Lt. McCain was born in Closter, N.J., son of Walter and Clara L McCain. While attending Central College, Pella, IA, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. A B-17 Flying Fortress Heavy Bomber pilot, he was assigned, in 1943, to the 8th Air Force, 91st Bomb Group, 401st Squadron in Bassingbourn, England. He was killed over Bremen, Germany, April 17, 1943, when his plane was felled by anti-aircraft flak. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Washington, DC