Need Help With New Memorial

[Zack Methvin]

Hello,
My name is Zack Methvin and i live in Longview, Texas. My dad (Lonnie Methvin) served aboard the USS Forrestal CVA-59 in the early 60's as a FireFighter / Pilot Rescueman. Through my dad, i almost feel like i too served aboard the ship. Listening to all his stories and the photos he brought home has made me so much more aware of the loss of life that occurred on her flight deck July 29, 1967. America lost 134 brave sailors and although i was not there it is equally devastating for me to accept. I am a big supporter of the US Navy and all the ships and planes. As a result, the level of respect i have for all of our nations military personnel as a whole and primarily the men who died aboard the Forrestal is un-measurable. I have decided to create a memorial located at the main entrance to my local/regional airport here in east Texas. I met with the board of directors for the airport yesterday and as a result i will be moving forward to completion of the memorial over the coming months pending the required donated funds are there. I have contacted the Navy and they have agreed to loan me an F4 Phantom that will be the primary display. Aside from the aircraft there will be a navy gray granite wall with the names of the 134 sailors who died in the big fire displayed. I am doing this completely by myself. I have no money but i do have total determination to complete it and love for my country and my Veterans that is second to none. It is because of you Veterans i am free today. The least i can do is try to pay my respects with a memorial of this type. I am writing here because i need every sailor who served aboard the Forrestal to contact me. I am also very interested in those sailors who were aboard the day of the fire and any that are located in the east Texas (Longview/Tyler) area. Please contact me, I need donations in a big way. The local trucking company is talking about charging 15-20K to go get the plane and haul it to my airport. I realize the economy is not good right now but this is extremely important to me.

Please, any Forrestal Veteran contact me: cva59 (at) hotmail (dot) com

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I’m sorry this reply comes so late. Below please find a link for the Forrestal website. My brother Bob was part of the team from the USS Repose that assisted with the forensics to identify those that lost their lives and care for those that were wounded due to the 1967 USS Forrestal fire when she was engaged in combat operations in the Gulf Of Tonkin during the Vietnam War.


http://www.lancehatfield.com/cv59.htm

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http://www.navytv.org/channel.cfm?s=115&c=426