Family celebrates 25th anniversary of USS John S. McCain commissioning
Cindy McCain and the sons of the late Sen. John McCain celebrated the 25th year of commissioned service of “Big Bad John,” the U.S. Navy destroyer named after the McCain forefathers that is docked in her home port of Yokosuka, Japan.
Cindy, her sons Jimmy and Jack, and daughter-in-law Renee Swift McCain, spent time aboard the USS John S. McCain on Monday and met with sailors from Arizona during the celebration, which included a change of command ceremony.
They were joined by the ship’s former commanding officers, who spoke of the ship’s crews, triumphs and challenges. Its current, Cmdr. Micah Murphy, relinquished command to Cmdr. Ryan Easterday.
Cindy accepted the commissioning pennant on behalf of her husband. She will hang it in her home in north-central Phoenix.
In an interview with The Arizona Republic late Monday, Cindy said the ship serves as a symbol of the family’s legacy of service to country.
“It’s legacy and it’s a legacy not just of my husband but of his entire family, and it doubled with having my son Jack with us today because he’s part of this legacy now,” she said. “It’s about continuity and it’s about continuing on in the tradition of service and leadership and honor and dignity that these McCain heroes have been.
“... It was very humbling again to be back on board and to be with so many people who really care a great deal about the ship and the history.”
The moment served as a sharp contrast to the political controversy that embroiled the ship, the Pentagon and President Donald Trump’s administration in May, when the White House’s military liaison office issued a directive that the ship be hidden from Trump during his recent visit to Japan.
The order was not fulfilled but its revelation — rooted in their intense dislike for each other — set off international outrage, particularly among veterans and those who respected McCain’s service to the country.
Cindy declined to weigh in on the controversy, saying, “It’s all about the future and the McCain getting back into action and being part of an incredible force . ... This is about the future of having a safe and free world.”
McCain was held a prisoner of war for more than five years after his plane was shot down over North Vietnam. He declined early release.
The May controversy prompted activists and McCain supporters to mock Trump during his state visit to London last month. They projected a large hologram of a USS John S. McCain baseball cap on the side of the famous Madame Tussaud’s wax museum.
And it helped inspire two military veterans groups to print and T-shirts they plan to pass out at the Fourth of July celebration on the National Mall this week. Trump is planning to speak at the event. The shirts feature the ship and its nickname, “Big Bad John.”
The destroyer had long bore the names of McCain’s father, Adm. John S. McCain Jr., who served as a former commander, U.S. Pacific Command, and his grandfather, Adm. John S. “Slew” McCain, who served as a distinguished carrier task force commander of World War II.
When the senator’s name was added about a month before his Aug. 25, 2018 death, and as he battled cancer, he was deeply touched. He hoped the sailors who serve aboard her, “will find the same fulfillment as my family in serving a cause greater than oneself,” he said.
The naval ship launched in 1992 and was sponsored by Cindy as part of a tradition to bestow good luck on the vessel.
The ship was commissioned on July 2, 1994. Over the years, the destroyer deployed to the Persian Gulf to assist in the invasion of Iraq and helped pursue a North Korean cargo ship to aid enforcement of a United Nations arms export embargo against North Korea. In 2017, the ship’s collision with a merchant ship near Singapore; 10 Navy sailors died.
With its motto, “Fortune Favors the Brave,” the ship is set to begin sea trials in the fall, Cindy said.