Posted on 07/29/2008 10:13:15 PM PDT by flyfree
On this day in 1967, one hundred and thirty-four men died and sixty-two were wounded in a fire on an aircraft carrier, the USS Forrestal. Among the planes waited to take off, a missile misfired and hit another plane, sparking a massive inferno.
As bombs and fuel exploded, Lt. Commander John McCain jumped out of his own plane and ran toward the flames -- yes, toward the flames -- attempting to rescue another pilot. An exploding bomb then injured McCain in the chest and legs. More information here.
Video at link
(Excerpt) Read more at youtube.com ...
I was at the Pensacola NAS Museum last week and this is displayed. Very tragic.
Thanks for posting. I was sent this earlier today in email. That must have been terrifying on the Forrestal that day.
The Forrestal Fire
From: Naval Aviation News, October 1967
compiled and edited by Senior Chief Journalist John D. Burlage
http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/ships/carriers/histories/cv59-forrestal/forrestal-fire.html
ping
I recall a picture of a sailor in Life magazine running with a fire extinguisher towards a bomb in the fire. It detonated.
Me, too. At this point the “purist conservatives” are becoming ridiculous. We have a man who served his country well versus a walking Che poster — and these “purists” apparently can’t tell the difference.
You might want to see this.
Ping.
It was McCain’s plane that was first hit by the missile. That would seem to make it difficult for him to “run toward the flames...”
Years later, my brother-in-law served on the ship its sailors called the “USS Forest Fire.” That event resulted in the requirement for every sailor to have fire fighting training.
McCain crawled down the refeuling probe and jumped into the fire but rolled clear. He followed Gerald Farmer (the guy with the extinguisher) and a hose crew back into the fire to try to rescue another pilot trapped in his plane. The first bomb exploded killing Farmer, the hose crew and the pilot. McCain was injured by shrapnel.
After McCain escaped his plane and the flames by climbing over the nose of the plane, he turned back towards the burning planes behind him.
Are you claiming that human beings are wind up toys that can only go in the single direction they are originally pointed?
“Years later, my brother-in-law served on the ship its sailors called the “USS Forest Fire.” That event resulted in the requirement for every sailor to have fire fighting training.”
Not! All sailors had and have fire fighting training long before this incident.
Following a man into battle is a far cry from turning over our family’s security and future well being to be managed by him. I would have gladly followed Patton on his campaigns of WWII but I sure as hell would not have trusted his judgment on the day to day and personal well being of my grandmother.
We “purists” just happen to be critical thinkers (something that is no longer taught in our government schools) and make our judgments on the whole pie instead of just the last piece we were last served.
McCain’s legislative history has trampled on our first ammendment rights, tried to pull a fast one on amnesty, blocked our ability to be energy independent, hijacked the ability of conservatives to break judicial fillibusters and the list goes on.
Just as our Maker will pass judgment on the totality of one’s life, so must we. It is a non starter to even think about voting for the idiot and empty suit called Obama, but it is up to John McCain himself to earn our vote. The issue is in his hands to make sure we show up at the voting booth and not just our duty to cast a vote against a possible tyrant. If we end up with the tyrant, it is just as much McCain’s and the Republican Party’s fault for not energizing us beyond those actions for which he is a true military hero.
Please, everyone remember that Benndict Arnold was once an American hero before he too turned to the dark side for his own selfish gains. Military heroism is most often not a calculated event. but McCain’s legislative shortcomings most certainly are.
I had a moment to open McCain's book, randomly, to the pages describing the devotion to duty that his father and grandfather had. Shunning the three generations of McCains' courageous service to this country will likely bring upon us unspeakable disasters.
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