--- title: This Is How John McCain Said He Wants to Be Remembered description: Nearly a year before he died of brain cancer, Sen. John McCain spoke about how he hoped to be remembered by Americans canonical: https://time.com/5378417/john-mccain-death-quote/ author: Rachel E. Greenspan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-08-26T12:59:24.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T21:15:34.427Z article:section: Politics og:title: This Is How John McCain Said He Wants to Be Remembered og:description: He spoke about it nearly a year before he died og:url: https://time.com/5378417/john-mccain-death-quote/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9b8ea5b8062cac90/698938b8e76ad24570632d88/how-john-mccain-wants-to-be-remembered.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: john-mccain-remembrance og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Is How John McCain Said He Wants to Be Remembered twitter:description: He spoke about it nearly a year before he died twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9b8ea5b8062cac90/698938b8e76ad24570632d88/how-john-mccain-wants-to-be-remembered.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Is How John McCain Said He Wants to Be Remembered > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Rachel E. Greenspan](https://time.com/author/rachel-e-greenspan/) ## Rachel E. Greenspan Aug 26, 2018 12:59 PM UTC  Sen. John McCain watches a special Twilight Tattoo performance November 14, 2017 at Fort Myer in Arlington, Virginia. Sen. McCain, who died on Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018, was honored with the Outstanding Civilian Service Medal for over 63 years of dedicated service to the nation and the U.S. Navy. Sen. John McCain watches a special Twilight Tattoo performance November 14, 2017 at Fort Myer in Arlington, Virginia. Sen. McCain, who died on Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018, was honored with the Outstanding Civilian Service Medal for over 63 years of dedicated service to the nation and the U.S. Navy. Alex Wong—Getty Images by [Rachel E. Greenspan](https://time.com/author/rachel-e-greenspan/) ## Rachel E. Greenspan Aug 26, 2018 12:59 PM UTC Nearly a year before Senator [John McCain died](http://time.com/5179302/john-mccain-dies/), he discussed how he hoped his legacy would be remembered by the world. McCain, who died Saturday at 81 years following a year-long battle with brain cancer, shared a poignant look into his mind during an Oct. 2017 appearance on _The View_, a talk show that his daughter [Meghan](http://time.com/5377605/john-mccain-dies-cindy-meghan/) co-hosts. When asked about how he hoped he would be remembered, McCain didn’t skip a beat, saying, “He served his country.” He then added, “And he’s proud of his family and his daughter.” > [](https://twitter.com/ABC/status/1033544274556735489) In the same episode, [McCain gave his daughter Meghan a framed photograph](http://time.com/5377605/john-mccain-dies-cindy-meghan/) of the two of them on a hike. “I’m the luckiest person in the entire world. We are such a family that’s filled with blessings,” [Meghan McCain said](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukFExEzSiGs) through tears. In July 2017, McCain was diagnosed with a glioblastoma tumor, an aggressive form of brain cancer that has an average life expectancy of 14 months, according to [the World Health Organization](https://braintumor.org/wp-content/assets/WHO-Central-Nervous-System-Tumor-Classification.pdf). His family [announced their decision to end his treatment](http://time.com/5377364/john-mccain-stopping-medical-treatment-cancer/) on Aug. 24. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5378417/john-mccain-death-quote/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5378417/john-mccain-death-quote/"},"headline":"This Is How John McCain Said He Wants to Be Remembered","datePublished":"2018-08-26T12:59:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T21:15:34.427Z","description":"He spoke about it nearly a year before he died","url":"https://time.com/5378417/john-mccain-death-quote/","keywords":["Congress","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9b8ea5b8062cac90/698938b8e76ad24570632d88/how-john-mccain-wants-to-be-remembered.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rachel E. 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