Inside John McCain's Journey From Annapolis to the Hanoi Hilton

This piece is excerpted from TIME's forthcoming special edition about the life of John McCain.

A career in the navy seemed preordained for John McCain. Born on the American Coco Solo Naval Air Station in the Panama Canal Zone, he came from a family with a storied history of military service. An ancestor, John Young, had served on George Washington’s staff, and a great-uncle had helped Gen. John “Black Jack” Pershing chase Pancho Villa across Mexico.