What is your source? Please read "Sailors to the end" by Gregory A. Freeman for the facts! McCain was sitting in his plane on the flight line waiting to take off when his plane was the first plane to be hit by the mis-fired rocket that started the whole Forestal disaster. McCain was lucky to survive. All that before being captured. Were you there? Unless you there, STFU.
more than that, the book says McCain helped in throwing ordinance overboard. Ordinance that could have gone off in the fire. I don' think there was a person on the Forrestal that "hid in their cabin", give me a break!