USS Oriskany (CVA-34) 1966 WESTPAC/VIETNAM Unisex Sweatshirt

USS Oriskany (CVA-34) returned to the Gulf of Tonkin in 1966 for another combat deployment against North Vietnam, flying strikes under the escalating pressure of Operation Rolling Thunder. On October 26, 1966, disaster struck when a magnesium flare was accidentally ignited in the forward flare locker. The resulting fire swept rapidly through officer country and the forward areas of the ship, killing 44 men and injuring scores more in the worst carrier fire the Navy had suffered since World War II. Those lost included experienced combat aviators and young enlisted sailors who had no chance to escape the fast-moving blaze. The survivors fought the fire with desperate courage, flooding compartments and forming bucket brigades to save their ship. Oriskany limped to Subic Bay and eventually returned to the United States for extensive repairs at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. The Oriskany fire led to sweeping reforms in fire safety procedures and equipment across the carrier fleet. This sweatshirt honors every member of the 1966 crew, especially the forty-four men who gave their lives on October 26.