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Carol McCain

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Carol McCain
Born
Carol Shepp
NationalityAmerican
Other namesCarol Shepp McCain
Occupation(s)Model, manager, event planner
Known forEx-wife of U.S. Senator and presidential candidate John McCain
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Alasdair Swanson (1958–1964)
John McCain (1965–1980)

Carol Shepp McCain (born 1937[1] or 1938[2]) is a former model, Director of the White House Visitors Office, and event planner, who is the ex-wife of United States Senator and presidential candidate John McCain.

Early life and first marriage

Carol Shepp grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[3] She first knew John McCain while he was attending the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis from 1954 to 1958.[4] She then married one of his classmates,[4][5] Alasdair Swanson, in 1958.[6] She and her husband had two children, Douglas (born 1959) and Andrew (born 1962),[7][8] and lived in Pensacola, Florida.[6] The couple subsequently divorced in June 1964, after she sued him for infidelity.[6] Five feet eight inches in height,[9] Shepp was a successful swimwear model[1] in Philadelphia.[3]

John McCain years

Shepp met McCain again when he was stationed at the Naval Air Basic Training Command at Pensacola, Florida in 1964, and they began dating.[3][4] On July 3, 1965, Shepp married McCain in Philadelphia.[10] The following year, John McCain adopted her two children.[8] The McCains then had a daughter named Sidney in September 1966.[11]

John McCain was shot down and badly injured over North Vietnam on October 26, 1967, beginning what would be five and a half years as a prisoner of war.[12] During his captivity she raised their children by herself; she sent frequent letters and packages to him, few of which the North Vietnamese let through.[13] She became active in the POW/MIA movement.[6]

On Christmas Eve 1969, Carol McCain was driving in snowy, icy conditions. Approaching an intersection on an isolated country road, she skidded and collided with a telephone pole, was thrown from the car into the snow, and went into shock. Some time later she was found and taken to Bryn Mawr Hospital;[9] she had two smashed legs, a broken pelvis, broken arm, and ruptured spleen. She spent six months in the hospital, and over the course of the next two years had 23 operations[9] as well as extensive physical therapy.[14] She did not tell her husband about the accident in her letters to him, believing he already had enough to worry about,[9] and the U.S. State Department told a surgeon who operated upon her not to mention anything to the press, lest it worsen the treatment for John McCain.[15] Businessman and POW advocate Ross Perot paid for her medical care[16]and she remained grateful to him: "The military families are in Ross's heart and in his soul ... There are millions of us who are extremely grateful to Ross Perot."[17] Years after John McCain found out about Perot's help, he said "we loved him for it."[18]

The McCains were reunited upon his release from captivity on March 14, 1973.[19] She was now four inches (ten centimeters) shorter, on crutches, and substantially heavier than when he had last seen her;[16] he was also visibly hampered by his injuries and the mistreatment he had endured from the North Vietnamese.[20] The McCains became frequent guests of honor at dinners hosted by Governor of California Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy Reagan,[21] and the two couples became friendly.[2] Carol McCain worked for Ronald Reagan's 1976 presidential campaign in Florida, as he sought the Republican Party nomination.[2]

During John McCain's assignment as Executive Officer and Commanding Officer of the VA-174 squadron located at Naval Air Station Cecil Field outside Jacksonville, Florida[22] the McCains' marriage began to falter;[23] he had extramarital affairs.[23]

John McCain's next assignment was to the Senate Liaison Office within the Navy's Office of Legislative Affairs.[24] The McCains separated briefly, then rejoined.[16] His job was aided by an active social life the couple conducted, entertaining Navy, government, and other people three to four nights a week at their Alexandria, Virginia home.[25] During this time she worked for Congressman John H. Rousselot.[26] By 1979, the McCains were still living together.[16] In April 1979, John McCain met and began an extramarital relationship with Cindy Lou Hensley, an Arizona special education teacher and Hensley & Co. heiress.[16]

Carol McCain was described by friends as being in shock from the developments.[16][6] The McCains stopped cohabiting in January 1980;[6] John McCain filed for a divorce in February 1980,[6] which Carol McCain accepted at that time.[16] When asked by a friend what had gone wrong, she said, "It's just one of those things."[16] The uncontested divorce became official in Fort Walton Beach, Florida on April 2, 1980.[27][6]

John McCain would later say, "My marriage's collapse was attributable to my own selfishness and immaturity more than it was to Vietnam, and I cannot escape blame by pointing a finger at the war. The blame was entirely mine."[23] Carol McCain would later say: "The breakup of our marriage was not caused by my accident or Vietnam or any of those things. I don't know that it might not have happened if John had never been gone. I attribute it more to John turning 40 and wanting to be 25 again than I do to anything else."[23] John McCain's biographer, Robert Timberg believes that "Vietnam did play a part, perhaps not the major part, but more than a walk-on."[28] According to Carol, her husband's five-year captivity in Vietnam had left him wanting to "make up for lost time,"[1] and John put it this way: "I had changed, she had changed....People who have been apart that much change."[28] Ross Perot would later say, "After [John McCain] came home, Carol walked with a limp. So he threw her over for a poster girl with big money from Arizona and the rest is history."[18] Carol’s three children were initially upset with John McCain about the divorce, but later reconciled.[16]

John McCain gave Carol a settlement that included alimony, child support, houses in Virginia and Florida, and lifelong financial support for her ongoing medical treatments resulting from the 1969 automobile accident.[1] John McCain and Hensley were married on May 17, 1980.[23]

Subsequent career

Carol McCain moved to La Mesa, California, where she lived for several months with the family of top Reagan associate Edwin Meese.[6] She became a personal assistant to Nancy Reagan in fall 1979,[2] working with her on Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign, and then worked on the 1980 Republican National Convention.[2] She was director of the 1981 Reagan inaugural ball,[26] and as the Reagan administration began, she handled scheduling for the First Lady and the Reagan children.[26]

In 1981, she became Director of the White House Visitors Office.[2] There she planned tours and dealt with the pleas of different groups for the limited slots available.[2] She also dealt with demands from Washington officials, including a dispute regarding tour slots between Nancy Reagan and New York Congressman Thomas Downey.[29] About the pressures of her job, she said cheerfully: "I'm always in tears, but I love the job. I'm really having a ball."[2] During the early 1980s recession she declared that the White House tours were fully booked even when other Washington attractions saw declining attendance; her office processed well over one million visits a year.[30] Between 1981 and 1986, she greatly expanded the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, adding participatory activities and doubling the size of the crowds attending.[26] The Washington Post likened her "extravaganza-loving" event style to that of Cecil B. DeMille.[26] She was also involved in planning South Lawn State Arrival Ceremonies,[2] as well as a national Christmas celebration.[31]

She left the White House Visitors Office position in January 1987, to join Philadelphia-based We the People 200, Inc., which was the organization planning the celebration for the 200th anniversary of the United States Constitution that year.[26][32] She was named programming director, part of We the People 200's senior management team.[32] The bicentennial project was already troubled by lack of corporate financial sponsorship and persistent internal conflicts; the high salaries of McCain and other senior staff came under some criticism, but were defended by the organization's president as justified based upon age and experience.[33]

By 1990, she was a spokesperson for Washington, Inc., a large event planning company.[34] During 1991, she was a spokesperson for the Desert Storm Homecoming Foundation, which held a $12 million victory celebration and memorial in Washington in June 1991 following the conclusion of the Gulf War and Operation Desert Storm.[35][36] She later worked in press relations for the National Soft Drink Association in Washington.[6][37]

Despite the divorce, Carol McCain has remained on good terms with John McCain,[23] and has supported him in all his subsequent political campaigns.[1] She refused to discuss her marriage with an election opponent of McCain's in 1982 who was seeking negative information about John McCain, telling the opponent that "a gentleman never would have called."[37]

In 2003, Carol McCain retired and moved to a bungalow in Virginia Beach, Virginia.[6][1] She continues to have difficulty walking, as a result of her accident four decades earlier.[1] She supports her ex-husband's 2008 presidential campaign, and told The Mail on Sunday in June 2008 that she was not bitter and that, "He’s a good guy. We are still good friends. He is the best man for president."[1]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Churcher, Sharon (2008-06-08). "The wife U.S. Republican John McCain callously left behind". The Mail on Sunday. Retrieved 2008-06-09. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Gamarekian, Barbara (1981-08-30). "White House Tour Leader Courted and Criticized". The New York Times. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ a b c Timberg, Robert (1999). John McCain: An American Odyssey. Touchstone Books. ISBN 0-684-86794-X. pp. 68–69.
  4. ^ a b c Alexander, Paul (2002). Man of the People: The Life of John McCain. John Wiley & Sons. pp. p. 32. ISBN 0-471-22829-X. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  5. ^ Feinberg, Barbara Silberdick (2000). John McCain: Serving His Country. Millbrook Press. ISBN 0761319743. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help) pp. 16, 18.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Serrano, Richard A.; Vartabedian, Ralph (2008-07-11). "McCain's broken marriage and fractured Reagan friendship". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-07-11. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "The John McCain Story: Timeline". McCain 2000, Inc. Archived from the original on 2001-03-01. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 2000-03-01 suggested (help)
  8. ^ a b Timberg, An American Odyssey, p. 70.
  9. ^ a b c d Timberg, An American Odyssey, pp. 100–101.
  10. ^ "John McCain". Iowa Caucuses '08. Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2007-11-08. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ Steinhauer, Jennifer (2007-12-27). "Bridging 4 Decades, a Large, Close-Knit Brood". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-12-27. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  12. ^ Nowicki, Dan & Muller, Bill (2007-03-01). "John McCain Report: Prisoner of War". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2007-11-10. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ McCain, John (1999). Faith of My Fathers. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-375-50191-6. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help) p. 279.
  14. ^ Nowicki, Dan and Muller, Bill (2007-03-01). "John McCain Report: Back in the USA". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2007-11-10. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ Smerconish, Michael (2008-06-19). "The Other Mrs. John McCain". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved 2008-06-19. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i Kristof, Nicholas (February 27, 2000). "P.O.W. to Power Broker, A Chapter Most Telling". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-04-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  17. ^ Townley, Alvin (2006). Legacy of Honor: The Values and Influence of America's Eagle Scouts. Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 0312366531. p. 97.
  18. ^ a b Alter, Jonathan (2008-01-16). "When Ross Perot Calls..." Newsweek. Retrieved 2008-06-15. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help) By the time Perot's statement was made, Perot had run into severe conflict with John McCain over the Vietnam POW/MIA live prisoners issue.
  19. ^ Sterba, James P (1973-03-15). "P.O.W. Commander Among 108 Freed" (PDF). The New York Times. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  20. ^ Timberg, An American Odyssey, p. 112.
  21. ^ Timberg, An American Odyssey, pp. 119–122.
  22. ^ Vartabedian, Ralph (2008-04-14). "McCain has long relied on his grit". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-05-24. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  23. ^ a b c d e f Nowicki, Dan and Muller, Bill (2007-03-01). "John McCain Report: Arizona, the early years". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2007-11-21. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  24. ^ Timberg, An American Odyssey, pp. 126–128.
  25. ^ Alexander, Man of the People, pp. 89–90.
  26. ^ a b c d e f Radcliffe, Donnie (1986-12-30). "Christmas Card Presidents". The Washington Post. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  27. ^ Alexander, Man of the People, p. 92.
  28. ^ a b Timberg, An American Odyssey, pp. 124–125.
  29. ^ Weisman, Steven R (1981-06-20). "Truce, Of Sorts, On White House Tours". The New York Times. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  30. ^ "White House Remains Ever Popular". The New York Times. 1982-09-02. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  31. ^ Naedele, Walter F (1986-11-18). "O'Neill is Weighing an Invitation For Post as Bicentennial Spokesman". The Philadelphia Inquirer. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  32. ^ a b Naedele, Walter F (1987-02-19). "Bicentennial Group Adds, Loses Staff". The Philadelphia Inquirer. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  33. ^ Flander, Scott (1987-02-27). "Painting the Town with Red Ink: Inadequate Funding, Internal Conflict Crippling Fete". Philadelphia Daily News. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |DN&p_theme= ignored (help)
  34. ^ Rogers, Patricia Dane (1990-12-06). "Entertaining: Setting a Simpler Tone In Uncertain Times". The Washington Post. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  35. ^ Pressley, Sue Ann (1991-06-06). "Desert Storm Celebration Is Also a Parade of Tears; Day Will Be Painful for Families of War Dead". The Washington Post. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  36. ^ Jordan, Mary (1991-06-07). "Victory Party Storms Into Town;Military Invades Mall for Extravaganza Now Priced at $12 Million". The Washington Post. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  37. ^ a b Romano, Lois (2000-03-02). "Out of the Fire, Politics Calls; Ex-POW Turns Washington Insider". The Washington Post. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

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