McCain, a senator from Arizona for over three decades, had been battling glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, discovered by his doctors in July 2017, and had not been at the US Capitol in 2018. He also had surgery for an intestinal infection in April.

A statement from his office said: "Senator John Sidney McCain III died at 4:28 p.m. on August 25, 2018. With the senator when he passed were his wife Cindy and their family. At his death, he had served the United States of America faithfully for sixty years."

A Vietnam war veteran, Senator McCain contributed enormously to the normalization of relations between Vietnam and the US. He proposed the US Congress and government provide continued assistance for Vietnam to deal with the AO/dioxin-contaminated environment, and overcome war consequences.