![]() On April 19, 1972, both the USS Higbee, a Gearing class destroyer and the. He was not released until five-and-a-half years later, in 1973. We didnt lose any ships during the war, but two ships did suffer some battle damage. Just three months later, his plane was shot down over North Vietnam and he was taken prisoner. No US Navy warships were sunk 1 US Destroyer was bombed by a NVAF MIG-17, but not sunk 1 US Navy support ship was sunk by a VC sapper (commando) while docked in a harbor. John McCain narrowly escaped the fire and, afterwards, volunteered for duty on the USS Oriskany. ![]() It was repaired and put back into service the following April, but never returned to Vietnam. ![]() Temporary repairs were made to the ship in the Philippines before the Forrestal headed back to Norfolk, Virginia. It was the worst loss of a life on a U.S. Hundreds of sailors were seriously injured and 134 lost their lives in the devastating fire. It took a full day before the fires could be fully contained. Many pilots were trapped in their planes as the fire spread. A chain reaction of explosions blew holes in the flight deck and had half the large ship on fire at one point. The fire then spread to nearby planes on the ship’s deck and detonated a 1,000-pound bomb, which killed many of the initial firefighters and further spread the fire. Fuel from the Skyhawk spilled out and caught fire.
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