USS Forrestal CVA-59:
Trial By Fire — 29 July 1967

The 1967 USS Forrestal fire was a devastating fire and series of chain-reaction explosions on 29 July 1967 that killed 134 sailors and injured 161 aboard the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal (CVA-59), after an electrical anomaly discharged a Zuni rocket on the flight deck. Forrestal was engaged in combat operations in the Gulf of Tonkin during the Vietnam War at the time, and the damage exceeded $72 million (equivalent to approximately $709 million in 2026 dollars), not including damage to aircraft. Future United States Senator John McCain was among the survivors.