The Maverick’s documentary “John McCain: For Whom the Bell Tolls" airs Monday on HBO, to coincide with Memorial Day.
After watching a rough cut of the documentary, Grant Woods, who was McCain’s first chief of staff, shares his reaction.
“There wasn’t a dry eye in the house,” he said. “It takes a lot of talent to put that together and make it work and it really works.”
Woods says we tend to take the life of Senator McCain for granted, because he’s been with us for so long here. “There have been very few American lives like the one that John McCain has lived,” said Woods.
When you see the documentary on HBO, he says it puts it all together. “He’s been such a major part of all of us and our state for so long,” he said. “I look at it now and I appreciate it all the more, how lucky we are.”
Woods says the HBO documentary film crew took over his office for a couple days and filmed there. The film also includes interviews with family, friends and political figures, like former President Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton. He says the documentary doesn’t have narration. It’s all old video and news footage. It even includes some prisoner of war videos.
“I actually hadn’t seen some of the things that are in the documentary,” said Woods. “It goes way back.”
One of the most meaningful parts of the documentary is when McCain talks about the situation he’s in.
“The perspective that he has and the way he’s conducted himself is just a real lesson and role model for all of us on how to face the end of life,” he said.
The six-term Arizona senator agreed to participate in the film, shortly after being diagnosed with brain cancer last July. He gave HBO access to his daily life in Washington, D.C. and his ranch outside Sedona, a place Woods has visited McCain and his wife Cindy several times this year.
“His spirits have improved and I think he’s actually better... having said that, you know it’s obviously a very tough situation,” said Woods. “It’s a terrible disease and a tough prognosis but having said that… this guy is an amazing guy and I guess we shouldn’t have expected anything less.”
You can tell he cherishes all the times they’ve spent together. Woods hopes everyone who watches the HBO documentary hears a message.
“The country needs to see this life of this great American hero and take that message forward, that we’re not just some other country,” he said. “We’re a special country with special obligations and that mainly is to fight for every human being’s right to live free.”
“That’s what John’s done his whole life and I think, hopefully he thinks that message hopefully will outlive him,” he added.
