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Remember the USS Forrestal fire today...
- Thread starter BigIron
- Start date
I remember watching that in recruit training. It made quite an impression on me
RIP fellow Sailors. We (CONSTELLATION), had been relieved by FORRESTAL at Yankee Station on the 25th after a tough 35-day line period. Tied up Leyte Pier on the 27th, for an 18-day port call. Flew my wife over, took 10 days leave, with several day stays scheduled for Baguio, & Hong Kong.
The morning after Mrs. Bee's arrival on the 29th, in a Manila hotel, I got the dreaded phone call from our SDO... EMERGENCY recall! Leave CX, report back ASAP, ship getting underway the next morning (31st), to take FORRESTAL's place, as the fires were 'under control' and she was limping back to Cubi. When I arrived, Skipper said he was leaving me ashore to fly a squadron bird back to the ship when Cubi maint had it back up. That took three more days, so Lady Bee stayed until I took off for "War Chief" on the 3rd.
We were having lunch in the Cubi O' Club (which sits up on a hill overlooking the airfield/Leyte Pier),when the stricken carrier limped in to tie up. It was an awful, and very sad sight. Still belching occasional wisps of smoke, the flight deck carrying some hulks of shatterd aircraft, and other horrific damage. It was so sad, there were many tears shed at the enormity of the human loss. That period far overshadowed any 'bad times' we experienced on my two squadron combat tours.
Lady Bee, having no stomach for continuing on to HK with several other squadron wives, returned back to Lemoore without delay.
BzB
On deployment I read "Sailors to the End," which is a decent history of the fire and has a good number of stories from many survivors. I definitely teared up when reading about DC central talking to the guys trapped in aft steering with horrific injuries and giving them instructions. Both they and the Sailors trapped knew they were going to die in there as there was no way for a rescue party to reach them, but those Sailors did what they needed to do and played a significant role in saving the ship.
When I flew into Cubi Point to report on board the Connie for my shooter tour, she wasn't there. Instead there was a smoldering wreck that had been the Forrestal. I caught the first COD out that was going to Yankee Station.
Shipmates departing USS FORRESTAL for the final time.
Leyte Pier - NAS Cubi Point P. I.
31 July 1967.
I'm personally convinced that the reason we didn't lose Samuel B Roberts, Stark, or Cole was that the Navy's never forgotten what happened on Forrestal. The DC training everybody has to do is annoying, but this is why we do it, and it has paid off.
My DC instructor at SWOS was a DCCS who was a DC2 on the Sammy B, and he had a photo album from the day of the mine hit...that boat should've sunk. It was damn near snapped in half amidships. Some heroic shit by the crew.
You want to see what happens when an otherwise professional bunch of sailors don't internalize "all hands are damage controlmen" in the same way, read the after-actions of the Brits in the Falklands. Stark had the same weaknesses as Sheffield and Coventry (aluminum superstructure, limited counter-air and point defenses), and was also taken by surprise and hit by Exocet. Training was the difference. The sailors on Forrestal didn't die in vain, G-d bless their memories.
My DC instructor at SWOS was a DCCS who was a DC2 on the Sammy B, and he had a photo album from the day of the mine hit...that boat should've sunk. It was damn near snapped in half amidships. Some heroic shit by the crew.
You want to see what happens when an otherwise professional bunch of sailors don't internalize "all hands are damage controlmen" in the same way, read the after-actions of the Brits in the Falklands. Stark had the same weaknesses as Sheffield and Coventry (aluminum superstructure, limited counter-air and point defenses), and was also taken by surprise and hit by Exocet. Training was the difference. The sailors on Forrestal didn't die in vain, G-d bless their memories.
I think I knew/served with him. Jerry ?
Yup. Awesome sensor operator, too. I'm sure being a sim instructor helps. I did a pre-TORPEX with him down at AUTEC. We had (simulated) weapon in the water in 14 minutes-ish. And if this was on the high side, I'd tell you the placement, which was about 10 yards and several degrees from perfect. Most of the credit goes to him in the back.
We were instructors together back in HSL-40 . . . . . MANY moons ago. A lot of funny stories from that era
707guy
"You can't make this shit up..."
I think it speaks volumes for the Navy that we do not let these disasters fade away. I have forgotten how many times I've seen the Forrestal fire movie - every time it made an impact. I always tell folks that if every Marine is a rifleman, then every Sailor is a firefighter.