Whereas Senator John S. McCain III was born at Coco Solo Naval Air Station in the Panama Canal Zone on August 29, 1936, to Admiral John and Roberta McCain; Whereas Senator McCain began his service to our Nation after graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1958, followed by postings to Naval Air Station Pensacola and Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, where he graduated from flight school in 1960; Whereas Senator McCain served as a naval aviator for 22 years, including during the Vietnam War, where upon his arrival, he volunteered for combat duty; Whereas, on July 29, 1967, Senator McCain was on board the U.S.S. Forrestal when a fire erupted, taking the lives of 134 sailors and injuring 161 crew members, including Senator McCain, who, during his recovery, again volunteered for combat duty; Whereas, on October 26, 1967, during a combat mission, Senator McCain’s aircraft took fire from North Vietnamese forces near the city of Hanoi, and Senator McCain was forced to eject from his aircraft and land in a nearby lake, resulting in Senator McCain breaking both his arms and his leg; Whereas Senator McCain was taken prisoner by North Vietnamese forces and denied medical treatment and subjected to torture; Whereas during his time as a prisoner of war, Senator McCain was held at the Hoa Lo Prison, also known as the Hanoi Hilton , where he was placed into solitary confinement for 2 years; Whereas Senator McCain’s love for the United States only grew during his imprisonment, and he spoke often of those events: In prison, I fell in love with my country. I had loved her before then, but like most young people, my affection was little more than a simple appreciation for the comforts and privileges most Americans enjoyed and took for granted. It wasn't until I had lost America for a time that I realized how much I loved her.