nodope0695
03-11-2008, 10:31 PM
This thread: http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=127879 claims John McCain was responsible for the USS Forrestal fire in 1967.
IT IS FALSE!!!
The record must be set straight in order to get the truth about this disaster out to those poeple who take the OP's story at face value.
I'm by no means a fan of McCain, nor am I here to defend him. However, the OP's story is a bald-faced lie, and dishonors the men who died on the USS Forrestal during the explosions and resultant fires.
Here are the facts:
McCain had absolutely NOTHING to do with the Forrestal incident, except that he barely escaped with his life. To claim anything more than that gives McCain far more credit that he deserves.
I am in the Navy (have been for 15 years), and the Forrestal fire is a standard training video for proper firefighting and flight deck safety. I worked on the flight decks of the USS Washington, USS Eiesenhower, USS Truman, and USS Roosevelt as an electrician for H-60 Helicopters. I have knowledge of what its like on a flight deck, and I'm very familiar with the story of the USS Forrestal.
The USS Forrestal fire was caused by an errant 5 inch ZUNI rocket, fired from an aircraft parked amidship on the flightdeck. The rocket streaked across the deck and hit a plane back aft. The resulting fire caused bombs on the aircraft to "cook off" and blow huge holes in the flight deck, and ignited huge fires below decks.
McCain just happened to be sitting in his A-4 amidst the conflagration. He jumped out of his cockpit, and swung down off his plane via the refueling probe.
The fire was NOT caused by McCain "showing off" with his afterburners...the A-4 Skyhawk does not have afterburners, as it was a subsonic attack aircraft. The rocket that caused the fire was launched accidentally by an F-4 Phantom and was caused by stray voltage in the weapon system's electrical wires.
The claim that McCain is responsible for the USS Forrestal fire is false, and not even close to the facts. But don't take my word for it, I'm just a 15 year Navy man. Check the record, and you'll see the truth. http://www.forrestal.org/fidfacts/page13.htm
IT IS FALSE!!!
The record must be set straight in order to get the truth about this disaster out to those poeple who take the OP's story at face value.
I'm by no means a fan of McCain, nor am I here to defend him. However, the OP's story is a bald-faced lie, and dishonors the men who died on the USS Forrestal during the explosions and resultant fires.
Here are the facts:
McCain had absolutely NOTHING to do with the Forrestal incident, except that he barely escaped with his life. To claim anything more than that gives McCain far more credit that he deserves.
I am in the Navy (have been for 15 years), and the Forrestal fire is a standard training video for proper firefighting and flight deck safety. I worked on the flight decks of the USS Washington, USS Eiesenhower, USS Truman, and USS Roosevelt as an electrician for H-60 Helicopters. I have knowledge of what its like on a flight deck, and I'm very familiar with the story of the USS Forrestal.
The USS Forrestal fire was caused by an errant 5 inch ZUNI rocket, fired from an aircraft parked amidship on the flightdeck. The rocket streaked across the deck and hit a plane back aft. The resulting fire caused bombs on the aircraft to "cook off" and blow huge holes in the flight deck, and ignited huge fires below decks.
McCain just happened to be sitting in his A-4 amidst the conflagration. He jumped out of his cockpit, and swung down off his plane via the refueling probe.
The fire was NOT caused by McCain "showing off" with his afterburners...the A-4 Skyhawk does not have afterburners, as it was a subsonic attack aircraft. The rocket that caused the fire was launched accidentally by an F-4 Phantom and was caused by stray voltage in the weapon system's electrical wires.
The claim that McCain is responsible for the USS Forrestal fire is false, and not even close to the facts. But don't take my word for it, I'm just a 15 year Navy man. Check the record, and you'll see the truth. http://www.forrestal.org/fidfacts/page13.htm