John McCain was an American politician who served as a Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican Party’s presidential nominee in the 2008 presidential elections. Born into a military family, he followed his family tradition and joined the U.S Naval Academy, eventually becoming a naval aviator. He took part in the Vietnam War and was almost killed, on a bombing mission over Hanoi, when his plane was shot down and he was taken a prisoner. John McCain's near-death experience in the Vietnam War didn’t deter him from returning back to resume duty. After retiring from the navy, he joined politics. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives twice and to the U.S Senate four times. He has earned a reputation of a "maverick" politician for his open disagreement with his party on certain issues. He played a key role in restoring diplomatic relations with Vietnam in the 1990s. He was a US Senator from Arizona from 1987 to 2018. He also contested for presidential nomination in 2000 against Texas Governor George W. Bush, and ran for the US presidential elections in 2008 opposite Democratic candidate Barack Obama but lost.