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#1
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When you
Hit your knees tonight Please say a prayer the Sailors and Marines who died on the USS Forrestal on this date off the coast of Viet Nam;
On July 29, 1967 the USS Forrestal was operating on Yankee Station off the coast of North Vietnam conducting combat operations. This was the fifth such day of operations and at 10:52am the crew was starting the second launch cycle of the day, when suddenly a zuni rocket accidentally fired from an F-4 Phantom into a parked and armed A-4 Skyhawk. The accidental launch and subsequent impact caused the belly fuel tank and a 1,000 pound bomb on the Skyhawk to fall off, the tank broke open spilling JP5 (jet fuel) onto the flight deck and ignited a fire. Within a minute and a half the bomb was the first to cook-off and explode, this caused a massive chain reaction of explosions that engulfed half the airwings aircraft, and blew huge holes in the steel flight deck. Fed by fuel and bombs from other aircraft that were armed and ready for the coming strike, the fire spread quickly, many pilots and support personnel were trapped and burned alive. Fuel and bombs spilled into the holes in the flight deck igniting fires on decks further into the bowels of the ship. The crew heroically fought the fire and carried armed bombs to the side of the ship to throw them overboard for 13 hours. Once the fires were under control, the extent of the devastation was apparent. Most tragic was the loss to the crew, 134 had lost their lives, while an additional 64 were injured, this was and still remains the single worst loss of life on a navy vessel since the USS Franklin (CV-13) was bombed in WWII. Eighteen members of the crew are buried in Arlington National Cemetery. RIP Shipmates and Friends We Have The Watch,
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CBOB:0002 1905 Savage 380, 1978, 1980 DW Pistol Pacs, Severns Custom 1985 Springer 1911A1, 09 DW Marksman, S&W Model 19-6, GSG 1911 22LR. , S&W Model 29-2 |
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BlackKnight (07-29-2015), Caleb (07-29-2015), douglas_knott (07-31-2015), Feathermerchant (07-29-2015), jmlutz (07-29-2015), MajO (07-29-2015), milkmanjoe (07-30-2015), Rick McC. (08-02-2015), Riverpigusmc (07-29-2015), RKP (07-29-2015), ronpaul50 (07-30-2015), sdmc530 (07-29-2015), skosh69 (07-29-2015) |
#2
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My brother in law was on the Forrestal. He was scheduled to be in his rack when it happened. Fate had it that he pulled an extra shift to train someone. Everyone in his bunkhead died.
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CBOB0739 |
#3
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R.I.P. and thank you for your sacrifice.
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**I have been Enlightened** |
#4
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RIP Sailors and Marines.
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Pedro U / Member# 0770 |
#5
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Amen and God Bless them.
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COTEP #719 "Laws that forbid the carrying of arms...disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed one." - Thomas Jefferson quoting Cesare Beccaria |
#6
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God Bless them and their families.
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"Sights are for the unenlightened." Rick IDPA/NRA Certified Safety Officer/Range S.O. |