Sailors
to the End: The Deadly Fire on the USS Forrestal and the Heroes Who Fought
It
by Gregory A. Freeman
In midsummer 1967, the United States aircraft carrier Forrestal, stationed
off Vietnam, lost 134 men to fires and ensuing explosions after an errant
missile from one of its own planes ruptured a fuel tank on a nearby jet.
Gregory A. Freeman's Sailors to the End is a starkly illuminating account
of the disaster which, like so many maritime tragedies, was perfectly preventable.
Although a faulty detonation switch (similar to a surge suppressor) caused
the rocket to fire, the crippling, deadly conflagrations were caused by
exploding ordnance--"ancient ... thin-skinned" bombs of World War II vintage.
The Navy never admitted its guilt in the matter, a point Freeman makes
very clear. He has a knack for balancing instructive overviews with telling
details (for example, each link in the ship's anchor chain weighed 360
pounds). Freeman does not shy from the grotesque detail, and many scenes,
especially in the sick bay, are harrowing to read. The sad tale of the
men of the Forrestal is a model of narrative clarity and honest reporting.
--H. O'Billovich - Amazon.com
Book Description In the tradition of New York Times bestsellers In Harm's
Way and The Terrible Hours comes a mesmerizing, high-adrenaline account
of the heroic sailors who survived one of the worst accidents in U.S. naval
history.
Sailors to the End tells the dramatic and until now forgotten story
of the 1967 fire on board the USS Forrestal during its time at Yankee Station
off the coast of Vietnam. The aircraft carrier, the mightiest of the U.S.
fleet, was preparing to launch attacks into North Vietnam when one of its
jets accidentally fired a rocket across the flight deck and 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, the five thousand men on board experiencing different
kinds of hell -- some trapped in damaged compartments waiting to die, some
battling rivers of flaming jet fuel in order to rescue their buddies. Almost
all of them were innocent eighteen- and nineteen-year-olds, but in an instant
they were thrust into a tragedy that nearly destroyed the ship and took
the lives of 134 men.
Written with the intensity and excitement of a thriller, and based on
never-before-disclosed information and extensive interviews with the fire's
survivors, here is the first full, minute-by-minute account of the disaster.
Told through the stories of a dozen sailors, including John Beling, the
carrier's beloved captain who was made a scapegoat for the disaster, Sailors
to the End follows the Forrestal from its home in Norfolk, Virginia, through
its mission in Vietnam. Focusing on the fateful fire and its aftermath,
this book provides a gripping tale of heartache and heroism as young men
find themselves trapped on a burning ship with bombs exploding all around
them.
Sailors to the End also corrects the official view of the fire, providing
evidence that the U.S. government compromised the ship's safety by insisting
on increased bombing despite the shortage of reliable weapons. 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, deserving recognition for their efforts during a sweeping
tragedy that until now has been only a footnote in history. Gregory A.
Freeman dramatically brings this story to life, creating a work that is
both riveting and moving.
Hardcover from William Morrow
Book Published: 09 July, 2002
Lock
on No. 14 : USS Forrestal "Gateway to the Danger Zone"
by Francois Verlinden
Mass Market Paperback from Verlinden
Productions, Inc.
Book Published: 01 May, 1999
Uss Forrestal (Detail and Scale, Vol 36)
by Bert Kinzey
Paperback from Squadron/Signal Pubns
Book Published: November, 1990
Out of Print - Try Used Books
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