Rating: 
Summary: A Gripping Tragedy, And A Strange Whitewash?
Review: "Sailors to the End" presents the events aboard the Forrestal in gripping detail, and pays homage to the brave men who fought the terrible fire in 1967. I certainly can't argue with the spirit in which it was written, or the strong prose. However, as I read the book, I found myself increasingly angry with the text's attempts to justify the actions of Captain John K. Beling. While Beling is presented here as a badly-wronged victim of circumstance (he was strongly reprimanded after the fire, and never again commanded a ship), there is a great deal of evidence in the book to support the idea that he got off too easily. Beling, it is clear, was a showboater who had the audacity to propose flying aircraft off the damaged ship as it sailed into its home port for the first time after the tragic accident, and a man who refused to accept responsibility for what was doubtlessly a preventable incident. Freeman seems anything but impartial in his analysis of the fire, preferring instead to blame "the system" and the lack of political support for the situation. One has to wonder what his motivation was - perhaps the author feared a blackball by the retired crew? It is not difficult to see, using some of the evidence presented in the book, that ordnance crews under Beling ignored critical safety instructions, and that the presence of obselete weapons on board was not brought to the Captain's attention due to a failure in the chain of command. That to me indicates Beling was actually guilty of dereliction of duty, and that he got off far too easily. In my book, he should never have been allowed to remain an officer in the U.S. Navy.
Rating: 
Summary: History and Heroes
Review: An excellent book. Wars are not fought by presidents, generals or weapon systems. They are fought by everyday people who are given a uniform and placed in harm's way.What I found most compelling about this story is that for many of the sailors on the USS Forrestal, this was supposed to be a safe trip. As the author recounts, many of the young men on this ship had volunteered for the navy specifically to avoid the danger of being drafted and sent to the ground war in Vietnam. As such, you might think these men were cowards, or timid, or at least unpatriotic. But you would be wrong. When it counts the most, these young Americans do their best. They do their duty, and they serve with honor. An excellent story told in a compelling style.
Rating:
Summary: Sadly fascinating
Review: Anyone who has served on a carrier or known someone who has should read this true story of the disaster on the Forrestal. From the simple day-to-day chores of sailors and seamen, to the minute by minute account of the explosion, fire and tragic deaths of so many, this book holds your attention. Quite graphic, and not afraid to point fingers, the book will hold you until the end.
Rating:
Summary: Sadly fascinating
Review: Anyone who has served on a carrier or known someone who has should read this true story of the disaster on the Forrestal. From the simple day-to-day chores of sailors and seamen, to the minute by minute account of the explosion, fire and tragic deaths of so many, this book holds your attention. Quite graphic, and not afraid to point fingers, the book will hold you until the end.
Rating: 
Summary: "Doing Right" by the Men of the USS Forrestal
Review: Christened and launched on December 11, 1954, the USS Forrestal was at that time the newest, largest, and most technically advanced aircraft carrier ever built. Almost 17 years later, a tragic accident occurred which resulted in the deaths of 134 men aboard. Briefly, an electrical malfunction in one of the F-4 Phantoms accidentally fired a Zuni rocket into another F-4 Phantom. Thousands of jet fuel were spilled and ignited, causing a fire could have been contained and put out, had the heat not reached -- within seconds -- and then detonated 1,000-pound "Composition B" bombs being loaded onto other planes nearby. The pilot in the F-4 Phantom hit by the rocket was John McCain, today a U.S. Senator from Arizona. After more than two years of rigorous and extensive research, which included dozens of lengthy interviews of eyewitnesses, Freeman learned why it happened and how the Forrestal's crew responded so capably and courageously but that is only part of the riveting, heart-wrenching account he provides in this book. He also learned of the government's efforts to conceal the truth about conscious and unconscionable decisions made by government and naval officials which preceded the tragedy; worse yet, the captain, Rear Admiral John K. Beling, and his crew were made scapegoats for the consequences of those decisions. Since then, every new sailor joining the Navy undergoes firefighting training that includes a film depicting the Forrestal fire and blaming it on its crew. Until recently, members of the crew and their families knew nothing of the evidence that vindicates them and thus, for decades, have been required to bear a burden of guilt and humiliation which they obviously do not deserve. Today, Freeman explains, "The Navy maintains the Forrestal in a Rhode Island shipyard, the gray hulk sitting quietly in the water with no visitors and no crew, waiting as her veterans continue efforts to turn the ship into a museum. The 12134 men who died on the Forrestal on July 29, 1967, are memorialized on panel 24E of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Close by at Arlington National Cemetery, there is a monument to those never recovered or identified after the disaster, just behind the Tomb of the Unknowns." As Freeman completed his research and then began to write this book, he felt a profound sense of obligation to those who were aboard the USS Forrestal that day as well as to others who served on the ship during its 38 years as a commissioned warship. At a Forrestal reunion he attended, Freeman was urged by nearly every veteran "to do right by these guys. They really deserve it." Later, during his return home, Freeman realized "that it is no small feat to to tell the stories of 134 men who died an early death, and of the thousands of [other] men on the ship who suffered in so many ways" both then and in years to come. In writing this book, Freeman not only fulfilled his obligation to the heroic crew of the USS Forrestal, he also increases significantly our understanding and appreciation of those who, in various military services for more than 200 years, have served their nation with high honor and exceptional courage.
Rating:
Summary: Non-fiction that reads like Clancy
Review: Even though the reader already knows the ending, the way the story is told and the attention to detail keeps him enthralled from the first page. For those Tom Clancy addicts who need to read about things military this will certainly assuage that craving. For those whose interest are of the more political or historical bent, it is a less than subtle indictment of Johnson and Macnamara. It should be good reading to them because it is in a way a microcosm of the Vietnam conflict: showing the galant bravery of the men who go into harm's way, and the self-serving incompetence of the men who sent them.
Rating:
Summary: Good content, but who edited this book?
Review: Everyday I go to work in uniform, I wear a belt buckle depicting the USS FORRESTAL. Even when the usual, disrespectful comment is "Oh, you served on the forest fire?" I wear the buckle with great pride. As a single sailor, she was my home for the majority of the three years I was assigned to her as part of the ship's company. Several years later, I was honored to return to her for one more cruise as part of the airwing. She always did right by me and my buddies. So, why the background? Well, I wanted to provide a context for my comments, and relay to the reader my commitment to this ship and its memory. Given my experience with the ship, I read the book with great interest, and I enjoyed the book very much. Even with my personal knowledge about what took place aboard FORRESTAL years before I sailed aboard her, the book provided a tremendous amount of detailed information in a format that was enjoyable and easy to read. I also believe the author did a very good job of explaining the complexities of a Navy aircraft and Navy terminology, in a manner that nearly anyone could understand. However, the discovery of the simpliest error, makes me wonder about other inaccuracies or mistakes that could have been made. I am specifically referring to the route the FORRESTAL took to get to Yankee Station off of Vietnam. By the time I reached page 65, I noticed there were three places where the author made references to how the ship got to the Pacific Ocean, and those statements conflict each other (see pages 9, 59 & 65). Page 59 reads, "The FORRESTAL sailed around the Cape of Good Hope at the tip of Africa." Six pages later the author writes, "On the voyage around South America, he (the Captain) and Rowland stepped up the routine drills and exercises." I believe the former is correct, but I don't know for sure.
Rating:
Summary: A Book so Riveting, You Overlook It's Flaws
Review: From 1962 through 1964 I served in VF-74 (Fighter Squadron 74). We went to sea on the Forrestal.I remember reading accounts of the fire back in '67 and feeling really lucky that I was a civilian by then. We enlisted men of VF-74 bunked in quarters on the 03 level aft, just below and to the starboard of where McCain's 1000 pounders blew holes in the flight deck. All of us on the night shift would have been in our racks sound asleep and I would probably have been incinerated. Although Freeman's knowledge of the structure of the Navy seems weak, his descriptions of the ship rang true to me. I made two long Mediterranean cruises and a half dozen shorter cruises on the Forrestal, and I had been in almost every area on the ship. Freeman brought it all back for me because when he mentioned an area of the ship I could pull it out of my memory and actually see it. Because the narrative is so vivid, and the descriptions of shipboard life and the terror of fire at sea are so real, you can even forgive the obvious error of describing the African route the ship took to get to Viet-Nam and then tossing in a reference to going around Cape Horn. Anyone who has ever gone to sea on a carrier should read this book, as should anyone who enjoys a true tale well told.
Rating:
Summary: Former USS FORRESTAL Sailor
Review: I enjoyed this book because it answered many questions for me as to what happened that fateful day. I sailed on FORRESTAL for three months prior to her deployment to Vietnam. I lost seven friends/squadron mates in that fire. I left the Navy in May 1967. My squadron and ship went on to Vietnam. I was shocked on July 29, 1967. This book was written so that anyone who has a love for ships, planes and the military will appreciate. This is a story that needed to be told. It is a tragic event in Naval history. The writer has done a excellent job of telling the story. The ship will become a museum in Baltimore, MD. Read the book and then visit the ship. She where history was made and innocent lives were lost helping defend our country.
Rating:
Summary: This book was long overdue
Review: I enjoyed this book immensely. My only complaint is that it should have been longer. Former Navy men will spot inconsistencies and gaps in the editing, but what's left illustrates several points worth remembering. In the worst of moments, heros always emerge showing the best of human nature, shortcuts with safety always lead to disaster and large organizations will always coverup when negligent. The Navy allowed the Forrestal crew's reputation to go tarnished too long in order to coverup its part in the disaster. When I enlisted in 1979 the film of the fire was used (and might stil be today ) in fire fighting training . It was never mentioned that the WW2 era bombs premature detonation contributed to the severity of the fire. They only pointed out mistakes by the crew in fighting the fire, never mentioning what they did right. We were left with the unfair impression that the Forrestal was a ship full of screwups, instead of the victims of poor Navy policy. This would make a great movie. Lets hope it dosen't end up on JAG as a plot line if not already.
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