The White House’s request that the Navy hide a destroyer that honors Senator John McCain during President Trump’s recent trip to Japan has ignited a furor over how the administration, from the president down, has acted toward the Navy veteran and longtime Arizona lawmaker, who died in August 2018.

Although Mr. Trump denied personally playing any role in asking the Navy to prevent the U.S.S. John S. McCain from appearing in photographs with the president during his state visit, the disclosure of the White House’s request immediately turned the ship into a political symbol.

Here are some questions and answers about the McCain.

Is the ship named for the senator?

It is now, but he is not the only John McCain that the ship’s name honors.

The McCain was commissioned in 1994, and it was originally named for the senator’s grandfather, Adm. John S. McCain Sr., who commanded a carrier task force in World War II, and father, Adm. John S. McCain Jr., a submarine commander in the war who later rose to head what was then known as United States Pacific Command.

The senator, who was John S. McCain III, was added when the warship was rededicated last year.

“Today, we add the story of Senator John S. McCain to the spirit of the mighty vessel which already carries the legacy of his father and grandfather,” Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer said then. “As a warrior and a statesman who has always put country first, Senator John McCain never asked for this honor, and he would never seek it. But we would be remiss if we did not etch his name alongside his illustrious forebears, because this country would not be the same were it not for the courageous service of all three of these great men.”

The Navy said that the senator had “an active interest” in the ship and its crew, and had visited it during a trip to Vietnam in 2017.

What kind of ship is it?

The McCain is a destroyer whose home port is Yokosuka, Japan, where the United States maintains a naval base. Nicknamed “Big Bad John,” the ship is 505 feet long and has a crew of 338 people.

The ship launched Tomahawk missiles as a part of the United States’ invasion of Iraq in 2003, but it has spent most of its time in the waters around East Asia and participated in relief efforts after an earthquake struck Japan in 2011.

The McCain collided with an oil tanker near Singapore in August 2017, killing 10 American sailors and prompting a Navy investigation and the removal of the ship’s two top officers. The chief of naval operations, Adm. John M. Richardson, said that the collision had been “avoidable.”

The McCain has been undergoing repairs and left dry dock in November, according to the Navy, which said the work on the ship was expected to be finished later this year.

Is Senator McCain honored anywhere else?

The Phoenix City Council voted in 2017 to name an airport terminal after Mr. McCain, and Arizona State University is home to the McCain Institute for International Leadership. Last year, not long after Mr. McCain died, an Arizona school district decided to name a planned new elementary school for him.

“The qualities that Senator McCain so passionately and effectively represented are what we wish to enshrine as a model for the children of our community,” Kristi Sandvik, the superintendent of schools, said last year.

Other suggestions to name buildings for Mr. McCain — including a Senate office building in Washington and the Brussels headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization — have so far faltered.

Not long before Mr. McCain died, Mr. Trump signed a $716 billion military spending bill that had been named for the ailing senator. The president did not mention Mr. McCain or the formal name of the legislation, the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, during a speech and a signing ceremony.

Lauren Hard and Jake Lucas contributed reporting.

Source: Read Full Article