John Kingsman Beling John Kingsman Beling ( October 29 , 1919 – November 5 , 2010 ) was a retired Rear Admiral of the United States Navy whose final assignment was as Commander , Iceland Defense Force in the early 1970s . Commissioned in 1942 , he served as a pilot in the Pacific Theater in World War 2 , and was seriously burned when his aircraft was shot down during the Marianas Campaign . He made a full recovery from his injuries , and went on to serve in a variety of staff positions , attended the Naval War College , and commanded three attack squadrons and two ships . Beling was commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS " Forrestal " ( CVA - 59 ) at the time of the July 29 , 1967 fire that killed 134 Sailors , injured 161 , and caused $ 72 million ( 1967 dollars ) in damage to the ship . The Navy investigation into the fire cleared Beling of wrongdoing . After retiring from the Navyas a rear admiral in 1973 , Beling worked as a Department of Defense civilian , as well as for a defense contractor , before retiring for good in 1985 . He died November 5 , 2010 in Reston , Virginia . Early life and career . John Kingsman Beling was born in New York City on October 29 , 1919 , and was raised in Harrington Park , New Jersey . He graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering from the Stevens Institute of Technology in 1941 . After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7 , 1941 , Beling joined the Navy Reserve as an aviation specialist , and was commissioned an Ensign upon completion of flight training in 1943 , after which he headed to the Pacific theatre as a dive bomber pilot with Bombing Squadron One . Beling was shot down over the island of Yap during the Marianas Campaign in 1944 . Although badly burned , Beling was able to make his way out to open sea , where a seaplane from the cruiser USS " Biloxi " spotted him . After being hospitalized for his burns , he rejoined the fleet as a fighter pilot . Beling received a Ph . D in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1951 , and afterwards served in a variety of operational , R & D , testing , and evaluation assignments , including a tour at the Office of Naval Research in London and at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory . He also served in Air Test and Development Squadron Five , and twice served in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations , in roles pertaining to weapons development . He also served as assistant chief of staff and force training officer at COMNAVAIRLANT in Norfolk , Virginia . Aside from his command of " Forrestal " , from May 1966 to September 1967 , Beling commander two attack squadrons and the stores ship USS " Alstede " ( AF - 48 ) . Beling was promoted to Rear Admiral in 1968 . " Forrestal " fire . Then - Captain Beling was commanding officer of USS " Forrestal " on July 29 , 1967 , when a Zuni rocket accidentally fired while on deck , striking another aircraft . In the initial moments of the disaster , which killed 134 sailors and injured 167 more , including future U . S . Senator John McCain , Beling — who had been in his cabin at the time and was clad only in a t - shirt and uniform pants — ordered the ship slowed , to reduce the force of wind gusts blowing across the flight deck , and gave directions for incoming helicopters , sent to transport wounded Sailors off " Forrestal " , to land at the front of the deck to keep rotor wash from fanning the flames . Beling would personally direct damage control efforts from the bridge throughout the ten - hour ordeal . As night fell , Beling recited a prayer to the surviving crew : " Our heavenly Father , we see this day as one minute and yet a lifetime for all of us . We thank you for the courage of those who gave their lives in saving their shipmates today . We humbly ask You to grant them peace and to their loved ones the consolation and strength to bear their loss . Help us to renew the faith we have in You . We thank You for our own lives . May we remember You as You have remembered us today . From our hearts we turn to You now , knowing that You have been at our side in every minute of this day . Heavenly Father , help us to rebuild and reman our ship , so that our brothers who died today may not have made a fruitless sacrifice . " The subsequent Navy investigation absolved Beling of responsibility for the fire . While " Forrestal " was in the shipyard for repairs , Beling was temporarily assigned to work in the office of Admiral Thomas H . Moorer , then the Chief of Naval Operations . While there , he was sent for further temporry duty on the staff of Admiral Ephraim P . Holmes , Commander - in - Chief of the Atlantic Fleet ; Holmes disagreed with many portions of the Navy ' s report into the " Forrestal " disaster , including the section clearing Beling , and had him assigned to his staff so he could issue a letter of reprimand , in essence both holding Beling responsible and ending his career . The reprimand was attached to the final report , and was rescinded by Holmes on orders from Moorer after the latter endorsed the report . Later career and death . Beling was promoted to rear admiral in 1968 , and was given orders to command a carrier battle group out of San Diego . However , his orders were cancelled by Admiral Elmo R . Zumwalt , Moorer ' s successor as Chief of Naval Operations , who , in a move perceived as a way of holding him responsible for the " Forrestal " fire , instead sent him to Iceland , where he would retire as Commander , Iceland Defense Force , based at Naval Air Station Keflavik , Iceland . He retired from active duty in 1973 , at which time he went to work as director of the Net Technical Assessment Office , responsible for comparing and contrasting U . S . and Soviet weapons systems for the Secretary of Defense . In 1977 , Beling joined the McLean , Virginia - based TRW , working as a strategic analyst directing studies until retiring again in 1985 . After his final retirement , Beling took up farming , and served as director of the USS Forrestal Museum , a group dedicated to preserving the carrier , which was decommissioned in 1993 , as a museum ship . Beling died of complications from pneumonia at Reston Hospital Center in Reston , Virginia on November 5 , 2010 . He was 91 years old . He was survived by his wife of sixty years , Evelyn Beling , who died in 2011 ; three children ; and seven grandchildren . He and his wife are buried in Section 46 of Arlington National Cemetery . Awards and decorations . Rear Admiral Beling received campaign medals from World War 2 to Vietnam . His personal awards include :