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Informationen zum Autor Michael Burgan has written more than two dozen nonfiction books for young readers, including What Is the Coronavirus Disease COVID-19? , Who Was Henry Ford? , What Is the Story of Dracula?, Who Was Theodore Roosevelt, and Who Was Confucius? Klappentext "In 2008, John McCain ran for president against Barack Obama, becoming a well-known national figure. But his presidential campaign was only one of the many inspirational things John accomplished in his lifetime! John was a decorated member of the US Navy who survived being a prisoner of war in Vietnam. He served as an Arizona senator for thirty years, right up until his passing in 2018. Learn all about John McCain and his life as politician who always tried to work across the aisle and to treat people fairly in this book about the maverick patriot"-- Leseprobe Who Was John McCain? Heavy smoke filled the sky as Lieutenant Commander John McCain flew his A-4 bomber plane over Hanoi, the capital of North Vietnam. The smoke came from large guns on the ground. They were firing at John’s A-4 and other US planes soaring over the city at more than five hundred miles per hour. The United States had been at war with North Vietnam for several years. Now, in October 1967, the Americans were carrying out massive bombing raids on the city of Hanoi. John’s job on this day was to drop his bombs on a power plant. It was his twenty-third mission over North Vietnam. He and the other US pilots knew they faced death every time they flew. Despite the risk, they were proud to serve their country. As John neared the target, the smoke grew thicker. An alarm went off inside his plane. The signal meant that enemy radar was following him. Then another signal went off. John knew that a missile was heading right for him! He was scared, but he was also determined to drop his bombs. A split second after he released them, the missile slammed into his plane. The A-4 spun toward the ground. John pulled a handle to eject his seat out of the plane. A parachute would carry him and the seat to the ground. But as he ejected, his body hit part of the A-4 plane. The impact broke both his arms and his right knee. He was also knocked out by the force of the ejection. Luckily, he landed in water and was quickly alert again. But with his broken limbs, he struggled to inflate his life jacket. Then he blacked out again. When he came to a second time, North Vietnamese soldiers were pulling him out of the water. Others soon arrived and took John away. He was now a prisoner of war. John McCain spent more than five years as a prisoner. At times, he was tortured. For the rest of his life, he felt the effects of that abuse and the injuries he received after being shot down. But his experience in North Vietnam convinced him that he wanted to continue to serve his country. He decided he could do that by entering politics. After the war, he represented the state of Arizona in Congress. And in 2008, he ran for president of the United States. John lost the presidential race to Barack Obama, but he continued to serve in Congress. He was known for his “straight talk”—saying things some people did not like but that he believed to be true. To many Americans, he was a good example of how brave people with strong beliefs can work to make the country better. Chapter 1: A Military Family The McCain family’s history of military? service began long before John Sidney McCain????III went to Vietnam. He was born on August 29, 1936. His father, John S. McCain Jr., was then serving in the navy and was based in the Central American country of Panama. At the time, the United States controlled the canal that cuts across the country of Panama. American troops protected what was called the Panama Canal Zone. John III joined his sister, Sandy. A broth...
