Posted on 07/24/2011 8:34:47 AM PDT by Revski
Memorial of the US Naval Disaster of the aircraft carrier, USS Forrestal - CVA-59, July 29, 1967 in North Vietnam, Golf of Tonkin. Song of this Memorial video is, Pray For Me, sung by the Blind Boys of Alabama.
Thank you for the link to that video. I was wondering where it was. I have added it to my company’s safety library. It drives home the importance of knowing safety procedures and following them.
Note that many companies operating platforms in the Gulf of Mexico now require everyone - including engineers - to undergo firefighting training. One company has even sent some engineers assigned to platforms to the fire school at Texas A&M.
My Brother was a plank holder on the Forrestal
Me? Say somethin’ stupid?!? ;’)
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As much as I dislike his politics, you got to give him credit, he was ‘safe’ and went back to help another pilot - got hit with shrapnel from cookoffs and Volunteered for flight duty on the Oriskany - and was shot down and a POW within 6 months of the fire- -and remember he was about 30 by then.
Although he had ‘straightened out’ by then I wonder how many Naval Aviators with his early record would have lasted, unless of course their Father and Grandfather were ADMS?
There was a book about the fire that was very descriptive, especially to USN types.. Can’t remember the author or title but it was loosely based on the “Four Horseman of the Apocalypse” and written by a former crewman who had survived the fire.
I’m not familiar with, plank holder, what is it?
Yes and thanks so much to you and others that commented with words of comfort and videos that I have never seen.
This video is well done in all its movie pictures shown but is very wrong in the time of the fires starting. At frame 03:21 the time mentioned is wrong because I was there and the time was 10:51 in the morning and not 13:51 in the afternoon.
There is usually a certificate issued to show you are a member of the first crew.
Thanks and that interesting!
Yep, ironic that the Oriskany and Enterprise were also in damage control films for their own situations. I think the FID was the worst, but I am not sure, Boot camp was so long ago. I was on the in port fire fighting team and know we couldn’t have handled such a calamity. Thank God for the Engineering Department.
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