Sailors to the End: The Deadly Fire on the USS Forrestal and the Heroes Who Fought ItThe aircraft carrier USS Forrestal was preparing to launch attacks into North Vietnam when one of its jets accidentally fired a rocket into an aircraft occupied by pilot John McCain. A huge fire ensued, and McCain barely escaped before a 1,000-pound bomb on his plane exploded, causing a chain reaction with other bombs on surrounding planes. The crew struggled for days to extinguish the fires, but, in the end, the tragedy took the lives of 134 men. For thirty-five years, the terrible loss of life has been blamed on the sailors themselves, but this meticulously documented history shows that they were truly the victims and heroes. |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 7 | |
Young Men and Old 29 | 29 |
Their Greatest Fears | 43 |
Journey to Vietnam | 56 |
On Yankee Station | 75 |
Fire on the Flight Deck | 90 |
One Minute and Thirtyfour Seconds | 122 |
Stay on the Job | 144 |
Keep Up Your Very Good Work | 160 |
They Were Sailors to the End | 179 |
Dont Want to Screw Up | 185 |
Im Ready to Go | 199 |
Injuries Multiple Extreme 216 __ 15 Investigations 242 | 242 |
Iceland | 258 |
Other editions - View all
Sailors to the End: The Deadly Fire on the USS Forrestal and the Heroes Who ... Gregory A. Freeman No preview available - 2004 |
Sailors to the End: The Deadly Fire on the USS Forrestal and the Heroes Who ... Gregory A. Freeman No preview available - 2002 |
Common terms and phrases
A-4 Skyhawk aircraft carrier alarm ammunition assignment aviators Bangert Beling’s belowdecks Blaskis blast bombs bridge buddies bunk burning Captain Beling catapult crew members Crutchley damage control dangerous debris destroyers Diamond Head didn’t Ed Roberts Eurice explosions firefighting flames flare flight deck fog foam Forrestal Forrestal’s forward Friedman Gary Pritchard going GQ station gun mount hangar bay happened hatch helicopter hell injured island jet fuel John McCain Julius Killmeyer Kirchner landing launch looked McCain mess minute Moorer move naval navy navy’s Norfolk North Vietnam officer operations ordnance Oriskany overboard pigtails pilot plane port Pritchard pulled quickly realized rear Roberts Rowland safety sailors Shaver Shelton ship’s sick bay side smoke soon started Subic Bay Tastee-Freez thing throughout the ship Vietnam waiting wanted watch Whelpley wounded Yankee Station young Zuni rocket Zwerlein
Popular passages
Page viii - So it is more useful to watch a man in times of peril and in adversity to discern what kind of man he is; for then at last words of truth are drawn from the depths of his heart, and the mask is torn off, reality remains.
Page 79 - There have been no shortages in supplies for the troops in Vietnam which have adversely affected combat operations or the health and welfare of our troops.
Page 60 - Indies around the Cape of Good Hope at the tip of Africa, the first European to find his way directly to Asia by sea.
Page iii - Gregory A. Freeman, Lay This Body Down: The 1921 Murders of Eleven Plantation Slaves (Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 1999).
Page 93 - T s fifth day in the Vietnam War. the first air strike had been launched at 7 AM, and that meant that the air crews, pilots, and flight deck crews had made an early start. The second launch was scheduled for...
Page 93 - If all went well, the old bombs would be off the ship by 11:30 AM and wreaking havoc over Vietnam. The pilots were never told they would be carrying old World War II — era bombs that were so unstable they scared the dickens out of the ForrestaFs ordnance crew.
Page 103 - Bangert reached out to press the button that would switch from the external cart's power supply to the plane's internal system. As his gloved finger hit the button, Bangert and McKay both felt a mild explosion shake the plane.
Page 31 - For restai would be the glory days he would remember for the rest of his life. No matter what else might await him, he could not imagine anything more fulfilling than serving as captain of this ship.