Bear Taylor 
RIPPLE SALVO… #511… LEST WE FORGET… “One of the greatest tragedies of the war in Southeast Asia…”
Good Morning: Day FIVE HUNDRED ELEVEN reflecting on the events and heroic performances of the men who carried the Vietnam war north to the heartland of North Vietnam…
29 July 1967…HEAD LINES from The New York Times on a cloudy Saturday in New York City…
“THE FORRESTAL SET AFIRE BY BLAST–29 PLANES BURN–SOME BOARD FEARED DEAD–SHIP OFF VIETNAM–MEN SIGHTED IN WATER–FALLING FUEL TANK SET OFF BLAZE”...”A raging fire, set off by an explosion broke out on the flight deck of the giant United States aircraft carrier Forrestal off North Vietnam today. Bombs and rockets were set off by the flames…on station only five days… (Humble Host: sometimes in the rush to make a deadline even the NYT doesn’t get it right…).
Please read the MIGHTY THUNDER post today for a very thorough essay remembering the tragic day we lost 134 brave souls in an historic carrier accident at sea… Also, google the Forrestal Fire on the internet and read the story by Elizabeth Collins published in All Hands Magazine, “Fire Aboard Ship: Remembering USS Forrestal Fire, 50 Years Later.”… or try this…
https://www.dvidshub.net/news/242819/fire-aboard-ship-remembering-uss-forrestal-fire-50-years-later
The testimony of Flak Logan is especially compelling…
SUMMER 1967 IN AMERICA: Page 1: “Governor Otto Kerner Pledges Thorough Study of Urban Rioting–Says Inquiry Into the Soul of America Will Open Today With White House Parley–Findings Likely in January 1–Presidential Committee to Receive Guidelines From Johnson for Its Mission”… “Governor Kerner pledged today that the 11-member Presidential Commission to investigate urban rioting would conduct a thorough study…’a task that is as profound as democracy itself. We are being asked to probe into the soul of America.’…’This is the saddest mission of my career’… ‘charged with asking why one American assaults another American, why violence is inflicted on people of our cities, why the march to an ideal America has been interrupted by bloodshed and destruction.’…’It is important that the full resources of the government made available to wage war against poverty and discrimination. A war that is truly a continuation of the American Revolution.’ “… Page 3: Hanson Baldwin essay: “Rioting Is Said To Expose Flaws in Military’s Strategic Reserves”... “The wide-spread racial rioting in American cities has exposed doubt on some of the President’s policies…The commitment of two brigades of the 82nd and 101st airborne Divisions to Detroit emphasized what many in the Pentagon believe is the dangerously depleted state of the nations strategic reserve of ready combat units… ‘We are witnessing the incongruous spectacle of committing a portion of our only really ready strategic reserve–earmarked for overseas emergencies–to domestic crises.”…Page 7: Banner headline across 8 columns: “Angry Letterwriters Urge Congressmen to Take Measures to End Racial Violence– Some In Capital Get Heavy Mail–But Most Braced For Avalanche That Did Not Come”… Page 7: “Dr. King and Wilkins Propose Joint White-Negro Programs”... “Two of the nation’s foremost Negro leaders agreed today that white Americans and black Americans must solve their problems together. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr….’Must realize the mutuality of their destinies. There can be no separate white path to power and fulfillment. We all need each other.’ Roy Wilkins: ‘Regardless of all the shrill cries in the air, the truth is that we are all tied together. We are going to be here together, and we’re not going to be at each others throats every June, July and August forever.’ “…
29 July 1967…The President’s TS Daily CIA Brief: EGYPT: Four high-ranking air force and navy officers are said to have been arrested on charges of “high treason” (and alleged CIA connections), suggesting that a purge may be underway. Nasir could use a few scapegoats, and may have decided on a purge–and subsequent show trials–of those responsible for the “June debacle.”…SOUTH VIETNAM: ...criticism of the government has grown in the press. Some papers have openly called for the disqualification of the Thieu-Ky ticket… COMMUNIST CHINA: Sharp fighting now seems to be going on in the Wuhan area, with military units involved on both the Mao and anti-Mao sides. There is still no confirmation, however, that forces from outside the province have been alerted or deployed, despite the seriousness of the situation.”…
29 JULY 1967… OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER…New York Times 29 July, Page 4: “Hanoi Denounces Buffer Raids...’With utmost vigor’ what it called ‘savage crimes’…of the employment of B-52s in the buffer and a few miles north…’a certain number of civilians were killed or wounded…in villages of Vinhbinh, Vinhthuy and Vinhlam immediately north of the DMZ.”… Page 4: “Losses In The North”... “There have been delays previously in the announcements of aircraft losses over North Vietnam to permit rescue operations to continue in the greatest possible secrecy, but yesterday’s was the largest made public at one time. It is believed likely that some of the planes have gone down in Laos. Air Force aircraft based in Thailand sometimes fly over Laos without authorization on their way to targets in North Vietnam. In addition, to air losses in North Vietnam a total of 195 planes have been lost to hostile action in the South. Non-combat losses for North and South total 694, an increase of 8 over the previous report. A total of 354 helicopters are listed as having been lost in combat. A loss of 590 others are attributed to various non-hostile causes.”
NYT 30 July reporting 29 July ops: Page 1: “U.S. Jets From Thailand Hit Barracks Near Hanoi”… “American airplanes swept over North Vietnam yesterday to batter a previously untouched army training school near Hanoi and warehouses within eight miles of Haiphong…Jet fighter-bombers flew 157 missions through cloudless skies and left a trail of destruction that ranged from the rich Red River Delta through the southern panhandle and into the demilitarized zone. Air Force spokesmen said Air Force Phantoms and F-105 Thunderchiefs from Thailand apparently took by surprise the Sontay army barracks 23 miles west of Hanoi. The first attack on the military school destroyed about 30 of the 50 or 60 buildings in the complex. A band of Navy A-4 Skyhawks from the carrier Bon Homme Richard strafed the Loidong warehouse area eight miles north of Haiphong and hit it with 250- and 500-pound bombs. Other Skyhawks from the carrier Oriskany and F-4s launched from the Forrestal before the fire bombed the Haton naval support area and nearby Hongai explosive dump 30 miles north of Haiphong and ship repair facilities eight miles north of the coastal city of Vinh. The Haton facility as described by Commander William Span of Cambridge, PA, as a heart-shaped target. After the band of jets finished dropping 250- and 500-pound bombs on it, Commander Span said it looked like a ‘smoking valentine’. Pilots said they had destroyed three buildings. The Hon Gai explosives works fell victim to a raid led by LCDR Marv Reynolds of Arabi, GA. ‘From our height the bombs looked like firecrackers exploding on a dusty playground.’ The jets got away from the two targets despite intense antiaircraft fire. ‘There were enough guys manning the flak sites to run the New York Central railroad,’ said Commander Ed Lighter of Louisville, KY.”…
“Vietnam: Air Losses” (Chris Hobson) There were 22 fixed wing aircraft lost in Southeast Asia on 29 July 1967, 21 of them in the disaster on USS Forrestal…
(1) 1LT J. BENTON WEST was flying an F-105D of the 357th TFS and 355th TFW out of Takhli on an armed reconnaissance 25 miles north of Haiphong and while conducting recce of area roads was hit by ground fire. H struggled eastward toward the Gulf of Tonkin but was forced to eject 6 miles short. An HH-3E made the rescue of a slightly injured 1LT WEST, who returned to duty in short order…
RIPPLE SALVO… #511… In lieu of word-smithing a salvo of my thoughts about the Forrestal disaster, and the loss of 134 sailors, several of whom were old friends or squadron and shipmates, I took my thoughts to the back deck to watch the sun set beyond the Great Salt Lake… I sat there for an hour watching the various films showing men like CHIEF AVIATION BOATSWAIN’S MATE GERALD FARRIER give up his life going above and beyond the call of duty in an attempt to nip the disaster in the bud. There are no words for the sadness that attaches to watching good men die bravely…
RTR Quote for 29 July: HOMER: “Strong of limb and swift of foot misfortune is, and, far
Outstripping all, comes first to every land, and there wreaks evil on mankind.”…
Lest we forget… Bear
Chief Aviation Boatswain’s Mate Gerald W. Farrier was killed leading the initial fire parties in the battle against the fire on USS FORRESTAL, 29 July 1967, on Yankee Station in the Gulf of Tonkin. Chief Farrier and all of his repair party (Repair 8) were killed in the first bomb explosion.
The Navy’s largest Fire Fighting Training School was dedicated on 14 July 1987 in honor of Chief Aviation Boatswain’s Mate Gerald W. Farrier in a ceremony in Norfolk, Virginia attended by his family. Farrier Fire Fighting Facilities Norfolk was named when a plaque was unveiled by Chief Farrier’s three sons and only brother; Steve Farrier, Tim Farrier of Batesville, Arkansas and David Farrier of Sensor, Oklahoma, along with brother Glenn Farrier of Dayton, Ohio, who shared the honors for an assembled audience of 150 Fire School Instructors and honored guests.
The guest speaker was Captain Lawrence G. Anderson, Chief of Staff, Commander Training Command, US Atlantic Fleet.
The permanently displayed plaque which is located in the Administrative Building of the Fire Fighting School summarizes the sacrifices of Chief Farrier and is meant to motivate all fire fighters everywhere.
Chief Farrier grew up in Batesville, Arkansas, and joined the U.S. Navy as a teen. He had risen steadily as an Aviation Boatswain’s Mate and, at the age of 31, was the Crash and Salvage Chief Petty Officer on USS FORRESTAL (CVA-59).