As much as it may be a metaphor for John McCain’s life as “Punk McNasty” in high school, a raunchy rowdy underachiever bottom of his class at USNA, a hard partying risk-taking flyboy, a superstitious,compulsive gambler with an anger management problem in the US Senate, The story is probably not true.
Very likely the story had legs because that was illustrative of the way John Sidney McCain III went through life and his father the admiral always fixed things.
If 23 combat missions and surviving 5 1/2 years as a POW makes him a war hero so be it.
Liberalscum Buster 
I’m am absolutely no McCain fan, but if the picture of the layout of he flight deck on Wikipedia is correct and the video on Youtube is correct also, then there is no plane directly behind McCain’s Skyhawk. Even if he wet started his plane, the Phantom is to the side of his aircraft at his 3 o’clock. It is clear the missle came from the Phantom, and the only plane remotely behind him is another Skyhawk piloted by White, who died in the accident.
Comment by Thucydides Junior — June 19, 2008 @ 3:35 pm
I would hate to be accusing McCain inappropriately. The U-Tube is very unclear and I did not see any reference to the relative positions of the planes in Wikipedia.
The fact that McCain exhibited this type of behavior before and he was immediately transfered to the USS Oriskany (to keep him from getting fragged by his shipmates?) makes it suspicious. There is some alleged testimony that he indeed “wet started” his plane. The fact that his father was a 4 star admiral could easily have influenced investigation and the report etc.
What caused the Zuni rocket to be fired if not the flame from McCain’s exhaust? Why would someone make up such a charge? He was not running for President in 1967.
Comment by gasdocpol — June 19, 2008 @ 4:16 pm
Haven’t you even watched the flight deck footage. You are pathetic, evil scum.
FID Sailor.
Comment by Disgusted by you AMERICA haaaaaaters — June 23, 2008 @ 1:13 pm
America haters ? No one has made the USA more hated , internationally, than GW Bush and McCain would make that hatred worse yet.
I did see the footage of the flight deck and it showed nothing convincing to me.
The Forrestal incident was part of a pattern of reckless, juvenile hot dog fly boy behavior by McCain which was in turn part of a larger pattern of raunchy, rowdy misbehavior since McNasty was in high school.
BTW Fid* Sailor next time you are sitting on the fantail splicing eyes into hawsers remember, that the real tough guy naval commanders also estabished academic credentials before they served in battle McCain was 894 out of 899 in his class at Annapolis. “Bull” Halsey went to medical school before he went to Annapolis from which he graduated with honors. “Pappy ” Boyington was an aeronautical engineer before he was a Marine fighter pilot. McCain would probably impress a lot of you “deck apes”, but not me.
* For the landlubbers out there, a fid is a conical tool used by sailors for separating the strands of those thick “ropes” ,that they tie up ships to docks, so they can weave loops on the end.
Comment by gasdocpol — June 23, 2008 @ 2:34 pm
This is incredible. I’m not McCain fan. Not at all! But this is just a flat out lie.
A crying shame the disservice this does to those that lost their lives in that incident.
Comment by BDKR — June 25, 2008 @ 6:58 pm
There is much to indicate that it was not a lie.
There is a pattern of juvenile hot dog behavior on the part of McCain.
These disasters seemed to follow him around.
McCain was quickly transfered to the USS Oriskany for fear that he would be fragged by his shipmates who knew what had happened.
The incident was covered up because McCains father was a 4 star admiral.
How about the disservice that was done to those who were killed because of McCain’s caper?
Comment by gasdocpol — June 25, 2008 @ 8:55 pm
eat me!
Comment by ho chi minh — June 29, 2008 @ 5:34 pm
BLOW ME, YOU LEFT-WING LIBERAL LOSERS
Comment by Vo Nygen Giap — June 29, 2008 @ 5:51 pm
Ho Chi Minh and General Giap were surely happy to receive the information that McCain gave them and rewarded him by making female company available to him so that he could say those very words to them.
Comment by gasdocpol — June 29, 2008 @ 6:37 pm
SIT ON IT, GASDOCPOL
Comment by ron jeremy — June 29, 2008 @ 7:23 pm
ron jeremy
I can tell by your ability to enter into sophisticated dialogue, you are probably a supporter of John McCain.
You no doubt have determined that McCain got into the Naval Academy and flight school on his own merit and the fact that his father and grandfather were 4 star admirals had nothing to do with it.
You probably have determined that the 23 combat missions which were unexceptional in either number or heroism and surviving as a POW makes McCain a war hero and therefore qualified to be President.
You probably think that being superstitious, a compulsive gambler and having an anger management problem are good qualities for a President.
Comment by gasdocpol — June 29, 2008 @ 9:35 pm
I’m not a huge fan of McCain, but this is just weird.
I hope that people keep spreading this lie, because it will surely make Obama lose in November.
I watched a complete documentary on the Forestal.
The planes involved in the incident had their jets pointing off of the back of the aircraft. Let’s presume for a second that McCain did start his aircraft when he wasn’t supposed to. (Which is pretty questionable, since anyone who has watched “carrier” knows that those guys can’t afford to f’k with the lives of the guys on the deck.) His jet wash would be going over the edge of the deck… not towards any other jet.
The weird thing about this to me is that its so easily disproved by anyone who has any knowledge of carriers.
Or the Forestal accident.
Or, you know, planes.
-John
Comment by John — June 30, 2008 @ 2:25 pm
John
The USS Forrestal “wet start” story was part of a pattern of misbehavior of John McCain since he was in high school. There is much to disqualify him for the Presidency and basically nothing to qualify him . Since high school, the Naval Academy and as a flyboy, he has gotten very good at getting away with his capers and misdeeds.
I attribute some of that to the fact that his father and grandfather were 4 star admirals and some of it to his belligerance (his nickname was Punk McNasty in high school.)
If you have some proof that McCain was blameless in the USS Forrestal incident, please share it with all of us. I have plenty of other reasons to criticize McCain.
I do not want to be lying like Bush/Cheney and the Neocons that are now gathering around McCain.
Comment by gasdocpol — June 30, 2008 @ 3:14 pm
Our forefathers left the “old country” so that they would have an opportunity to advance based on their abilities/effort. The U.S. has turned into an “old” European country. We no longer honor the best (except in athletics) and the brightest.
The stench coming out of city/state/federal civil service and the officer corps
would make the founding fathers puke. BUT, what can be done? The cancer has
eaten into the U.S. so deeply that a “cure” would probably kill the patient.
Comment by Entitlement! — June 30, 2008 @ 10:00 pm
entitlement
Are you deploring the fact that GW Bush and John McCain got to where they are now by heredity rather than abilities or effort?
Comment by gasdocpol — June 30, 2008 @ 10:24 pm
THIS POST HAS RECEIVED A LOT OF ATTENTION.
THE STORY ABOUT JOHN McCAINS WET START ON THE USS FORRESTAL HAD CREDIBILITY BECAUSE OF HIS POOR FLYING RECORD AND LIFESTYLE.
HOWEVER MUCH IT MIGHT BE A METAPHORE FOR McCAINS FLYING CAREER AND HOW HE WOULD BE AS PRESIDENT IT IS APPARENTLY NO MORE TRUE THAN BARACK OBAMA BEING A COKE-SNORTING MUSLIM READY TO TURN OVER THE USA TO AL QAEDA THE DAY HE BECOMES PRESIDENT.
I am quoting from Nittany who sent me an email this AM
McCain’s aviation history prior to that day was poor; he’d already lost three aircraft. The first wound up in the Gulf of Mexico while he was a student naval aviator, he flew the second one into electrical transmission wires over Spain and the bailed out of the third after radioing he had a flameout and couldn’t restart the engine. BTW, while McCain’s plane was indeed lost in the Forrestal fire, it isn’t fair to say he crashed it as many now do. Lost plane #5 came later when he was shot down by the North Vietnamese.
McCain’s terrible flying record helps support the “wet burn” theory but the laws of physics refute it.
I certainly don’t want to see John McCain become President; he’s a thin-skinned, self-aggrandizing egomaniac with a history of recklessness and poor judgment. But I also don’t want stupid rumors floating around that slander him. Circulating obviously false stories only make McCain’s critics look like conspiracy theorists and make McCain into a martyr. And remember how unfair Kerry was treated in 2004. I say it’s fair to use McCain’s military record against him but only if what is said is true. There’s enough fact out there to destroy the “McCain’s Navy record qualifies him for the White House” meme if people are willing to bring the truth to light and not back down.
HOWEVER, AS MUCH THE USS FORRESTAL FIRE DISASTER MAY BE PART OF A PATTERN OF McNASTY FISTFIGHTS IN HIGH SCHOOL , A RAUNCHY, ROWDY PARTY BOY WITH “TRAINWRECK” WEEKENDS IN ANNAPOLIS AND RISK TAKING HOTDOGGING AS A FLYBOY AND SUPPERSTITIOUS COMPULSIVE GAMBLING AND PROFANITY LADEN OUTBURSTS AT FELLOW SENATORS, THE STORY ABOUT THE FORRESTAL IS APPARENTLY UNTRUE.
Comment by gasdocpol — July 2, 2008 @ 3:27 pm
After the horrendous week McCain has had I cannot see how anyone would support his candicy regardless of the Forrestal incident. This man is pathetic beyond hope!
Comment by lawton — July 14, 2008 @ 8:54 am
After the horrendous week McCain has had I cannot see how anyone would support his candidacy regardless of the Forrestal incident. This man is pathetic beyond hope!
Comment by lawton — July 14, 2008 @ 8:57 am
Whether or not the Forrestal incident happened, it would have been part of a pattern of recklessness on the part of John McCain.
Comment by gasdocpol — July 14, 2008 @ 12:32 pm
The only smoking gun is McCain being transferred off the Forrestal so fast. Hopefully if all 600 pages of his military history come to light we will see why McCain was transferred.
Comment by William — August 19, 2008 @ 6:38 pm
Funny, even if this were the slightest and flimsiest of evidence, evenif it could easily be proven untrue – if McCain were a democrat the virulently biased anti-American republican press would have absolutely crucified him over this.
Why are the republicans so unwilling to let this come out and give McCain the opportunity to prove he has a penis and that it’s not true? They would certainly demand that an American – I mean a Democrat – would have to prove this didn’t happen. And even with the strongest of evidence the Faux news republicans would continue to repeat the lies again and again and again.
Comment by MikeInSanJose — August 26, 2008 @ 2:48 am
It is not hard to imagine that the incident was covered up because McCain’s father was a high ranking admiral. If there were not some basis in truth about the incident, why has the story persisted? No one knew at the time that McCain would someday run for President.
Comment by gasdocpol — August 26, 2008 @ 4:55 am
It would seem that the only way McCain could successfully escape as he did is if he were at the center of the action. The 90 second delay is not helpful without knowledge.
Comment by bluedodo — September 4, 2008 @ 7:39 pm
How did the rumor ever get started? McCain was not running for President then. Apparently, he was such a hot dog risk-taker the story had legs. Disaster DID seem to follow McCain. It would not be an exagerration to say that McCain was emotionally unstable and had a short fuse.
Add that to his multiple superstitions and compulsive gambling at craps tables and I see one scarey individual should he become President.
Comment by gasdocpol — September 4, 2008 @ 8:05 pm
“What caused the Zuni rocket to be fired if not the flame from McCain’s exhaust? ”
http://www.truveo.com/Forrestal-Disaster-Aircraft-Carrier-Explosion-45/id/544116802
http://www.truveo.com/Forrestal-Disaster-Aircraft-Carrier-Explosion-25/id/516021050
Comment by Cowboy — September 8, 2008 @ 4:50 am
Static electricity? I do not know but disaster seemed to follow John McCain around. I would hate to have the USA hitch its cart to such an intellectually lazy, emotionally unstable, superstious, compulsive gambler with such an anger management problem.
Comment by gasdocpol — September 8, 2008 @ 7:10 am