i don't much care for john mccain, and i haven't since he and sarah palin ran against barak obama in the 2008 presidential campaign. i think that his timidity in the last two months of that campaign yanked defeat from the jaws of victory. subsequent events suggest to me that he went "in the tank" to satisfy the wishes of various establishment handlers .... this is pure & absolute speculation on my part, and i haven't a clue as to who any such person or persons might be. nor do i have any evidence to adduce to such supposition.
i also think that mccain is trying to scuttle donald trump's presidency, perhaps in service to that same "establishment." i have about as much evidence for this supposition as i do for my other thoughts about mccain.
i just wish, however, that mccain would dry up and blow away, and get out of politics and stop meddling in the due course of trump's presidency. i have stated that i wish that we could give him back to viet nam.
http://wintersoldier2008.typepad.com/summer_patriot_winter_sol/2017/02/if-they-would-take-his-worthless-ass-i-would-propose-that-we-give-john-mccain-back-to-the-vietnamese.html .
i have not changed my views with regard to that matter. i heartily maintain them. and, at the close of the above article i openly wondered how much mccain might have had to do with the circumstances that led to the fire aboard the u.s.s. forrestal on july 29, 1967 while operating at yankee station in the gulf of tonkin.
well, i have done some reading on the matter, and now i will do an update on my previous article concerning the old warn out hulk.
update, fire on the u.s.s. forrestal, 03.06.2017. despite a lot of chat room conversation it is abundantly clear that john mccain had nothing to do with the initial event that started the fire which ended up killing 134 sailors and aviators aboard the forrestal, and left another 161 injured, some very severely.
at the time of the fire and explosion on the forrestal deck mccain was in his plane, an a4-e skyhawk, waiting in "queue" for take off, his plane fully laden with bombs and other ordnance. he was flanked on either side of his plane by other a4-e medium bombers.
across the deck, in another take off queue were f4-b phantom fighters, many armed with "zuni" missiles. one of the phantoms, believed to be plane no. 110 from vf-11 launched a zuni missile, probably because an electrical surge, which went across the air craft carrier's deck, striking a fuel tank on the a4-e skyhawk sitting immediately adjacent to mccains aircraft: the missile did not explode as it passed through the fuel tank, its arming system preventing that. but, the fuel in the tank leaked onto the deck, and immediately caught fire.
the above account is taken from an article at wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Forrestal_fire .
to this point, the narrative is pretty clear. and, it appears to me that it is virtually impossible to point to any error, or moral fault, on the part of john mccain which could have contributed to the launch of the zuni missile which clearly struck the plane next to his.
from here, however, the narrative gets a bit murky. and, the events on the forrestal very tragic.
when the missile struck the a4-e's fuel tank, the plane piloted by lieutenant commander fred d. white, no explosion occurred, but fuel from the ruptured tank flowed over the deck. it caught fire, and all of the reading i have done really points to no conclusive reason why.
what is clear is that shortly after the fire on the deck began, a 1,000 pound bomb from another a4-e fell to the deck, and rolled right into the middle of the jet fuel fire. the fire then ruptured other fuel tank's on white's plane, adding to the intensity of the fire. some 90 seconds after this occurred, the bomb exploded with tremendous force killing the members of a fire crew who were trying to extinguish the fuel fire, and opening a gaping hole in the deck of the forrestal, though which burning fuel drained into the decks below. lt. commander white was also killed in the explosion.
the force of the explosion was such that white's plane, and mccains a4-e were destroyed, blown up. lt. commander john mccain escaped death by clambering out of his plane, sliding down the nose, and jumping to the deck, and running to escape the burgeoning conflagration. he narrowly escaped the explosion which killed white and the fire crew. that much is abundantly clear.
what is also relatively clear is that mccain went below, and watched the unfolding events on a closed circuit t.v.: all told, the forrestal had 9 major bomb explosions on its decks, and to avoid more damage and fatalities pushed both aircraft and ordnance into the ocean to avoid more fire and explosion. mccain took no part in the efforts on deck to save his fellow pilots, the planes on the deck, and the ship itself which came perilously close to being sunk.
mccain's accounts of the events are confusing after he went below are, well, quite confusing.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/page2/20081007_investigating_john_mccains_tragedy_at_sea .
mccain has claimed that the zuni missile struck his plane, and not white's, and that his plane dropped two bombs onto the deck, presumably to include the one that fueled the first explosion. most of the analysis that i have read appear to contradict this, and most accounts seem to indicate that only one bomb initially exploded in the jet fuel fire which killed white and the fire crews.
mccain can be forgiven this, as this certainly had to have been a confusing and harrowing set of circumstances. it is hardly surprising that in something like this accounts as to what happened would differ.
but, other things occurred after the fire and explosions that do not reflect well upon mccain's integrity or his honesty. he has reported that he was wounded by shrapnel, yet he did not report to sick bay for treatment. in fact, it is not clear that he sought medical treatment for any injury he has claimed. he left the ship the next day on a helicopter with a reporter, and flew to saigon where he apparently went drinking in a bar. he did not stay aboard the ship, and did not stay to attend the burials at sea of his ship mates and fellow pilots. he stayed away from duty for over a month, later describing the time as "r & r." it is not clear that he took authorized leave.
i would suggest that you read --
http://www.truthdig.com/report/page2/20081007_investigating_john_mccains_tragedy_at_sea,
which is a four page excerpt from a longer book, detailing mccain's action after the forrestal fire and explosions. in sum, you will find that mccain's quick reaction & presence of mind to escape the havor caused by the missile's firing were admirable. but, i don't think that you will find his actions and accounts after he escaped the burning deck to have been proper, or admirable, or even particularly defenseable. he left a damaged ship, at a time when he could have served it, and he did not.
when he finally returned to the forrestal, he immediately requested transfer to another air craft carrier, which request was granted.
in sum, it doesn't appear that direct responsibility or fault can be ascribed to mccain for the fire and deaths on the forrestal, in any identifiable particular. and, certainly he took quick action to save his own life which cannot be faulted: his plane, after all was destroyed in the explosion which killed lt. commander white and destroyed white's plane. the deck of the forrestal was clearly a very dangerous place to be, and had mccain not immediately fled, he would have died, and accomplished little in that death. yet, he did not return to the deck where his presence might have been useful, and where he could have served his crew members. he stayed below.
in the weeks and months that followed, before he returned to active duty, there is little in his conduct which appears admirable. he was being, quite clearly, what can best be described as "self indulgent." and, much that does not jibe with the gloss he has placed on his conduct following the fire, and explosions, which took so many lives.
he did not display those character traits which would qualify him to serve as president of the united states, nor particularly the character desired in a united states senator. not in my estimation, at any rate.
end update, 03.06.2017 .
i don't like mccain, and perhaps my view of these events is skewed by that patent dislike. but, read the accounts, and see what you think. john mccain, in my estimation, started life as a spoiled brat, and it is likely that when he finally dies, he will die as a spoiled brat. a very old, scarred and very flawed, self indulgent spoiled brat. united states senator, indeed.
john jay @ 03.06.2017
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