b'U . S .M i l i t a r yU. S. Army fixed-wing aviators at Corpus Christi Army DepotJohn S. McCain III descended from the loftiest military pedigree one can imagine,The T-45 Goshawk training jet like those at NAS Kingsvilleas both his father and grandfather rose to the rank of four-star Admiral in the U. S. Navy. Following in their tradition, McCain entered the Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1954, graduating four years later near the bottom of his class, but set to enter flight training at NAS Pensacola. He completed his training and earned his wings at NAS Corpus Christi in June 1960, his father having made the trip to pin the wings on his sons uniform. Three months earlier, McCains AD Skyraider lost power and crashed in Corpus Christi Bay, 150 yards short of the runwayhe was snatched from the bay by a rescue helicopter and suffered only minor injuries.McCain would be captured by the Viet Cong in August 1967 after his A-4E Skyhawk was shot down during his twenty-third mission over North Vietnam. For the follow-ing six-and-a-half years, John McCain was imprisoned and tortured by the Viet Cong, including being held in solitary confinement for two years in conditions so horrible, his guards had to save him from a suicide attempt. When McCains brother Jack was promoted to commander of the Navys Pacific Fleet, his Vietnamese captors offered him early release in an attempted public relations move. Honoring the unspokenIn 1968, Naval Station Kingsville, located 35 miles southeast of NASCC, was commis-first-in, first-out oath among he and his comrades, McCain refused release unlesssioned as a stand-alone base for Naval jet training. The facility opened in 1942 as an all POWs captured before him were set free as well. The Viet Cong refused, and heauxiliary training field for Corpus Christi, but as the need for military jet aviators grew, was subjected to an accelerated level of torture for most of the rest of his time in con- Kingsville was expanded and re-assigned accordingly. In the 53 years since the con-finement. McCains unfathomable patriotism and heroism ranks him at the top of allversion, thousands of Naval aviators earned their basic training wings at NAS Corpus Naval aviators who trained and earned their wings at NAS Corpus Christi.The Corpus Christi Army Depot (CCAD) has occupied almost 140 acres at NASCCChristi, and then completed their basic jet training at NAS Kingsville, many in prepa-since 1961, as fixed wing aircraft began to play an increasingly prominent role inration for aircraft carrier duty, the most perilous in the world of military aviation.military operations in Korea and then Vietnam. The facility has expanded throughoutThe U. S. Coast Guard operates both fixed and rotary wing flight operations at the years to quietly evolve into the largest and most sophisticated military helicopterNASCC, as well as sea operations at bases located at the Port of Corpus Christi and repair facility in the entire world, as well as the largest civilian employer in the CoastalPort Aransas. U. S. Customs and Border Protection also operates a major, regional Bend, with more than 4,000 personnel. In addition to helicopter repair and resto- flight facility at NASCC from which the agencys fleet of P-3 Orions launch operations ration, CCAD serves as a pilot and flight crew training facility for all service branchesthat take them across Mexico, down its Pacific coast and that of Central America, and as well as foreign militaries. CCAD celebrates its 60th anniversary this year.across Panama in search of drug smugglers on the sea and in the air.72 THE COASTAL BEND GUIDE TheCoastalBend.com'