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Tell America Campaign Live webcast of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy 2007 Commencement Exercise Featuring Senator John McCain Giving Keynote Address
June 18, 9:30AM.

Senator John McCain of Arizona will deliver the keynote address for the 71st Commencement Exercises at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy for the Class of 2007’s commencement on Monday, June 18 beginning at 9:30AM and running about two hours.

John McCain graduated from the Naval Academy in 1958 and served as a Naval Aviator before being shot down over Vietnam and held as a POW. He was elected to Congress in 1982 and represented the First Congressional District of Arizona until he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986. He is the Senior Senator from Arizona, the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, and serves on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation as well as the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. Senator McCain is seeking the Republican Presidential nomination in the 2008 election.
The United States Merchant Marine Academy, at Kings Point, N.Y. was established in 1936 and opened in 1943 for the training of merchant marine officers. The academy, which admitted women in 1974, provides an intensive four-year course in maritime and naval specialties.  Candidates for admission must be between the ages of 17 and 22, be nominated for candidacy by their U.S. Representative or Senator, and pass a competitive examination. The four-year course, emphasizing maritime and naval specialties, includes tours of service aboard a merchant vessel. Upon graduation, midshipmen receive a commission in the naval reserve as well as a merchant marine license.  In return for a free education, graduates have an obligation to serve 5 years as a Merchant Marine officer or as an officer in on of the US military forces.  The Academy has been named one of the nation’s “best value” undergraduate institutions by The Princeton Review, a guide to schools with outstanding academics and low costs.