of them were admirals in the Navy, 
and it was natural that he was going to be in the Navy, and, of course, 
he was.
  During his time of leadership on the Senate Armed Services Committee, 
he

[[Page S5947]]

continually focused on impact. There are those individuals--such as the 
occupier of the Chair right now--who have served on the Armed Services 
Committee with Senator McCain, and the Presiding Officer knows, as I 
know and as anybody else who has served with him knows, he was always 
for the underdog--always for the troops out in the field. I think the 
Senator from Maine articulated that very well. They were the people he 
had compassion for. He would always take care of the soldier, sailor, 
airman, and marine.
  He articulated this, by the way, in one of his books, ``Faith of My 
Fathers.'' He was talking about his father and grandfather. This quote 
says it better than any of the rest of us can say it.

       An officer's obligations to enlisted men are the most 
     solemn of all. An officer must not confer his 
     responsibilities on the men under his command. They are his 
     alone. He does not put his men in jeopardy for any purpose 
     that their country has not required they serve. He does not 
     risk their lives and welfare for his sake, but only to answer 
     the shared duty they are called to answer.

  That was Senator McCain. He looked after those individuals who were 
under his command.
  He was a ferocious opponent, but the key thing about Senator McCain 
was that he was willing to take on those tough debates, which have 
become more and more rare in this Chamber. We don't see them as we used 
to, but John would relish the debate, earning the respect and 
admiration of everyone.
  I can remember--there are so many areas because of all the years we 
served together, not just on the Senate Armed Services Committee but 
also his time in the House and my time in the House. We had differences 
of opinion. I think I am a little bit stubborn sometimes too.
  I remember there was a commissary issue, and that got pretty violent 
before it was over. We took each other on. There was the BRAC issue. He 
wanted another BRAC round in this Defense authorization bill, and I 
didn't want one because I thought that if there was anything we 
shouldn't be doing, it would be closing down missions that we may be 
needing as we are rebuilding. So we had an honest difference of 
opinion.
  I remember, in 2003, back when everyone was jumping on this whole 
global warming thing, that was going to be everyone's ticket to the 
White House. I remember when John had the McCain-Lieberman bill. I 
remember that lasted for 3 days of debate--3 days of debate--and I had 
hardly any Senators come down on my side of the issue, but we won 
anyway. After that was over--and that was one John had his heart in--he 
came over to me and said: Good job. You won; I lost. That was it. There 
were no hard feelings. That is the kind of person John McCain was, one 
whom we will never forget.
  A lot of people look at Arizona and think it has always been a 
Republican State. It wasn't. In 1994, I ran for the U.S. Senate. It was 
kind of interesting because it was a Democratic State. It was kind of 
interesting because this guy who was kind of the darling of the 
Democratic Party was my opponent. Nobody would come out and help me. 
Only three Senators came out and helped me during that race. They were 
Senator Grassley, Senator Bob Dole, and John McCain.

  John McCain came out. I will always remember this because we had a 
lot of things in common, but I hardly knew the guy. He came out not 
just once; he came out twice. The first time he came out because he had 
a background in aviation and I have a background in aviation. I 
remember I had a nice, air-conditioned, twin-engine plane, but I had 
lost an engine the night before so I had to fly my kid's plane. It was 
very hot. It is called a little Grumman Tiger. It doesn't have any air-
conditioning. It was in the 90s and got close to 100 that day.
  I wrote down the different places we went to--Oklahoma City; then we 
flew to Shawnee, where he and I visited the Vietnam Memorial. Then we 
flew to Lawton. Lawton happens to be the home of Fort Sill, the No. 1 
area in the whole world for artillery, and we did our thing there. All 
the time, he was campaigning for me, a guy who couldn't win.
  We went to Altus Air Force Base. That is still actually one of the 
top training bases. We now train C-17s and KC-135s. In fact, because of 
John and some of us on the committee, we will be flying the KC-46. Of 
course, this happened long before that. Anyway, we ended up in 
Bartlesville, hosting a fundraiser for me with the NRA.
  I guess he wanted to spend more time in that plane because he came 
back 2 weeks later, and we did the same thing. There was no reason for 
him to do that because we hardly knew each other when we started. We 
got to know each other a lot better up there in all that heat. 
Nevertheless, he was there. You always remember the people who help you 
when nobody else will.
  I can say a lot of things about John McCain. You heard him on the 
floor. You will hear more--the hero, the patriot--but what is never in 
dispute is that John McCain was a fighter who was always deeply loyal 
to his country, his family, his constituents. He was a patriot and 
always faithful. We all know that patriotism and loyalty to your 
country isn't based on your words. You have to live it. Of course, he 
did that every day.
  As a young naval officer following in his family's footsteps--his 
father and his grandfather--John kept the faith. He graduated from the 
U.S. Naval Academy. It is interesting, he never talked about being an 
outstanding student and all that. In fact, he used to say: I was fifth 
in the class--fifth from the bottom. But he became a naval aviator.
  He was deployed during the Vietnam war. He flew 23 missions and was 
shot down in enemy territory. We all know the story. We know that he 
kept his faith. It bears repeating that he was held by the North 
Vietnamese for 5 years. I actually remember going there and seeing the 
conditions under which he was held during that period of time. Because 
both his father and grandfather were admirals, he had the opportunity, 
if he wanted, to bail out. He didn't do that. He wanted to be there. He 
didn't want to have any special kind of treatment. That was John.
  After the Navy, John kept his faith by continuing to serve his 
country--this time as a congressman, then a Senator, and, ultimately, 
as chairman of the Armed Services Committee. He also kept the faith on 
the causes he believed were just, never wavering under political 
pressure.
  We all grieve because John has finished his race here on Earth--and 
on his own terms, surrounded by his friends and his loving family. John 
served his country faithfully for 60 years. We owe him a great debt for 
that service.
  This week, we will mourn him and honor him, and we will be 
celebrating the truly remarkable life of an American hero. We all have 
our John McCain story: a time when we were moved by his stubbornness, 
his courage, his passion--sometimes all three at the same time. I look 
forward to hearing these stories and tributes from my good friends.
  We all grieve for Cindy and his family. They will continue to be in 
our prayers.
  Lastly, I do believe, now that I have thought about it, that is what 
Timothy had in mind when he wrote: ``I have fought the good fight, I 
have finished the race, and I have kept the faith.''
  So we say thank you, John McCain.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Moran). The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. FLAKE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.