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Title: Forrestal Incident
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Published: Oct 11, 2008
Author: salemguy
Post Date: 2008-10-11 17:08:50 by salemguy
Keywords: Forrestal, McCain, hotdog
Views: 437
Comments: 21
I have some open questions I think are important. They are about the truth of the Forrestal accident John McCain was involved in, in 1967. I believe a resolution of them can provide insight into his true character. I learned about it from a friend a month ago and googled a lot of material, mostly inconclusive, often conflicting. One of the better comment sets I found was here, but I can't find it now, so I'm sending this as a general post, not really an article. I've read zionist nut interpretations and murky, early morning hangover-like assertions, and seen "official" videos, but a former carrier flight deck navy man whose name I can't remember provided good information here on actual operational logistics that still leave me with questions. The central question is and has been whether or not McCain, with his "hot dog" behavior and reputation, caused the accident, resulting in loss of many lives on the ship, and millions of dollars in loss of planes and damage to the ship. Cutting to the chase through my own confusion... A4's of that era were started with external air power. Who controls the fuel switch? It still seems to me that a pilot who wanted to haze other pilots with a "wet start" (big flame on ignition) could effect that. Where did the errant missle that started the fires hit McCain's fuel tank come from, and why? The only credible explanation I've seen is that it was a result of a McCain wet start, from the plane behind, or another not behind? Why was McCain transferred from the Forrestal to the Oriskany? I've read two versions of that transfer... one that it happened immediately and another that it happened after a couple weeks of R&R in Saigon (why?), but in either case he left the Forrestal that day, as far as I can tell. That suggests to me a "fragging" might have occurred? Fragging, for those who may not know, is the killing of officers by enlisted personnel for perceived wrongs. I would really like to hear from Forrestal vets who were there. I think a set of reflections from them may help resolve these questions. McCain lost four planes in his Naval career with his hot dog attitude, it appears, and a fifth when he was shot down. Most pilots would lose their flight status after one or two, I'd think. In any event, I still think the Forrestal incident bears some scrutiny.
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#7. To: salemguy (#0)
There is no evidence of McCain wrongdoing regarding the events on Forrestal. I will address the transfer issue first. This mixes a medevac for medical treatment with a subsequent permanent change of station transfer. On the day of the incident, as shown in available video, McCain left his burning plane, jumped into the fire on deck and rolled out of the fire. Very shortly thereafter there was an explosion and he took shrapnel wounds. He was evacuated that day, as were many others, to the Oriskany for medical treatment. "Lieutenant Commander John McCain of VA 46 was hit by shrapnel as he jumped out of his plane and ran across the deck. He is recovering." See All Hands, November 1967, p. 6. McCain was a member of an attack squadron (VA-46, The Clansmen) and NOT a member of the Forrestal crew. The Forrestal had massive damage and headed to the yards for about a year. All the squadron pilots would leave Forrestal. Many of the squadron planes were destroyed and the squadron had no usable carrier. All of the remaining squadron aircraft and squadron crews were disembarked in Mayport, Florida before the Forrestal reached homeport in Norfolk, VA. The squadrons have their own commanding officer and their own home base. VA-46 was based at Naval Air Station Cecil Field, Florida. McCain had neither a carrier nor a plane to return to. He was picked up by VA-163 (The Saints) who took all the A-4 pilots they could get. Admiral Jerry C. Breast's Speech-2005 FID REUNION, Franklin, TN 8/27/05 REAR ADMIRAL JERRY C. BREAST, USN (Ret) Speech Given at the THE MORE THINGS CHANGE, THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME I am honored to be among the nation’s finest sailors and their loved ones who made us proud and mighty. Although I was never aboard CVA-59, the class ship for my own INDEPENDENCE, for anything more than a carrier qualification, her reputation and out shared mission makes her precious in my memory. I particularly remember sitting in Ready Room Three on ORISKANY that day in July of 1967 when a dark cloud of smoke appeared on the horizon of the plat. We ceased combat operations and steamed over to our sister ship. My squadron VA-163 (the Saints) had been hard hit in the ORISKANY fire in October 1966 and we, under the leadership of Commander Bryan Compton, had trained well in fire fighting. We had three full teams of 16 men formed in our squadron, including medics and we geared up to go to FORRESTAL, which we had closed to within three miles. In my recollection we did load up one of our teams in Helo’s but I’m not sure how much firefighting they actually did. Another fallout of that fateful day was that our squadron, which had already lost six pilots gobbled up all the A-4 pilots who wanted to cross-deck (they included folks like John McCain, John Roosen and Jeff Korommenhawk …two of whom we subsequently lost. One of my close friends was LCDR Rod Kauber of VF-74 who wanted desperately to get into combat…but there were no Phantom boats on the line. What a tragic and strategic loss…you guys were primed and ready to go!! [snip] Article, U.S. Navy publication All Hands, November 1967.
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Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/LatestWhy was McCain transferred from the Forrestal to the Oriskany? I've read two versions of that transfer... one that it happened immediately and another that it happened after a couple weeks of R&R in Saigon (why?), but in either case he left the Forrestal that day, as far as I can tell.
http://www.lancehatfield.com/AdmiralBreast.htm
USS FORRESTAL Association 2005 Reunion 
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