 John Sidney McCain III was born on August 29 , 1936 , at a United States Navy hospital at Coco Solo Naval Air Station in the Panama Canal Zone , which at that time was considered to be among the unincorporated territories of the United States . His parents were Navy officer John S. " Jack " McCain , Jr . ( 1911 – 1981 ) and Roberta ( Wright ) McCain ( born 1912 ) . McCain is of Scots @-@ Irish and English ancestry . 
