serviceyears branch death_date allegiance birth_date commands death_place battles placeofburial spouse rank image name caption relations birth_place unit awards nickname article_title birth_name
1931 -- 1972 united states navy 23px 22 march 1981 united states united states of america 1960 23px 17 january 1911 gunnel amphibious forces , atlantic fleet eastern sea frontier atlantic reserve ss-253 fleet u.s. naval forces europe u.s. pacific command dentuda ss-335 submarine squadron 6 albany ca-123 in air over north atlantic world war ii korean war vietnam war arlington national cemetery roberta mccain 25px admiral john s. mccain , jr. color portrait.jpg jack mccain admiral john sidney mccain , jr. adm. sen. john s. mccain iii -lrb- son -rrb- john s. mccain , sr. -lrb- father -rrb- council bluffs , iowa , u.s. retirement in 1972 navy legion of merit -lrb- 3 -rrb- bronze star distinguished service medal -lrb- 2 -rrb- silver star jack john s. mccain jr. .
 john sidney mccain , jr. .
john s. mccain jr. .

john sidney `` jack '' mccain , jr. -lrb- january 17 , 1911 -- march 22 , 1981 -rrb- was a united states navy admiral , who served in conflicts from the 1940s through the 1970s , including as the commander , united states pacific command .
mccain grew up in washington , d.c. , and graduated from the u.s. naval academy in 1931 , after which he entered the submarine service .
in world war ii , he commanded submarines in several theaters of operation , was responsible for sinking several japanese ships , and was decorated with both the silver star and bronze star .
after the war , he held a variety of commands , specializing in amphibious warfare .
he led the 1965 u.s. invasion of the dominican republic .
he also served in several posts in washington , including the legislative affairs office and chief of naval information , where he became influential in political affairs .
he was a staunch anti-communist , and was such an advocate of the importance of a strong naval presence that he became known as `` mr. seapower '' .
during the vietnam war , mccain was commander-in-chief , pacific command -lrb- cincpac -rrb- , commander of all u.s. forces in the vietnam theater from 1968 to 1972 .
he was a stalwart supporter of president richard nixon 's policy of vietnamization .
mccain played a significant role in the militarization of u.s. policy towards cambodia , helping to convince nixon to launch the 1970 cambodian incursion and establishing a personal relationship with cambodian leader lon nol .
mccain was also a proponent of the 1971 incursion into laos .
mccain retired from the navy in 1972 .
his father , john s. mccain , sr. , was also an admiral in the navy and a naval aviator , and the two were the first father-son pair to achieve four-star rank .
his son , john s. mccain iii , is a former naval aviator who was a prisoner of war in north vietnam during mccain 's time as cincpac , who retired with the rank of captain and then became a united states senator and the 2008 republican party nominee for president of the united states .
