USS Forrestal (CV-59) 1988 Cruise Shirt

USS Forrestal (CV-59) was the first purpose-built supercarrier of the postwar era, commissioned in 1955 and named for James V. Forrestal, the first Secretary of Defense. She set the template for every fleet carrier that followed — the angled deck, the size, the capability — and deployed to the Mediterranean and Atlantic through the Cold War decades as a symbol of American sea power. In July 1967, a catastrophic fire on her flight deck off Vietnam cost the lives of 134 sailors and changed how the Navy approaches damage control. Forrestal served for decades after that tragedy, decommissioning in 1993. This shirt commemorates the 1988 cruise — one of her final Cold War deployments, as the long contest between superpowers began at last to wind toward its close.

• 100% cotton
• Classic fit
• Shoulder-to-shoulder taping
• Ribbed crew neck