John McCain was born at a naval air station in the Panama Canal zone on August 29, 1936 to naval officer John S. McCain Jr. and Roberta Wright. John attended the United States Naval Academy and then spent 22 years as a naval aviator. In 1967 he escaped death when his plane was accidentally struck by a missile during preparations for takeoff from the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal. In that accident 134 men were killed. Later that year his plane was shot down over Vietnam, where he was captured by the enemy and then held in brutal captivity for five years in the infamous Hanoi Hilton prisoner of war camp. After returning to the United States John continued his naval career training others and then as naval liaison to the US Senate. He retired from the Navy in 1981 with the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart, and the Distinguished Flying Cross. John was elected to the US House of Representatives in 1982 and served two terms. In 1986 he was elected to the US Senate from Arizona - a position he holds to this day. John McCain has seven children and four grandchildren and has been married twice. He and Cindy Hensley were married in 1980.