Who Was John McCain? - Softcover

Burgan, Michael; Who HQ, Who HQ

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0593383680 ISBN 13: 9780593383681

Verlag: Penguin Young Readers Group, 2023

Inhaltsangabe

How did the son of a naval officer go on to become a United States Navy captain, an Arizona senator, and a candidate for president? Find out in this addition to the #1 New York Times best-selling Who Was? series!

In 2008, John McCain ran for president against Barack Obama, becoming a well-known national figure. But his presidential campaign was only one of the many inspirational things John accomplished in his lifetime! John was a decorated member of the US Navy who survived being a prisoner of war in Vietnam. He served as an Arizona senator for thirty years, right up until his passing in 2018. Learn all about John McCain and his life as politician who always tried to work across the aisle and to treat people fairly in this book about the maverick patriot. 

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Michael Burgan has written more than two dozen nonfiction books for young readers, including What Is the Coronavirus Disease COVID-19?, Who Was Henry Ford?, What Is the Story of Dracula?, Who Was Theodore Roosevelt, and Who Was Confucius?

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Who Was John McCain?
 
 
Heavy smoke filled the sky as Lieutenant Commander John McCain flew his A-­4 bomber plane over Hanoi, the capital of North Vietnam. The smoke came from large guns on the ground. They were firing at John’s A-­4 and other US planes soaring over the city at more than five hundred miles per hour.
 
The United States had been at war with North Vietnam for several years. Now, in October 1967, the Americans were carrying out massive bombing raids on the city of Hanoi. John’s job on this day was to drop his bombs on a power plant. It was his twenty-­third mission over North Vietnam. He and the other US pilots knew they faced death every time they flew. Despite the risk, they were proud to serve their country.
 
As John neared the target, the smoke grew thicker. An alarm went off inside his plane. The signal meant that enemy radar was following him. Then another signal went off. John knew that a missile was heading right for him! He was scared, but he was also determined to drop his bombs. A split second after he released them, the missile slammed into his plane. The A-­4 spun toward the ground. John pulled a handle to eject his seat out of the plane. A parachute would carry him and the seat to the ground. But as he ejected, his body hit part of the A-­4 plane. The impact broke both his arms and his right knee. He was also knocked out by the force of the ejection.
 
Luckily, he landed in water and was quickly alert again. But with his broken limbs, he struggled to inflate his life jacket. Then he blacked out again. When he came to a second time, North Vietnamese soldiers were pulling him out of the water. Others soon arrived and took John away. He was now a prisoner of war.
 
John McCain spent more than five years as a prisoner. At times, he was tortured. For the rest of his life, he felt the effects of that abuse and the injuries he received after being shot down. But his experience in North Vietnam convinced him that he wanted to continue to serve his country. He decided he could do that by entering politics.
 
     After the war, he represented the state of Arizona in Congress. And in 2008, he ran for president of the United States. John lost the presidential race to Barack Obama, but he continued to serve in Congress. He was known for his “straight talk”—­saying things some people did not like but that he believed to be true. To many Americans, he was a good example of how brave people with strong beliefs can work to make the country better.
 

Chapter 1: A Military Family
 
 
The McCain family’s history of military  service began long before John Sidney McCain    III went to Vietnam. He was born on August 29, 1936. His father, John S. McCain Jr., was then serving in the navy and was based in the Central American country of Panama. At the time, the United States controlled the canal that cuts across the country of Panama. American troops protected what was called the Panama Canal Zone.
 
John III joined his sister, Sandy. A brother, Joe, was born after him. The McCain children and their mother, Roberta, rarely stayed in one place for long. Lieutenant Commander McCain was often sent to different navy bases.
 
During World War II, he commanded submarines. After the war, he eventually earned the rank of admiral. His father—­John’s grandfather—­had also earned that top rank in the navy. In fact, members of the McCain family had fought in every US war going back to the American Revolution.
 
Because the McCains moved so often, young John found it hard to make lasting friends. It didn’t help that he also tended to get angry easily. At two years old, if John didn’t get his way, he would hold his breath until he passed out! When he began attending school, he often got in trouble for fighting. John was small for his age, and he sometimes felt he had to prove how tough he was by starting these fights.
 
With his father often away for military duty, John grew close to his mother. From her, he learned to find pleasure whenever he could. Like her, he was outgoing and enjoyed meeting people. And while spending one summer at his grandmother’s house, John discovered that he loved to read. Many of the books were adventure tales, and from them John learned that to be a good person, he should treat people fairly.
 
At fifteen, John entered Episcopal High School, a private school for boys in Alexandria, Virginia. His parents wanted him to get a good high-­school education that would prepare John to enter the US Naval Academy. From an early age, John knew he would attend the academy and then become a navy officer, just as his father and grandfather had.
 
John continued to get into trouble at Episcopal. The school had strict rules. Students had to wear a jacket and tie to class, and they were expected to keep their rooms clean. John broke the rules almost every chance he got. His room was often messy, and he wore jeans with an old jacket. At times, he broke another rule by leaving his room at night to go to nearby Washington, DC. First-­year students at Episcopal were called “rats” by the older students. John earned the nickname “worst rat.”
 
Sports helped John win some friends at Episcopal. He was a good athlete and played three sports: tennis, wrestling, and football. He also became close with one of his coaches and teachers, William Ravenel. In Mr. Ravenel’s class, John deepened his love of reading. The teacher also taught John the importance of following the school’s code of honor. The code stressed that students should not lie, cheat, or steal. Following the code helped shape a person’s character, or how well or badly they acted. Later in life, John wrote, “It is your character, and your character alone, that will make your life happy or unhappy.”
 
In 1954, John graduated from Episcopal and entered the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. The rules there were even stricter than they had been at Episcopal, and once again, John got into trouble. He often had to march for miles as punishment for being late to class, not keeping his room clean, or breaking other rules.
 
John also sometimes struggled with his studies. His favorite subjects were English and history. The academy, though, required many science and math classes—­subjects John found difficult. He often asked other students to help him prepare the night before a test. He later said, “I got by, just barely at times, but I got by.” In 1958, he left the academy as an ensign—­the lowest rank for an officer in the navy.
 
For the next several years, John learned how to fly planes. Most navy planes fly from large ships called aircraft carriers. John had to learn the difficult task of taking off and landing while the ship moved through rolling waves. Despite the challenges, he loved being a carrier pilot. During the early 1960s, he served on ships that cruised the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas. John also spent time working on naval bases. In Mississippi, he trained other pilots at a base called McCain Airfield, which had been named in honor of his grandfather.
 
While in Mississippi, John sometimes traveled to Philadelphia to visit Carol Shepp. They had met in the 1950s when John was at the Naval Academy. In 1965, the couple married. John adopted Carol’s two sons from an earlier marriage, Douglas and Andrew. He and Carol then had a daughter, Sidney.
 
John loved his family and the good times he had with friends at the navy bases. But...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Penguin Young Readers Group
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2023
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0593383680
• ISBN 13: 9780593383681
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Zeichner: Hinderliter John
• Anzahl der Seiten: 112
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: gpsr@libri.de; gpsr@libri.de; ; Friedensallee 273; Hamburg; 22763; Deutschland