PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland Rose Festival's Fleet Week is underway along the city's waterfront. The nearly week-long tradition draws many spectators and a number of ships to the Willamette River each year including U.S. Navy ships.
Among those that are visiting this week, one in particular is catching attention because of its name: the USS John S. McCain.
KGW looked into the history of the warship and found that it has made headlines multiple times in recent years.
The warship and its namesakes
The U.S. Navy commissioned the USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) in 1994. It is the first ship named in honor of not one, not two, but three members of the McCain family.
Admiral John S. McCain Sr. served as commander of the Solomon Islands Campaign during World War II in 1942. He held the role of commander again in 1944 and was awarded the Navy Cross, the second-highest military decoration for sailors and Marines in combat.
His son, John S. McCain Jr., commanded two submarines during World War II and received the Silver Star and Bronze Star medals for his service. He also served as Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Naval Forces Europe and in the Pacific.
Former Presidential candidate and Senator John S. McCain was the son and grandson of the two men. He was a naval aviator and was a prisoner of war in the Vietnam War. He was awarded with the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and the Distinguished Flying Cross. McCain went on to serve in the U.S. Senate before unsuccessfully running for president in 2000 and 2008. He died on August 25, 2018 from complications related to brain cancer.
In July 2018, the Navy secretary held a re-dedication ceremony to add the late senator's name to the USS John S. McCain, joining his father and grandfather on the ship's list of namesakes.
A deadly collision near Singapore
In August 2017, the warship collided with an oil tanker east of Singapore, killing 10 sailors and injuring five others. The crash damaged its rear hull and flooded machinery and communication rooms as well as the crew's sleeping area.
The McCain, which was based in Japan at the time, had been traveling to Singapore for a routine port visit when the crash happened.
Controversy over the McCain during Trump's visit to Japan
The USS John S. McCain once again made national headlines in 2019 after former President Donald Trump reportedly requested that the Navy keep the warship out of sight during his trip to Japan. At the time, the McCain was based in Yokosuka, Japan.
The Wall Street Journal first reported on Trump's Japan visit over Memorial Day weekend in May 2019. Trump was slated to deliver a speech on the USS Wasp. In an email obtained by the Journal, a U.S. Indo-Pacific Command official instructed Navy officials that the "USS John McCain needs to be out of sight."
Trump tweeted a response to the story, saying he "was not informed about anything having to do with the Navy Ship USS John S. McCain during my recent visit to Japan", according to an article published by Associated Press.
In 2021, the warship's homeport was moved from Japan to Naval Station Everett located in Everett, Washington.
