Reuters, Phonix - Republican John McCain will release 400 pages of medical records on Friday to try to put to rest lingering questions about his health and ability to handle the rigors of the presidency.

McCain will be 72 in August and the oldest American ever elected to a first presidential term if he wins the November election.

One source of concern about McCain for many Americans is his age, and McCain has sought to address any questions by pursuing a vigorous campaign, but until now has not released detailed information about his health.

He is doing so under tightly controlled circumstances on the Memorial Day holiday weekend. A small group of reporters will be allowed to study the documents for three hours at a hotel conference room near a branch of the Mayo Clinic in Arizona. They may take notes but cannot make copies.

The Arizona senator had major surgery on his face in 2000 for melanoma, a potentially lethal form of skin cancer. The surgery left a noticeable scar and bulge down the left side of his face.

His body also bears the scars of the five-and-a-half years he spent in a Vietnam prisoner of war camp. He suffered broken bones when his plane was shot down over Hanoi and as a captive, he was beaten regularly.

The documents will include details about the melanoma surgery. They cover the period from 2000 to 2008. McCain gets a regular check-up by a skin doctor and no problems have surfaced.

McCain said to expect no surprises from the documents.

"I think it's obviously, as you'll see, excellent," McCain told reporters of his health on Thursday in Stockton, California.

He talked as if he would make an issue of his experience gained from age compared to what he called Obama's youth and inexperience. Obama is 46.

"I admire and respect Senator Obama," McCain told supporters at a rally in Stockton. "For a young man with very little experience, he's done very well."

While reporters are scouring his medical history, McCain himself will kick off a long Memorial Day weekend in which he will host at least three potential vice presidential candidates at his Sedona, Arizona, ranch.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal are expected to be on hand for a barbecue that the McCain campaign said was arranged to thank a number of people who have been helpful to McCain's presidential run.

McCain insisted on Thursday that it was purely a social outing. The menu is to include chicken and ribs.

"It's just having a group of friends for Memorial Day weekend to visit us and enjoy one of the most beautiful places in America. It's no more, and no less," said McCain.

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