Rock County, WisconsinBiographies"John Junior Fiedler" |
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JOHN JUNIOR FIEDLER On July 29, 1967 the USS Forrestal was operating on Yankee Station off the coast of North Vietnam. She had been conducting combat operations for 4-1/2 days including a strike early that morning. At 10:52AM the crew was beginning the second launch cycle of the day when suddenly, a zuni rocket from an F-4 Phantom jet launched and flew across the deck hitting a parked and armed A-4 Skyhawk. (The Skyhawk was piloted by Lt. John McCain, now a US Senator from Arizona - who was subsequently shot down over North Vietnam and endured over 5 years as a Prisoner of War). The impact caused the belly fuel tank on the Skyhawk to rupture spilling fuel and causing a chain reaction fire of planes parked on the deck. The impact also caused a 1000 pound bomb to fall off and into the spreading fire. This bomb was the first to "cook-off" and detonate. Fed by fuel and bombs from other aircraft that were armed and ready for the coming strike, the fire spread quickly and many pilots and support personnel were trapped and they were burned alive. It took over 13 hours for the crew to put the fires out and save the Aircraft Carrier. The devastation was tragic. 134 had lost their lives that day along with 64 that were injured. The ship made it back to Norfolk, VA for repairs and went on to serve the United States for another 26 years. It was never called back for action in Vietnam, and those 4-1/2 days was the only time it spent in combat war. Detailed events of the day have been shown on The Discovery Channel. John Junior Fiedler was one of the casualties that day. He had enlisted in the US Navy in Janesville, Wisconsin. At the time of the tragic fire, John was 32 years old, just less than a month from his 33rd birthday on August 24th. At the time of his death, his rank was E-6, AME1, an Aviation Structural Mechanic. John Fiedler is one of 18 seamen lost that day that are buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, DC. The cemetery has a special memorial tombstone erected near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. His name is also listed on the Vietnam Memorial Wall at Panel 24E, line 23.  Source: USS Forrestal Memorial Association.  |
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