Cindy McCain, the wife of the late Sen. John S. McCain III, was given a cherished memento on Monday — the commissioning pennant from the guided-missile destroyer that honors the legacies of her husband, his father and grandfather.
She accepted the banner during a visit to Fleet Activities Yokosuka in Japan for a change of command ceremony on board the John S. McCain. The Arizona Republic reported that she plans to display it in her Phoenix home.
“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,” Cindy McCain said, according to the newspaper.
The ceremony coincided with the 25th anniversary of the destroyer’s commissioning.
Commissioned on July 2, 1994 in Bath, Maine, the warship’s name originally honored the admirals John S. McCain Sr. and Jr. In a July 12, 2018, rededication ceremony, Navy leaders added the late Sen. John S. McCain III as a namesake.
A Republican, Sen. McCain died on Aug. 25, 2018, after a bout with brain cancer. A strike pilot during the Vietnam War, he was held as a prisoner of war for five years. Although tortured, he refused early release.
A portrait of Sen. McCain also was unveiled Monday. It will be placed next to portraits of his father and grandfather on board the warship.
“I mentioned today, I believe John is the same kind of hero with the great stature and esteem that both his father and grandfather were. And he’s not only well-suited to be part of this ship, but I think well deserving of it," Cindy McCain said, according to the newspaper.
McCain’s sons Jimmy and Jack attended the event, along with daughter-in-law Renee Swift McCain.
Jack McCain graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2009 and in April returned from a deployment to Afghanistan.
“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,” Cindy McCain said,
According to Stars and Stripes, she had not visited the destroyer since the 2018 rededication ceremony.
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President Donald Trump had a rocky relationship with John McCain, and the White House’s military liaison office reportedly requested that the Navy hide the destroyer when Trump visited Yokosuka in May.
However, Navy officials did not move the destroyer.
Cindy McCain avoided that controversy and instead focused on repairs made to the destroyer following its Aug. 21, 2017, collision with a commercial tanker near the bustling Strait of Malacca, a disaster that killed 10 American sailors.
“It’s all about the future and the McCain getting back into action and being part of an incredible force,” she said.
During the ceremony, Cmdr. Ryan T. Easterday assumed command of the warship from Cmdr. Micah D. Murphy.
