This 40th Anniversary set relives one of wartime's most horrific stories of sacrifice, heroism, and daring: the 13 hours on July 29, 1967 that plunged 5,000 men aboard the super aircraft carrier U.S.S. Forrestal into a fiery hell. Lives were forged that day in a crucible of exploding bombs, flaming jet fuel and amazing sacrifice that claimed 132 sailors. More than a stirring meditation on how ordinary men summon heroic strength, The Burning Ballet takes you to the edge of the catastrophe.
You'll see how the accidental launching of an unarmed Zuni rocket on the carrier flight deck set in motion a series of shocking events that forever changed U.S. Navy shipboard training and safety procedures (today all new Naval recruits are required to watch a training video using the images of that fateful day). Seldom-seen archival film footage, including spectacular images recorded by the Forrestal's ever-running plat cameras, quietly present images of valor. Was it a preventable tragedy? Was it one of the U.S. Navy's darkest hours? Yes. But the sacrifices made that day—the Forrestal's entire fire rescue team perished—now stand as a lesson in valor that has saved countless lives since.
The Burning Ballet... a story told by the men who fought and won a battle against forces no one may ever face again.

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