On Saturday, August 25, Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain passed away after a hard-fought battle with glioblastoma. Within hours of his death, Americans from McCain’s home state of Arizona to the shores of Truc Bach Lake, Vietnam — the site of McCain’s plane crash in 1967 — have stopped to pay their respects to the “Maverick of the Senate.”
Just outside the McCain ranch, a veteran stopped to pay his respects to a war hero.
A military veteran salutes a sign in front of @SenJohnMcCain‘s ranch in Arizona that reads, “Sen. McCain thank you for your service.” McCain’s family announced Friday that he has discontinued medical treatment for brain cancer. https://t.co/bZu1FJDJqb pic.twitter.com/P2gaVNt6zq
— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 25, 2018
Arizona overpasses quickly filled with mourners, standing in wait of McCain’s motorcade.
A man in Anthem, Arizona holds an American flag at an overpass along Interstate 17 as he and dozens of others wait for the procession with the hearse carrying the late Arizona Senator John McCain on Saturday. https://t.co/U1iLSevbS4 pic.twitter.com/9QuaSpWjej
— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 26, 2018
Others lined Interstate 17, waiting for the Senator’s hearse to pass by.
Dozens lined Interstate 17 as they waited for the procession with the hearse carrying the late Arizona @SenJohnMcCain on Saturday in Anthem, Arizona. https://t.co/U1iLSevbS4 pic.twitter.com/lLwPxZflEv
— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 26, 2018
Shouts of “I love you, John,” could be heard as the Senator’s motorcade arrived at the mortuary.
WATCH: Mourners shout “I love you John” as McCain body arrives at mortuary with police escort https://t.co/YYxUBAEZ1C pic.twitter.com/OnGi88lyxz
— The Hill (@thehill) August 26, 2018
Half a world away, at the site of McCain’s plane crash at Truch Bach Lake near Hanoi, Vietnam, tributes also began to appear.
Flowers, tributes offered for McCain at Vietnam War crash site https://t.co/eIT7ZEfFIe pic.twitter.com/J1IRK8Cd9b
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) August 26, 2018
A simple monument at the water’s edge stands as a reminder that an American was captured there. Next to the depiction of an American with his hands up, Vietnamese words read, “On Oct 26, 1967, at Truc Bach Lake, the military and people of Hanoi arrested Major John Sidney McCain, a pilot of the American Navy’s air force.”
And several Americans, upon hearing of McCain’s passing, visited that monument to pay their respects. Robert Gibb told Reuters that he “felt compelled to come out here and bring some flowers. He was the last guy I ever voted for president. The moment he dropped in here changed his life forever.”
Other Americans living in Hanoi brought flowers as well, and one brought a folded American flag. All brought the same message: “Fair winds and following seas, Senator McCain.”
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