Former Secretary of State John Kerry John Forbes KerryThe Memo: Warning signs flash for Trump on debates Divided country, divided church TV ads favored Biden 2-1 in past month MORE paid tribute to Sen. John McCain John Sidney McCainAnalysis: Biden victory, Democratic sweep would bring biggest boost to economy The Memo: Trump's strengths complicate election picture Mark Kelly: Arizona Senate race winner should be sworn in 'promptly' MORE (R-Ariz.) after the announcement of his death Saturday afternoon, saying the senator had "guts, grit" and was "ultimately grace personified."

“John McCain was an American original – guts, grit, and ultimately grace personified. All of us were blessed by the example he shared with us of a life in service to country," Kerry wrote in a lengthy statement honoring his longtime colleague in the Senate and fellow Navy veteran.

"…Teresa and our children send Cindy and the entire McCain family our love and prayers. To John, I wish the peace he deserves with fair winds and following seas, my friend.”

My statement on the passing of Senator John McCain: pic.twitter.com/iCT2n2VpRZ — John Kerry (@JohnKerry) August 26, 2018

Kerry also detailed how the two formed a friendship understanding each other’s experiences regarding the Vietnam War.

"We met 32 years ago. We both loved the Navy, but had opposite views about the war of our youth," Kerry continued. "We didn’t trust each other, but really we didn’t know each other. After a long conversation on a long flight, we decided to work together to make peace with Vietnam and with ourselves here in America."

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"John investigated the POW issue with passion and purpose. In the process, he was savaged by lesser men but words could never hurt a man who was, as Hemingway wrote, 'stronger at the broken places,'" Kerry continued.

"We traveled together to Vietnam and together, we found common ground in the most improbable place. I stood with John, the two of us alone, in the very cell in the Hanoi Hilton where years of his life were lived out in pain but always in honor. If you ever needed to take the measure of John McCain, just count the days and years he spent in that tiny dank place and ask yourself whether you could make it there an hour."

"John McCain showed all of us how to bridge the divide between a protester and a POW, and how to find common ground even when it was improbable. I will be grateful for that lesson every day of my life," Kerry concluded.

McCain was serving in the Navy when he was captured and tortured as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. He refused preferential release, not wanting to leave any of his fellow prisoners of war behind.

McCain, a "maverick" of the Republican Party and giant of the Senate, went on to become a leading actor on the political stage for decades.

McCain died at age 81 following a battle with an aggressive form of brain cancer.