Faith of My Fathers (42 page)

When I look back on my misspent youth, I feel a longing for what is past and cannot be restored. But though the happy pursuits and casual beauty of youth prove ephemeral, something better can endure, and endure until our last moment on earth. And that is the honor we earn and the love we give if at a moment in our youth we sacrifice with others for something greater than our self-interest. We cannot always choose the moments. Often they arrive unbidden. We can choose to let the moments pass, and avoid the difficulties they entail. But the loss we would incur by that choice is much dearer than the tribute we once paid to vanity and pleasure.

During their reunion aboard the
Proteus
in Tokyo Bay, my father and grandfather had their last conversation. Near the end of his life, my father recalled their final moment together:

“My father said to me, ‘Son, there is no greater thing than to die for the principles—for the country and the principles that you believe in.' And that was one part of the conversation that came through and I have remembered down through the years.”

On that fine March day, I thought about what I had done and failed to do in Vietnam, and about what my country had done and failed to do. I had seen human virtue affirmed in the conduct of men who were ennobled by their suffering. And “down through the years,” I had remembered a dying man's legacy to his son, and when I needed it most, I had found my freedom abiding in it.

I held on to the memory, left the bad behind, and moved on.

         
About the Authors
         

J
OHN
M
C
C
AIN
is a United States senator from Arizona. He retired from the Navy as a captain in 1981, and was first elected to Congress in 1982. He is currently serving his third term in the Senate. He and his wife, Cindy, live with their children in Phoenix, Arizona.

         

M
ARK
S
ALTER
has worked on Senator McCain's staff for ten years. Hired as a legislative assistant in 1989, he has served as the senator's administrative assistant since 1993. He lives with his wife, Diane, and their two daughters in Alexandria, Virginia.

Copyright © 1999 by John McCain and Mark Salter

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Random House, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

R
ANDOM
H
OUSE
and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Originally published in 1999 by Random House, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc. A leatherbound, signed edition of this work was published by The Easton Press in 1999.

All photographs are from the McCain family collection.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

McCain, John

Faith of my fathers/John McCain.

p.                            cm.

1. McCain, John, 1936—Religion. 2. McCain, John, 1936—Family. 3. Legislators—United States—Biography. 4. United States. Congress. Senate—Biography. 5. McCain, John S. ( John Sidney), 1911–1981. 6. Fathers—United States—Biography. 7. McCain, John Sidney, 1884–1945. 8. Grandfathers—United States—Biography. 9. United States. Navy—Biography. I. Title.

E840.8.M467A3          1999                            973.9'092'2—dc21                            99-13496

[B]

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