U.S. Republican McCain takes a walk down memory lane

By Steve Holland

MERIDIAN, Miss. (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain took a stroll down memory lane on Monday, opening a tour to show Americans the places where he grew from rebellious youth to war hero and politician.

Having clinched the Republican nomination weeks ago, McCain has the luxury of stepping back and re-introducing himself as Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton wage an extended battle to determine which of them will face McCain in the November election.

So far, his early victory in the Republican battle is paying dividends. Some polls show him leading both Obama and Clinton in hypothetical matchups.

A weeklong "Service to America" tour for McCain opened on Monday in Mississippi, where generations of McCains were born and raised on land that had been in the family since 1848.

In a speech, McCain by his own admission said he carried a heavy burden as the son and grandson of two legendary American Navy men, both of them admirals, causing him to rebel "in small and petty ways" against authority.

"As a boy, my family legacy, as fascinating as it was to me, often felt like an imposition," said the 71-year-old McCain.

The McCain naval airfield in Meridian, where McCain was once a Navy flight instructor, is named for his grandfather and namesake, John Sidney McCain, known variously as "Slew" and "Popeye."

McCain told reporters on his campaign bus that once as a Navy flight instructor here, he was ordered by the airfield tower not to land because he was too close to the plane ahead of him. "The tower said 'you have to wave off, go around.' I said 'I'm going to land or I'll take my field and go home,'" McCain said.