John McCain His Birth Order Makes Him The Maverick Senator

                                                 Senator John McCain III

John Sidney McCain III long time US Senator from Arizona 

and a former prisoner of war in Vietnam.  Known as a Senator

that goes his own way sometimes breaking with his own party.    

Why does he have this reputation? His birth order answers the 

question.

Early Years

John Sidney McCain III was born August 29, 1936 in the Canal 

Zone in Panama. This is where the family was living as his 

Father John McCain Jr. was serving with the Navy. His older 

sister Jean “Sandy” McCain was born two years earlier in 1934

and his younger brother Joseph was born in 1942.  This gives 

John the # two birth order.  Coming from a military family with 

both his father and grandfather four star admirals, it is safe to 

assume that John, the firstborn son, got the attention that only 

a firstborn child receives. 

The Second Born

Everyone with the same birth order are not alike.  There are 

other factors as explained in my book Life’s Fingerprint that 

color one’s personality. The fact that he was the first born 

boy, he may have felt from his parents, expectation of high 

achievement.  This would add extra pressure on him that he 

may resented The second born wants to control his own 

environment and doesn’t like others telling him what to do. 

He also has an inner understanding about what is right and 

fair.  You don’t have a second chance to make a first 

impression with a second born. This birth order is often 

referred to as the stubborn middle child. McCain fits the 

description and has won the title of “Maverick” for this 

behavioral trait.

Education

John attended 20 different schools before the family 

settled in Northern Virginia. Following his father and 

grandfather, he entered the United States Naval Academy 

at Annapolis. During his time there he was known for

 standing up for other students that were targets of 

bullying, second borns can’t turn their backs on injustice. 

He also had a hard time with the rules and came into 

conflict with higher ranking personal. His class rank 

was 894 of 899 as he didn’t take his education seriously. 

His lack of achievement could have been the direct result 

of the high expectations that his family expected from 

this rebel. No one tells a #2 what to do.

Vietnam 

McCain was trained as a naval aviator. He was known 

as a man that partied and was a bit of a reckless pilot. 

Two of his flight missions crashed and a third mission 

collided with power lines, he received no major injuries. 

In 1967 he was aboard the USS Forrestal flying missions 

in Operation Rolling Thunder when he was involved in 

an accident on the flight deck. He escaped from his 

burning jet but the ensuing fire killed 134 sailors and 

put the USS Forrestal out of commission.  He then went 

to the USS Oriskany to continue flying missions. His 

plane was shot down over North Vietnam where he 

suffered two broken arms and a broken leg before he 

was taken to the Hoa Lo Prison nicknamed the “Hanoi 

Hilton.” He spent five and a half years suffering repeated 

torture and beatings.  When they offered him early release 

because his father was an Admiral he refused and would 

not accept special treatment. He honored the military

code of first prisoner in first prisoner out. The stubborn 

second born trait can be seen even in the most trying of 

situations. 

Politics

Leaving the military, he entered Arizona politics in 1982. 

He was elected to the US House of Representatives and 

next elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986. Although a 

conservative, he has been known to disagree with his 

party on certain issues. He ran for the office of President 

in 2008 but lost to Barack Obama.  During the Trump 

Presidential campaign, he was insulted by Trump 

referring to his Vietnam capture. Second borns don’t 

forget an insult. When it came time to vote on the repeal 

of Obama Care his vote was the one that denied President 

Trump a victory.  The maverick title was still intact.

Brain Tumor

In 2017 John McCain was diagnosed with a Glioblastoma 

brain tumor.  Success rates are very low for this type of 

tumor.  Knowing this number two we know he is up for

the challenge.  He will do all he can not to let this problem

“tell him what to do”. Know his history, he may also win  
this, the toughest of all battles                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

For more information about birth orders you can find it 

in my book  Life’s Fingerprint: How Birth Order Affects 

Your Path Throughout Life by Dr. Robert V. V. Hurst  You 

may also find more information at our website 

www.mybirthorder.com For the first two people to

comment on this blog we will send you an audio recording 

of the book at no charge.