Real Heros Don't Have To Embellish

The U.S. aircraft carrier USS Forrestal was involved in the worst carrier accident since WWII. Operating in the Gulf of Tonkin during the Vietnam war in 1969, the USS Forrestal was engaged in bombing sorties over North Vietnam.

While switching from external to internal power, an electrical surge caused a Zuni rocket to fire from the under wing rocket launcher of an F-4 Phantom that was being prepared to take off. The rocket hit a nearby A-4, also being prepared to take off, rupturing its fuel tank and causing an instant conflagration. The A-4's two 1,000 pound bombs were dislodged and dropped into the flaming jet fuel on the flight deck.

Before it was all over, nine 1,000 pound bombs "cooked off", as more planes full of fuel were caught up in the disaster. Huge holes were blown in the armored flight deck, spreading the fire to the decks below. 131 servicemen were killed that day, and 161 were injured. Most of the fire crew was instantly killed when the first bomb went off about 1 1/2 minutes after the first fire was triggered.

Surrounded by flames, the pilot of the F-4 Phantom escaped death by walking out on the nose of his plane and leaping from the refueling nozzle. The name of that pilot? Lt. Commander John McCain - future POW, U.S. Senator, and candidate for President of the United States.

As a student of history, and a keen observer of politics, I was surprised I had never heard of McCain’s central involvement in this harrowing and deadly event until just recently. McCain makes no secret of his military service, and is rightly using it to his advantage in the campaign. But when pressed, he is quite reticent about his own experiences - instead commending all the brave men and women with whom he served.

Quite a contrast to John Kerry, who made up stories about his courage under fire in episodes his commanding officer and fellow officers say never happened and in places they say Kerry never was. Quite a contrast to John Kerry testifying before Congress about all sorts of “Winter Soldier” atrocities by American troops in Vietnam – atrocities that were later shown to almost all be fabrications.

Quite a contrast to Gore claiming to have invented the Internet and being the model for the protagonist in the novel “Love Story”. Quite a contrast to Hillary’s stories of daring landings under sniper fire and claiming credit for much of her husband’s presidency.

Quite a contrast to Obama claiming credit in his new TV commercial for a bill in the U.S. Senate that he never even voted on. Quite a contrast to Obama who maintained close, long term relationships with radical and unrepentant America haters and then claimed he didn’t know they were radical.

I guess when you've actually done it, you don’t have to brag about it.