John S. McCain Sr. | |
|---|---|
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| Nickname(s) | Slew |
| Born | 9 August 1884 Carroll County, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Died | 6 September 1945 (aged 61) Coronado, California, U.S. |
| Place of burial | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Service |  United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1906–1945 |
| Rank |  Admiral |
| Commands | |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | |
| Spouse(s) | Katherine Davey Vaulx |
| Children | 3 |
| Relations |
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John Sidney "Slew" McCain Sr. (9 August 1884 – 6 September 1945) was a United States Navy admiral and the patriarch of the McCain military family. McCain held several commands during the Pacific War of World War II and was a pioneer of aircraft carrier operations. He and his son, John S. McCain Jr., were the first father-and-son pair to achieve four-star admiral rank in the U.S. Navy.
A graduate of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, class of 1906, McCain's early career was on battleships and cruisers. During World War I, he served on convoy duty in the Atlantic. From 1918 to 1935, he alternated between duty ashore with the Bureau of Navigation, where he developed officer personnel policies, and at sea, where he commanded the cargo ship USS Sirius and ammunition ship USS Nitro. He attended the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1928 and 1929. In 1935, he qualified as a naval aviator, and commanded the aircraft carrier USS Ranger from 1937 to 1939.
During World War II, McCain commanded land-based air operations in support of the Guadalcanal campaign. He served as Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Air. In 1944–1945, he led Task Force 38 in operations off the Philippines and Okinawa and air strikes against Formosa and the Japanese home islands that caused the destruction of Japanese naval and air forces in the closing period of the war. McCain died four days after attending the formal Japanese surrender ceremony on 2 September 1945.