Records Reveal Career of McCain's Father; Buckwheat's Father Just Vanished
- From: Patriot Games <Patriot@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 31 May 2008 07:03:09 -0400
http://www.newsmax.com/politics/mccains_father/2008/05/30/100128.html
Records Shed Light on Career of McCain's Father
Friday, May 30, 2008
WASHINGTON -- As John S. McCain Jr. started down the road toward
four-star admiral, he hit a bump.
McCain, the father of presidential candidate John McCain, was smitten
by a pretty blond coed, Roberta Wright. The 22-year-old ensign left
his ship, without permission, to elope.
"Showed lack of judgment," his commanding officer concluded. "He might
have readily obtained such permission to get married." McCain was
suspended for five days.
This youthful indiscretion went into McCain's official military
personnel file, a 4-inch-thick stack of documents released to The
Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act.
McCain apologized for his infraction, writing, "I contacted a messmate
and asked him to inform my division officer as to my intentions and
that I would be absent from quarters the next morning."
"This method was irregular but the urgency of the situation and the
absolute secrecy necessary made this seem the only solution at the
time," he wrote. "I thoroughly realize that the manner in which I
handled the situation was wrong and I would like to say that it will
never occur again."
The papers show that McCain's path quickly straightened out, and he
went on to earn the same four-star rank as his illustrious father,
Adm. John S. "Slew" McCain Sr.
But first, McCain had to get through the stress of submarine training
and the early years of his marriage. A fitness report in 1934 said he
was high-strung and underweight _ so underweight, he was being treated
for weight loss at Pearl Harbor Naval Hospital. "It is thought that
with added experience in submarines more self-confidence will result
eliminating the noticeable nervousness that is evident," his
commanding officer wrote.
In fact, McCain blamed his new wife's cooking, or lack of it, for the
weight loss. "My wife doesn't know how to cook, and my meals are very
irregular," McCain wrote in response to his fitness report. (This
response does not appear in the documents released by the Navy, but
Slew McCain obtained a copy and, much amused, kept it to show friends,
according to the 1999 book "Faith of My Fathers," written by John S.
McCain III, the presidential candidate.)
McCain, like his father and later his son, had been in his share of
trouble at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., graduating 18th from
the bottom of his class. Then in Submarine School, he stood No. 28 in
a class of 29.
But while McCain was not afraid to break rules, he seemed very anxious
to succeed, a desire that impressed his superiors. "This officer is
extremely tactful and loyal," Lt. Herman Sall wrote in a September
1934 fitness report. "His military duties are done in a highly
satisfactory manner. He is in all aspects qualified for promotion. He
exhibits a varying degree of nervousness which should be lost with
increase of age and experience."
This is the last reference to any sign of nervousness in the newly
released documents; subsequent fitness reports were ever more glowing,
noting his interest in new submarine tactics as the United States
entered World War II.
"His zeal in the investigation and development of new submarine
tactics and weapons has been outstanding," Lt. Cmdr. R.M. Peacher
wrote in 1944 after McCain had won the Silver Star as commander of the
USS Gunnel.
Aside from military skill, McCain was known for his personality and
sociability, important traits in the insular world of the Navy.
"There is only one Jack McCain!" Adm. H.P. Smith wrote in 1965. "Vice
Admiral McCain, by his enthusiasm, honesty and delightful personality
makes many friends, not only officially but socially. He is energetic
and enthusiastic in all his undertakings. The 'little man with the big
cigar' is known to everyone."
While the documents help to sketch a picture of the man, they are
notable for what is omitted.
Missing from the documents is any reference to McCain's drinking. His
son, the presidential candidate, has written that his father drank too
much. "He didn't drink at work, and was never completely incapacitated
by his weakness," McCain wrote in "Faith of My Fathers." "But he would
often ease his way into social settings by drinking too much. And, as
with most people, drinking changed his personality in unattractive
ways. When he was drunk, I did not recognize him."
Also missing is any reference to his Navy fighter pilot son, not even
when he was shot down over Hanoi and taken prisoner in October 1967. A
fitness report that year, before his son's capture, notes McCain's
"boundless energy," his promotion to the rank of admiral and his
appointment to commander in chief of U.S. naval forces in Europe.
That the papers are silent about his son seems in keeping with a
stoicism his son has described. In "Faith of My Fathers," McCain wrote
that his parents were in London, dressing for a dinner party, when
they got word their son had been shot down; the Navy didn't think he
had survived.
"My father informed my mother of what had happened," he wrote in the
book. "They kept their dinner engagement, never mentioning to any of
the other guests the distressing news they had just learned."
.
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