Image source Wikimedia

The Vietnam War hero turned senator and presidential candidate John McCain has died aged 81.

Senator McCain died on August 25 in Arizona surrounded by his family, a statement from his office said.

John McCain was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor in July 2017 and had been undergoing medical treatment.

His family announced on August 24 that the senator, who left Washington in December, had decided to stop treatment.

The son and grandson of Navy admirals, John McCain was a fighter pilot during the war in Vietnam. When his plane was shot down, he spent more than five years as a prisoner of war.

While in the custody of his captors, John McCain suffered torture that left him with lasting disabilities.

John McCain Diagnosed with Brain Cancer

John McCain’s widow, Cindy, tweeted: “My heart is broken. I am so lucky to have lived the adventure of loving this incredible man for 38 years. He passed the way he lived, on his own terms, surrounded by the people he loved, in the place he loved best.”

His daughter Meghan said the task of her lifetime would now be “to live up to his example, his expectations, and his love.

Following news of John McCain’s death, wellwishers waving flags lined the street as a hearse brought his body from his ranch near Cornville, Arizona, to a funeral home in Phoenix.

The six-term senator for Arizona and 2008 Republican presidential nominee was diagnosed after doctors discovered his tumor during surgery to remove a blood clot from above his left eye last July.

John McCain’s family said he would lie in state in Phoenix, Arizona, and in Washington DC before a funeral at the Washington National Cathedral and his burial in Annapolis, Maryland.

Former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama are expected to give eulogies.