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REMARKS AT THE USS FORRESTAL COMMEMORATION
July 29, 1992
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania- Today Senator John McCain spoke at the commemoration for the USS Forrestal and gave the following remarks:The most revered memories of a nation are always born in war. When a people wish to associate their country with the qualities of courage, resourcefulness, integrity, and selflessness, they usually refer first to the battlefield heroism of their countrymen, of their fathers, brothers, neighbors, friends or comrades-in-arms. When we wish to express our national devotion to the principles which define us, we often invoke the hallowed names of battles, won and lost: Bunker Hill, Gettysburg, Guadulcanal, D-Day, the Chosin Reservoir, Khe San. "Heroism", as George Kennan defines it, "is endurance for one moment more." Such a quality is abundantly evident in wartime, but it is not limited to martial combat. Heroism is not a calling which can only be answered when a man is engaged in mortal struggle with the enemies of his country. It is not reserved solely for the courageous combat infantryman, or the fighter pilot, or the daring cavalry officer.
On a Saturday morning in July, twenty five years ago, the men of the USS Forrestal, out of reach of hostile fire, were summoned to heroism. On that day, the crew of the Forrestal well earned the distinction bestowed by Admiral Nimitz on the Marines at Iwo Jima: "Uncommon valor was a common virtue."
On that Saturday morning, I sat in the cockpit of my A-4 preparing to fight my country's enemies. My parachute rigger, a fellow from Mississippi, wiped off my visor, as he always did, and handed me my helmet. I started my engine, and a rocket hit the fuel tank under my airplane. I never saw my friend from Mississippi again.
I scrambled out of my aircraft, ran across the deck, and watched as sailors carried hoses and extinguishers toward the raging fire. A moment later the first bomb cooked off, and when the explosion had cleared, those brave men were gone.
No ship in the United StatesNavy was better prepared for combat than the Forrestal. The Forrestal is a magnificent carrier, and we were all proud to serve on her. We had just launched 700 sorties against the enemy in four days without a loss. We were ready for more. But we were not ready for the calamity that befell us on July 27th.
We were not prepared to fight a fire that to everyone present looked for what seemed like a very long time to be consuming the entire ship. The men of the Forrestal may not have been prepared for that particular enemy, but they fought it courageously nonetheless. They fought it all 'day and well into the next. The fought it with the tenacity of great warriors in hand-to-hand combat.
Some of the pilots could not get out of theit planes, and died there. Many more of the Forrestal crew, mostly enlisted men, died struggling to save them. Many more died in the heroic struggle to save the Forrestal.
Enormous sacrifices were made that day. No field of honor ever bore more valiant men. These good men, 134 of them, died in service to their country. And their country should be grateful to them and revere their memory with as much devotion as we dedicate to the fallen on any battlefield where Americans took up arms in our country's cause.
They endured for one moment more, and one moment more, and one moment more. They saved the Forrestal.
Thank you and God bless you.
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