The incredible life of John McCain in 31 photos

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Republican Sen. John McCain, 81, has died after a long battle with brain cancer.

The Arizona senator was diagnosed with an aggressive form of glioblastoma and began treatment for the disease in July 2017.

McCain appeared to be undeterred for several months after his diagnosis was made public.

He was seen back at work on Capitol Hill last fall and weighed in on major legislative policies, including the annual defense authorization bill and efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

"I don't mean to be repetitious, but to my Democrat friends and some of my Republican friends: I'm coming back," McCain said during a Facebook Live event in August last year.

McCain made headlines upon his return — including when he dramatically voted no on the Republican version of a bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

His career as a public servant spanned decades of honorable service, and despite some challenges along the way, McCain established himself as a key figurehead of the Republican Party. Few lawmakers on Capitol Hill will match the legacy he leaves behind.

Here's a look back at John McCain's incredible life:

McCain graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1958 and served as a pilot.

Early in his career in naval aviation, McCain's flying ability and judgment were questioned after he crashed three planes. His commanders were said to have sarcastically called him "Ace McCain" because of his record.

"John was what you called a push-the-envelope guy," Sam Hawkins, who flew in McCain's squadron in the 1960s, told the Los Angeles Times. "There are some naval aviators who are on the cautious side. They don't get out on the edges, but the edges are where you get the maximum out of yourself and out of your plane. That's where John operated."

On October 26, 1967, during the Vietnam War, McCain was flying over Hanoi when a surface-to-air missile hit his plane's wing, forcing him to eject.

"Some North Vietnamese swam out and pulled me to the side of the lake and immediately started stripping me, which is their standard procedure," McCain wrote in USA Today.

"Of course, this being in the center of town, a huge crowd of people gathered, and they were all hollering and screaming and cursing and spitting and kicking at me."

McCain broke both of his arms and his right knee. He had lost consciousness until he hit the water after ejecting from the plane.

McCain was held as a prisoner of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) for five and a half years. He was subjected to torture and solitary confinement in a Vietnamese prison nicknamed the "Hanoi Hilton."

Upon learning that McCain's father was an admiral in the Navy, who would eventually command all US forces in the Pacific, NVA forces provided medical care to McCain. Doctors performed surgery on his leg, according to McCain, but made incorrect incisions on one side and cut all the ligaments.

McCain would spend the rest of his life walking with a noticeable limp.

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SEE ALSO: John McCain, war hero and longtime senator, dead at 81