Subnuts
04-18-07, 03:00 PM
I read this book recently, and just like every other book I seem to read, wrote a review of it. If you're reading this Neal, and wondering why I didn't post it in the Subsim Crew forum, it's because I'm a little unsure about the thinly veiled political commentary at the end. I usually try to avoid that kind of thing...
Early on the morning of July 29th, 1967, tragedy struck the American aircraft carrier Forrestal, stationed at "Yankee Station" just 70 miles off the coast of North Vietnam. A freak electrical failure resulted in the firing of a Zuni rocket from one of the carrier's F-4 Phantom jet fighters. The rocket struck an A-4 Skyhawk (flown by a young John McCain) on the opposite side of the deck, puncturing the external fuel tank without exploding. Hundreds of gallons of volatile jet fuel poured from the stricken fighter.
Almost immediately, the fuel ignited, setting fire to a number of planes on the port side behind the island. Barely 90 seconds later, the heat from the fire detonated both of the 1,000 pound bombs under McCain's plane at full power, wiping out most of Forrestal's elite firefighting team. The explosions fanned the flames, resulting in a huge inferno which covered the entire port side of the after flight deck. Seven more 1,000 pound bombs exploded, blowing large holes in the deck, damaging the ship below the waterline and allowing burning jet fuel to pour down into the interior.
When the crew finally doused the flames, 131 were dead and countless more injured or traumatized. Three others later succumbed to carbon dioxide poisoning, and small fires continued to burn five days later. 21 aircraft were destroyed, and damage to the ship exceeded $70 million. The Forrestal fire was, and still is, the worst disaster to befall an American fighting ship since World War II.
Gregory A. Freeman's Sailors to the End: The Deadly Fire on the USS Forrestal and the Heroes that Fought It, is an engrossing and sometimes disturbing account of that horrible day and its aftermath. It follows the stories of a number of ordinary "citizen sailors," along with several old hands, some who'd already experienced onboard fires. Freeman seeks to place the blame on someone besides the crew, and does so admirably.
Up until recently, it's been usually asserted that the Forrestal fire was caused by negligence on the part of the crew. John Beling, the ship's captain, was accused of poor judgment, inaction, and dereliction of duty. The accidental firing of the Zuni rocket was seen as a result of Beling's failings, and one Forrestal crew member remembers an onshore damage control class shortly afterwards in which the ship's damage control teams were referred to as "idiots."
What really happened onboard the Forrestal is more disturbing than I'd previously imagined. In order to meet demands for the upcoming bombing campaign against North Vietnam, Forrestal was supplied with ancient "Composition B" bombs that had been stewing in the Philippine jungle since at least 1953, or perhaps as far back as 1935. Even then, bombs were in such short supply Zuni rockets were used as substitutes. Worse, the Forrestal's crew didn't have much experience with these weapons, which employed a "foolproof" redundant safety system to prevent an accidental firing. In order to keep pace with the bombing campaign, Forrestal's ordnancemen were deactivating these devices early. Supposedly, only a one-in-a-million electrical failure could fire a Zuni accidentally. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened.
The feeling I got reading Sailors To The End was one of sadness and anger. I felt awful for these young men, who'd joined the Navy just to avoid being sent into Vietnam. I couldn't help but sympathize with the 19 year old crewmember who was a volunteer firefighter back home, or the young sailor who never forgave himself for trading posts with a friend who was killed in the fire. Perhaps the most moving account surrounds the three men who died in the ship's steering compartment and the officer who had to give them their last orders. In terms of nastiness, one side story involves a sailor who nearly lost his arm in the first bomb explosion and suffered shrapnel wounds to his abdomen. Don't read this book if you're really sensitive about traumatic injuries.
Of course, I was also angry that these men died senseless deaths that could have been easily avoided. Had McCain's plane been carrying newer, fire-resistant bombs, the fire could have been extinguished with little or no fatalities. Instead, perhaps in an attempt to save face while criticism of the war was heating up, the Forrestal was provided with dangerous, obsolete weapons. And so, 134 men were charred, suffocated, incinerated, and disemboweled, simply because their government couldn't provide them with the tools they needed for their job.
I'd recommend Sailors to the End to anyone seriously interested in that colossal mess we now call the "Vietnam War." Freeman's descriptions can be disturbing at times, and needless to say this a depressing story. At the end is a list of all 134 who died on Forrestal. Study it and learn - that's the cost of going to war with the weapons you have and not the weapons you need.
Nothing ever changes.
Early on the morning of July 29th, 1967, tragedy struck the American aircraft carrier Forrestal, stationed at "Yankee Station" just 70 miles off the coast of North Vietnam. A freak electrical failure resulted in the firing of a Zuni rocket from one of the carrier's F-4 Phantom jet fighters. The rocket struck an A-4 Skyhawk (flown by a young John McCain) on the opposite side of the deck, puncturing the external fuel tank without exploding. Hundreds of gallons of volatile jet fuel poured from the stricken fighter.
Almost immediately, the fuel ignited, setting fire to a number of planes on the port side behind the island. Barely 90 seconds later, the heat from the fire detonated both of the 1,000 pound bombs under McCain's plane at full power, wiping out most of Forrestal's elite firefighting team. The explosions fanned the flames, resulting in a huge inferno which covered the entire port side of the after flight deck. Seven more 1,000 pound bombs exploded, blowing large holes in the deck, damaging the ship below the waterline and allowing burning jet fuel to pour down into the interior.
When the crew finally doused the flames, 131 were dead and countless more injured or traumatized. Three others later succumbed to carbon dioxide poisoning, and small fires continued to burn five days later. 21 aircraft were destroyed, and damage to the ship exceeded $70 million. The Forrestal fire was, and still is, the worst disaster to befall an American fighting ship since World War II.
Gregory A. Freeman's Sailors to the End: The Deadly Fire on the USS Forrestal and the Heroes that Fought It, is an engrossing and sometimes disturbing account of that horrible day and its aftermath. It follows the stories of a number of ordinary "citizen sailors," along with several old hands, some who'd already experienced onboard fires. Freeman seeks to place the blame on someone besides the crew, and does so admirably.
Up until recently, it's been usually asserted that the Forrestal fire was caused by negligence on the part of the crew. John Beling, the ship's captain, was accused of poor judgment, inaction, and dereliction of duty. The accidental firing of the Zuni rocket was seen as a result of Beling's failings, and one Forrestal crew member remembers an onshore damage control class shortly afterwards in which the ship's damage control teams were referred to as "idiots."
What really happened onboard the Forrestal is more disturbing than I'd previously imagined. In order to meet demands for the upcoming bombing campaign against North Vietnam, Forrestal was supplied with ancient "Composition B" bombs that had been stewing in the Philippine jungle since at least 1953, or perhaps as far back as 1935. Even then, bombs were in such short supply Zuni rockets were used as substitutes. Worse, the Forrestal's crew didn't have much experience with these weapons, which employed a "foolproof" redundant safety system to prevent an accidental firing. In order to keep pace with the bombing campaign, Forrestal's ordnancemen were deactivating these devices early. Supposedly, only a one-in-a-million electrical failure could fire a Zuni accidentally. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened.
The feeling I got reading Sailors To The End was one of sadness and anger. I felt awful for these young men, who'd joined the Navy just to avoid being sent into Vietnam. I couldn't help but sympathize with the 19 year old crewmember who was a volunteer firefighter back home, or the young sailor who never forgave himself for trading posts with a friend who was killed in the fire. Perhaps the most moving account surrounds the three men who died in the ship's steering compartment and the officer who had to give them their last orders. In terms of nastiness, one side story involves a sailor who nearly lost his arm in the first bomb explosion and suffered shrapnel wounds to his abdomen. Don't read this book if you're really sensitive about traumatic injuries.
Of course, I was also angry that these men died senseless deaths that could have been easily avoided. Had McCain's plane been carrying newer, fire-resistant bombs, the fire could have been extinguished with little or no fatalities. Instead, perhaps in an attempt to save face while criticism of the war was heating up, the Forrestal was provided with dangerous, obsolete weapons. And so, 134 men were charred, suffocated, incinerated, and disemboweled, simply because their government couldn't provide them with the tools they needed for their job.
I'd recommend Sailors to the End to anyone seriously interested in that colossal mess we now call the "Vietnam War." Freeman's descriptions can be disturbing at times, and needless to say this a depressing story. At the end is a list of all 134 who died on Forrestal. Study it and learn - that's the cost of going to war with the weapons you have and not the weapons you need.
Nothing ever changes.