That was his grandfather who died shortly after V-J day. His father was CinCPac during the Vietnam war. It’s confusing since they are all John Sydney McCain’s.
The family Admirals did their best for McCainus. They pushed him through Annapolis, through flight school, covered his ass in many a disciplinary scrape but they knew they would never make an Admiral out of him.
When he was shot down over NV, the maintenance officers on his carrier may well have been breathed a sigh of relief. Among other things, that boy was mighty tough on the equipment. Had the NV known more about him, they would have released him much earlier.