page_title: John S. McCain Sr.
section_title: Interwar period
hierarchical_section_title: John S. McCain Sr. / Interwar period
caption_attribution_description: English: Franklin Roosevelt's nomination of John S. McCain to serve as a Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy. Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration.
context_page_description: John Sidney "Slew" McCain was a U.S. Navy admiral and the patriarch of the McCain military family. He held several command assignments during the Pacific campaign of World War II. McCain was a pioneer of aircraft carrier operations. Serving in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II, in 1942 he commanded all land-based air operations in support of the Guadalcanal campaign, and in 1944–45 he aggressively 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 were 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, served as a Navy captain in the Vietnam War, and later served in Congress until his death in 2018. His great-grandsons, John S. McCain IV and James McCain, currently serve in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army, respectively.
context_section_description: In the 1920s and early 1930s, McCain served aboard USS Maryland, USS New Mexico, and USS Nitro. His first command was USS Sirius. In 1935, McCain enrolled in flight training. Graduating at 52 in 1936, he became one of the oldest men to become a naval aviator 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.
  Short in stature and of rather thin frame, McCain was gruff and very profane; he liked to drink and gamble.  He also showed courage and was regarded as a natural, inspirational leader. In the words of one biographical profile, McCain "preferred contentious conflict to cozy compromise."
caption: McCain's Rear Admiral nomination
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