‘I miss you so much, Dad’: Meghan McCain posts Veterans Day tribute to her late father John McCain

The late Senator John McCain was remembered on Veterans Day by his daughter Meghan more than two months after his passing.

Meghan McCain, who is co-host of The View on ABC, wrote on her Instagram account: ‘Today on #VeteransDay we remember and honor those who have selflessly served and sacrificed.

‘Those who have and continue to fight to protect our freedoms in this incredible country of ours.

‘I am forever grateful.

‘I miss you so much Dad, thank you for showing me what fighting for something greater than yourself means.’

The late Senator John McCain was remembered on Veterans Day by his daughter Meghan more than two months after his passing

Meghan McCain, who is co-host of The View on ABC, wrote on her Instagram account: ‘Today on #VeteransDay we remember and honor those who have selflessly served and sacrificed'

Meghan McCain, who is co-host of The View on ABC, wrote on her Instagram account: ‘Today on #VeteransDay we remember and honor those who have selflessly served and sacrificed’

Meghan McCain is photographed alongside her father during his chemotherapy treatments after he was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an agressive, malignant form of brain cancer. The above photo was posted to Instagram on April 16

Meghan McCain is photographed alongside her father during his chemotherapy treatments after he was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an agressive, malignant form of brain cancer. The above photo was posted to Instagram on April 16

She ended the post with the hashtag #homeofthefreebecauseofthebrave.

The caption was attached to a photo of John McCain during his stint as a pilot in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War.

John McCain died of brain cancer on August 25. He was honored with a state memorial service before he was buried in Annapolis, Maryland. 

On Oct. 26, 1967, a missile the size of a telephone pole blew the wing off of McCain’s Skyhawk dive bomber.

McCain, then a 31-year-old lieutenant commander in the Navy, parachuted out of the plane and landed in a lake in Hanoi, North Vietnam.

He broke both arms and a leg in the fall, was dragged from the lake by an angry crowd, and was beaten and bayoneted.

Thus began a harrowing, five-year ordeal that was to define the future senator and presidential candidate’s life.

When McCain was shot down, his father was poised to assume command over the entire Pacific theater.

John McCain died of brain cancer on August 25. He was honored with a state memorial service before he was buried in Annapolis, Maryland. Meghan McCain is seen above touching her father's casket during a memorial service at the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix on August 29

John McCain died of brain cancer on August 25. He was honored with a state memorial service before he was buried in Annapolis, Maryland. Meghan McCain is seen above touching her father’s casket during a memorial service at the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix on August 29

Once McCain gave his captors his name, rank and serial number they realized they had a potential propaganda coup on their hands.

McCain was taken to the hospital for some basic treatment – his left arm was left broken, to heal on its own.

His captors filmed him there for propaganda purposes and McCain later found out the North Vietnamese had crowed: ‘We have the crown prince.’

McCain’s captors asked him if he wanted to go home. It was a trick question.

The U.S. military’s code of conduct required prisoners to be released in the order they were detained.

The North Vietnamese wanted to make a show of releasing McCain early, as his father assumed command over the Pacific. McCain refused.

On Oct. 26, 1967, a missile the size of a telephone pole blew the wing off of McCain's Skyhawk dive bomber. McCain, then a 31-year-old lieutenant commander in the Navy, parachuted out of the plane and landed in a lake in Hanoi, North Vietnam. He was held captive for five years

On Oct. 26, 1967, a missile the size of a telephone pole blew the wing off of McCain’s Skyhawk dive bomber. McCain, then a 31-year-old lieutenant commander in the Navy, parachuted out of the plane and landed in a lake in Hanoi, North Vietnam. He was held captive for five years

For four days after he refused release, McCain was beaten every two hours to three hours by 10 guards.

Filled with thoughts of suicide, McCain broke and agreed to sign an anti-U.S. propaganda statement confessing to ‘black crimes.’

He later wrote: ‘I had learned what we all learned over there: Every man has his breaking point. I had reached mine.’

It was the last time McCain would break.

He refused to sign any other statements or meet with visiting American anti-war activists.

In December of 1972, McCain and his fellow prisoners cheered as American bombs fell around the prison complex where he was held – the ‘Hanoi Hilton’ – during the Christmas bombing that marked an escalation of the U.S. offensive.

They might die in the attack, but the prisoners figured it was the best chance of subduing the Vietnamese and getting home.

On March 14, 1973, it was finally McCain’s turn to be released.

He was bused to a nearby airport and escorted onto an American plane.

‘There is no way I can describe how I felt as I walked toward that U.S. Air Force plane,’ McCain wrote.

For the rest of his life, McCain would be unable to lift both his arms over his head because of the injuries he suffered during his captivity in Vietnam.

But he gained something, too.

‘In prison, I fell in love with my country,’ he wrote. 

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