‘The View’ Host Meghan McCain Honors John McCain on Veteran’s Day With Photo of Late Father in Uniform

Meghan McCain paid tribute to her late father, Senator John McCain, on her first veterans day without him.

On Sunday, The View co-host, who has frequently paid tribute to her father since his death, honored her father and all other service members with a touching tribute to the war hero and longtime politician.

Sen. McCain had graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland in 1958 and fought in the Vietnam War, where he survived five years as a prisoner of war after being captured. He had refused an early release from his captors, who had learned that his father was a notable naval officer, stating that he would not leave until the other prisoners were released.

“Today on #VeteransDay we remember and honor those who have selflessly served and sacrificed,” McCain wrote alongside a picture of her father in uniform. “Those who have and continue to fight to protect our freedoms in this incredible country of ours. I am forever grateful.”

“I miss you so much Dad, thank you for showing me what fighting for something greater than yourself means,” she concluded, adding three American flag emojis and the hashtag “#homeofthefreebecauseofthebrave.”

Sen. McCain died on Aug. 25 at age 81 after having been diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer in 2017. His death came just days after his family announced that he would no longer receive treatment.

“I was with my father at his end, as he was with me at my beginning,” McCain wrote at the time of her father’s death. “In the thirty-three years we shared together, he raised me, taught me, corrected me, comforted me, encouraged me, and supported me in all things. He loved me, and I loved him. He taught me how to Life. His love and his care, ever present, always unfailing, took me from a girl to a woman – and he showed me what it is to be a man.”

She later delivered an eulogy at the Washington National Cathedral, where her father was laid to rest in early September.

“The America of John McCain is generous and welcoming and bold,” she said. “he is resourceful and confident and secure. She meets her responsibilities, She speaks quietly because she is strong. America does not boast because she has no need to. The America of John McCain has no need to be great again because America was always great.”

Following her father’s death, McCain took a step away from the ABC talkshow, eventually making her return on Monday, Oct. 8.