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August 23, 2008 at 13:59:22
McCrash: McCain's Military Record Revisited by Hill Kemp Page 1 of 1 page(s) 
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MCCAINS WAR KILL SCORE: 167 US SAILORS, 15 US JETS, 60 ENEMIES? When John McCain crashed his fifth navy fighter plane he was captured by the North Vietnamese. That crash gave him his greatest claim to fame and made him a national celebrity. But the in run-up to that incident hides a whole other story. Acclaimed war hero McCain clearly demonstrated his rating in the lowest 0.5% in his military class of 900 during his tour of duty in Viet Nam. On June 27, 1967 aboard the USS Forrestal 167 US sailors lost their lives in a giant fire and a series of explosions. The crewmen who had to fight that fire for 24 hours to keep the aircraft carrier from sinking were looking for the "hotdog" pilot they thought started the chain reaction disaster. But they were too late to find him. John McCain, whose dad was a Pentagon bigwig, left the ship the next morning taking up a space on a helicopter meant to evacuate the wounded. He was the only pilot transferred to another ship from the Forrestal after the incident in what is likely the fastest military transfer in recorded history - a kind of "cut and run" that left his grieving shipmates behind. 
His evacuation probably kept the death toll from going to 168 if the crewmen could have found the pilot who "wet-started" his A-4E Skyhawk fighter jet and triggered the incident. "Wet-starting" means pooling jet fuel in the engine before starting it to send a flash of flame out the engine exhaust. (XA4D-1 Skyhawk BuNo 137812) This was done to shake up the pilot in the F-4 fighter behind him. But in the confusion a rocket went off, bombs were dropped on the ship deck and the chain reaction disaster was underway. The ship was so damaged it had to be taken out of the war effort.
Those 15 US jets lost? Well, McCain outright crashed five from the pilot seat. His whispered nickname was "McCrash". His fifth crash earned him POW status as his principal claim to heroic fame. The other ten planes lost were casualties of the juvenile 'hotdogging' on the Forrestal deck that terrible day. The financial cost for his stint in the service, even in 1967 dollars, was in the tens of millions.
Oh, and his flights before being captured probably amounted to a few casualties on the other side. Sixty is a high side estimate.
(Based on official naval film account, a McCain campaign film adapting the record and testimony of sailors from the ship.)
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Hill Kemp is a former Texas State Representative (more...)
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author
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Outrage
It is amazing that we can be this far along in this man's presidential bid - not to mention his political career - and this issue has not received play in the national media. Some may say that this fact undercuts the credibility of the story, but I do not think so: The top political journalist fell for McCain long ago, and have shunned anyone coming forward with less than positive reflections of the candidate. by David Linker (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments) on Monday, Aug 25, 2008 at 2:28:39 PM  (0+)
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McCrash
Maybe this explains why McCain didn't want to be sent home early from the prison camp. He had been warned and thought they would make him pay for the next airplane he ruined. by Bryan Emmel (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 415 comments [32 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Aug 26, 2008 at 2:02:28 AM (0+)
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McCrash
I wonder how many other pilots could have kept their wings after five crashes and starting a fire on board a carrier? I bet nowadays there would be a board of inquiry to determine why a pilot would be prone to the same number of mishaps as Senator McCain was while in the cockpit. by Robert Levitt (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 3 comments) on Thursday, Aug 28, 2008 at 5:39:48 PM (0+)
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Reply: Fast transfer
And of course McCain was the only pilot that was transferred after the disaster. And left while the ship was still smoking. by Hill Kemp (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 6 comments) on Thursday, Aug 28, 2008 at 10:33:38 PM (0+)
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Another McCain coverup
Comment from Ratings: I saw the documentary about the Forrestal disaster. McCain was very carefully mentioned as being on the carrier and just as carefully left out of any insinuation of his playing a part in the disaster. The cause was attributed to safety wire that had become dislodged and with the right circumstances triggered the launch of the missile that blew up the planes and nearly caused the sinking of the carrier and the killing of Navy personnel who tried to put out the fire. This country cannot afford to elect another walking disaster whose life is filled with scandal, cheating, rule breaking, and failures that cause harm to other people. As Dennis Kucinich says, "WAKE UP AMERICA!!!" by Penel (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 53 comments) on Friday, Aug 29, 2008 at 3:28:29 PM (0+)
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We cannot allow this man anywhere the "button".
Comment from Ratings: The man is mentally ill and should be in a vets home, not anywhere near where adult decisions are being made. by russ king (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 4 comments) on Saturday, Sep 6, 2008 at 10:15:09 PM (0+)
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This Is A Cheap Smear
Comment from Ratings: McCain DID NOT wet start the engine on his aircraft. In all the years I was around naval aviation, I NEVER ONCE saw an aviator deliberately abuse his aircraft. NOT ONNCE! I knew people who were directly across the deck on the starboard side aboard the Forrestal, who witnessed the event, were nearly killed themselves, fought the fire, and collected pieces of the dead. As described, a ZUNI rocket fired FORM THE OPPOSITE SIDE of the ship and hit the A-4 pack on the port side. BTW to prove how IGNORANT This smear piece is, the nomenclature, XA4D-1 Skyhawk, needs to be decoded... X= Experimental. NO EXPERIMENTAL AIRFRAMES SAW OPERATIONAL SERVICE! A4D= the USN aircraft designation system THAT WAS CHANGED IN 1962! The aircraft ...in these screeds usually referred to as an A-4E,...was IN FACT an A-4C. Just for the record, prior to 1962 the aircraft would have been labeled A4D-3. But of course the accident happened in 1967. McCain DID not evac to the Oriskany. He stayed aboard the FID (look it up), and departed the ship in Mayport when his Cecil field squadron was disembarked. He reurned a month later to fly combat missions off the Oriskany. AND WAS SHOT DOWN. He didn't "crash". I see little point in continuing in detail about his other mishaps. Suffice it to say, that HE WOULD HAVE LOST HIS WINGS IN A HEARTBEAT IF HIS CO's HAD DEEMED HIM FLAGRANTLY AT FAULT. Naval Aviation is an unforgiving business. The ONLY aviator I ever saw given a "pass" was Kara Hultgren. It killed her too. Hate McCain all you want, but the souls who were consumed aboard the Forrestal that day deserve to be honored by THE TRUTH. by sid ishus (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 5 comments) on Tuesday, Sep 9, 2008 at 12:52:20 PM (0+)
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Need Followup research to confirm
Comment from Ratings: Other news organizations need to research this and provide backup sources by Forrest Woolman (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments) on Friday, Sep 12, 2008 at 10:19:27 AM (0+)
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