Carrier Air Wing Seventeen - Vietnam Veteran w VN SVC Mug

Carrier Air Wing Seventeen (CVW-17) was established on 1 November 1966 and assigned to USS Forrestal. Although an Atlantic Fleet carrier, Forrestal's first deployment with CVW-17 was to Vietnam, from June to September 1967. After only four days on the line with 150 sorties flown, a Zuni rocket was accidentally fired on the flight deck on the morning of 29 July 1967. It hit the fueled and armed aircraft. In the resulting fire 134 crewmembers were killed and 161 injured. 21 aircraft were destroyed and 40 were damaged.