Donald Trump's White House asked officials to keep a ship named after John McCain out of sight when he visited a US naval base in Japan in 2019.
The US Navy was told in the emails that John McCain needs to be out of the public eye. An email asked if the request would be satisfied.
The McCains were all veterans of the Navy and the ship was named after them.
The ship's name was partially obscured by using a "banner" and "paint scaffolding".
The military officials were surprised by the request. One person said it made them sad. An email said that he could see that becoming a follower on the social networking site.
At the time, Trump denied requesting to keep the ship out of sight, but said it must have been done by someone who disliked McCain.
The previous reporting by The Wall Street Journal about the request corroborates the email obtained by the reporter.
The tarp on the ship's name was published by The Journal. The paper reported that the name was removed the day before the president's visit, and that a barge later blocked the name.
The sailors on the ship were given a day off during Trump's visit.
The Navy's Chief of Information denied that the ship had been hidden from view during Trump's visit and did not acknowledge that the name had been obscured.
On Memorial Day, the name of John S. McCain was not hidden. The navy is proud of that ship, its crew, and its heritage, according to Brown.
The responses show that the directive to hide the ship came from the White House.
The Arizona senator was an outspoken critic of Trump throughout his presidency and had a long running feud with the former president.
During the Vietnam War, Trump received five draft deferments, four as a student and one for a bone spur in his foot. McCain commented on wealthy people who use bone spurs to draft dodge.
After the senator died from brain cancer, the former president continued his attacks.
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