Joe McCain

Early life and education

Joseph Pinckney McCain II was born to John S. McCain Jr. and Roberta McCain{{cite web|access-date=2008-11-02 |author-link= William Addams Reitwiesner

Vietnam era

Joe McCain was a member of the United States Navy and in 1965 to 1966 served as an enlisted man aboard the during the Vietnam War. During that conflict and his brother's long time as a prisoner of war, the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia, which included Joe, heightened awareness of the POWs' plight. In 1970, McCain sat in a bamboo cage in Los Angeles, eating simulated POW food to dramatize the plight of POWs. In the same year, he and two other brothers of POWs traveled around the U.S. circulating petitions to be presented to North Vietnamese representatives, and sought the signatures of opponents of the Vietnam War as well as those supporting it. He then helped bring 13 tons of mail to the North Vietnamese delegation at the Paris Peace Talks, demanding humane treatment for the POWs.

Career

Following Vietnam, McCain tried both journalism and medical school before moving to acting.{{cite news |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020005404/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-506541.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 20, 2012

McCain married around 1998, but divorced in 2008, having no children. His brother John died on August 25, 2018, at the age of 81, and his sister Sandy died on November 6, 2019, at the age of 85.

Political involvement

2000 presidential election

McCain was a volunteer manager for his brother's 2000 presidential campaign in his home state of Virginia,{{cite news

Possible congressional run

In 2001, Republican Party activists in Northern Virginia tried to recruit McCain to run for the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 8th congressional district against the incumbent Democrat Jim Moran.{{cite news

Political views

In 2005, McCain was vocal in his reaction to revelations of Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse during the Iraq War, saying "To be fighting from supposedly the higher ground, and yet to have allowed this kind of stuff that goes on in Abu Ghraib – it destroys the fact we're fighting for the better cause. It's just awful."

2008 presidential election

During his brother's 2008 presidential campaign, McCain acted as a low-key surrogate. He was aware of the past foibles of presidential siblings and offered self-deprecating lines such as, "I'm the discount John McCain. They call me McKmart." On October 15, 2008, The Baltimore Sun obtained an e-mail written by McCain with the subject title "Shoaling" that spoke about his unhappiness with unnamed top campaign officials who "control the message" of his brother's run for president.{{cite news McCain also received press coverage for remarks made in early October. In the context of describing his naval service postings in Arlington, Virginia and Alexandria, Virginia, McCain jokingly{{cite news | access-date = 2008-10-27}} | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100106115900/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/virginiapolitics/2008/10/joe_mccain_jokes_inner_suburbs.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = January 6, 2010 | access-date = 2008-10-27}} described northern Virginia as "communist country", for which he later apologized.

References

References

1. "John McCain Interactive Timeline". JohnMcCain.com.
2. Kammer, Jerry. (2008-08-02). "The Other McCain". [[The Arizona Republic]].
3. Timberg, Robert. (1996). "[[The Nightingale's Song]]". [[Simon & Schuster]].
4. McCain, John. (1999). "[[Faith of My Fathers]]". [[Random House]].
5. The Independent (Long Beach, CA) November 27, 1970.
6. "In behalf of POWs, will ask 'doves' to sign petition" (Associated Press, December 31, 1970) as printed in Florence (SC) Morning News, December 31, 1970, p. 1.
7. Gomez, Edward M.. (November 15, 2005). "World Views: U.S. losing friends over torture". San Francisco Chronicle.
8. Gaynair, Gillian. (October 24, 2008). "McCain's brother apologizes for calling 911 about heavy traffic".