JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Vivien Young says, "I am extremely, extremely proud of him." She says her husband never asks for recognition, but she thought it was time to share his story.
Griffin Young served in the Navy 46 years. He talks with pride about his country and his experiences on multiple ships.
But all those smiles vanish for the veteran when he recounts what happened on the aircraft carrier, USS Forrestal, in the Gulf of Tonkin during the Vietnam War.
Flagler College history professor, Dr. Michael Butler, says, "It was one of the deadliest non-combat related days in U.S. navy history. It totally revised the way the navy trains sailors to this day."
Young remembers every detail from that day 56 years ago. "I saw men and body parts flying. Some guys were walking around," and some, he says, had lost their heads in the explosions and fire.
His wife says she has to comfort him at night when he has nightmares. "He'll sit there and just sob," she says.
The navy has footage from cameras on the ship that day. It was July 29th, 1967. A narrator for the navy says in the footage, "The time was 13:51 and somehow across the deck a Zuni rocket has been triggered ... and hit an A4 Skyhawk."
The sound from the ship is recorded as "Fire! Fire! Fire! All man their battle stations. All hands on deck."
Griffin says he tried his best to help. He grabbed a fire hose. "But the fire hose burned up," he says.
What else could he use? "Nothing," he says.
The fire spread to his shipmates below deck. "They were asleep. Some were in the shower. Some guys were found and the water was still running and they burned like a crisp with fried skin," he remembers.
According to the Navy account, there were nine major explosions in the first five minutes. The lack of training, which is visible in the navy footage that day, inspired better training for the navy to fight fires.
The narrator says, "Only untrained men would spray water across foam." Dr. Butler says, "They were using sea water to put out the fire and so the sea water was actually putting out the fire retardant."
The film even shows sailors squatting down trying to read instruction manuals, while the fire is raging around them.
The death count is more than 130 sailors that day.
How did Griffin survive? "I think it was divine intervention," he says. His wife says the Lord protected him so he could come home and take care of her, which, she says, he has done well.
First Coast News recognizes Vivien Griffin's request to honor her husband as "My Vietnam Hero."
"I'm ecstatic," she says.
You can watch "Voices of Bravery" with the link below. The First Coast News documentary honoring local Vietnam veterans is also streaming on First Coast News+ on Roku and Fire TV.