High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The early life and military career of John Sidney McCain III spans the first forty-five years of his life (1936–1981). McCain`s father and grandfather were admirals in the United States Navy. McCain was born on August 29, 1936, in the Panama Canal Zone, and attended many schools growing up as his family moved among naval facilities. McCain graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1958. He married the former Carol Shepp in 1965; he adopted two children from her previous marriage and they had another child together.