laststandonzombieisland

A petition started by Todd Ryan of Lafayette, Tennessee would ask the Honorable Ray Mabus, current SECNAV, to name a future carrier ‘Forrestal‘  is circulating. It reads:

“The name “Forrestal” is distinctly recognized by any sailor in the US Navy. After attempts to have her preserved as a museum failed, the Navy decided to sell her to the ship recyclers. For the 134 sailors that lost their lives on 29 July, 1967, and countless other reasons, we ask that a new aircraft carrier be designated “Forrestal” to pay homage to the first Secretary of Defense and the worlds first super carrier and first purpose built angle deck carrier.”

Maybus, the former Mississippi governor and current appointment to the post of the 75th SECNAV is an avoid democrat, has passed on a series of what are considered ‘left leaning’ ship names including that of gun violence victim Gabby Gifford, civil rights icon Medgar Evers, and labor activist Cesar Chavez  to the Naval List, Forrestal himself was a life-long democrat, which may prove key to the nomination. A former naval aviator in WWI, he was later the publicist for the Democratic Party committee in Dutchess County, New York– with FDR as a neighbor.

He served Undersecretary of the Navy from 1940-44 then as the 47th United States Secretary of the Navy under Roosevelt and Truman from 1944-1947 then became the 1st Secretary of Defense. In all three of those roles he was a force in the background for naval aviation and during his tenure created the largest carrier force ever seen before or since.  His headstone in Arlington reads first, “Lieutenant, USNRF, WWI” on its preamble.

The world’s first super-carrier was named after Forrestal only a few years after his untimely death.

Commissioned 1 October 1955, at 81,101 tons full load the USS Forrestal (CVA-59) was the largest warship in the world and would remain so until later super-carriers grew ever larger. Over the next forty years of service she would serve as a lynchpin of the US Navy in the Cold War, proved it was possible to land a C-130 on a carrier (and take off again), survived a horrible fire off the coast of Vietnam in 1967, held the line in the Med in the 1970s and 80s, was the largest shop to sail up the Mississippi river, and trained legions of sailors over the course of an amazing 21 deployments.

Decommissioned Sept 11th, 1993 in a fit of military drawdown she was sold for scrap last year after sitting in mothballs for the past twenty years.

In respect for both the man, and the ship, the name Forrestal should be restored to the US Naval List.

Todd is a former crew member of the USS Forrestal (1988-1991), and told me “We feel that it is only right to name a new carrier Forrestal being as she has played a major role in the designs of carriers since her launch. We might not get her a new carrier, but her name will live on forever in our hearts..”

Sign the petition here. I did.