THE REPUBLICANS: THE CONVENTION IN NEW YORK — APPLE’S ALMANAC; McCain, Trying His Best Not to Look Back
By R.W. APPLE JR. - 8/31/04
Mr. McCain and I have been friends since I flew from Saigon in July 1967 to report on an accident on the aircraft carrier Forrestal in the Gulf of Tonkin, in which a Zuni rocket accidentally detonated and set fire to the 400-gallon fuel tank of his A-4D Skyhawk, parked on the flight deck. More than 100 men were killed in the inferno that followed.
Afterwards, he came to stay at my house in Saigon for a week or so, and we enjoyed the bright lights of the wartime capital together. Only three months later, he was shot down and held as a prisoner of war in Hanoi for five long years.
Yes Johnny sounds like he had a relaxing week sheltering in Saigon with a NYT reporter, recovering from his “ despondency” and pondering his career ( strange preoccupation for a blameless accident victim)
unlike the rest of the ships crew that were pullng together to account for the missing, put out the fires, enable the ship to get underway to Subic, start debriefings and writing reports. After all 134 families needed to be notified of the dead and another 160 of the injured ...and then there was the onboard memorial service attended by 2,000 of the crew- minus LT McCain
At least he had time to talk to Dad, get his personal version of events out through the NYT probably before some families even knew what happened and to get his story lined up before the accident board convened