Sailors to the End: The Deadly Fire on the USS Forrestal and the Heroes Who Fought It

Gregory A. Freeman

Oct 2009 · Harper Collins

About this ebook

The aircraft carrier USS Forrestal was preparing to launch attacks into North Vietnam when one of its jets accidentally fired a rocket 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, but, in the end, the tragedy took the lives of 134 men. 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.

Ratings and reviews

This book captures the events, true story of the fire on the USS FORRESTAL my father Thomas D. Ott was on board that day 7/29/1967...he was John McCain's parachute rigger airman and had just wiped his helmet visor to clear him to the catapult for take off just as the missle hit McCain's fuel tank...my dad perished that day...I was born 12 days later, never got to meet my Father, my hero. :(

About the author

Gregory A. Freeman is the author of Lay This Body Down: The 1921 Murders of Eleven Plantation Slaves. An award-winning journalist with twenty years' experience, he lives in Atlanta, Georgia.