"Execute Fox Corpen"



When I first heard the name "Fox Corpen" I thought it was the name of the artist. I am a computer specialist by trade and not much of a navigator or engineer, and I never got my surface warfare pin so I was clueless to say the least. Fox Corpen was the command from the Forrestal to the fleet to follow the carrier's lead in executing a hard turn to starboard to place the bow into the wind to launch and recover aircraft, as you can see in the painting she is turning hard to starboard and just launched an aircraft, hmmm that is pretty interesting.

Now lets move onto the details of the painting. It was decided by the artist that since there was in existence a model (builder's model) representing the ship as built in the 1950's and a 12 foot model that the builder made corrections to as the Navy made changes to Forrestal the painting should represent the ship prior to the missile era. Surrounding the ship in the painting are squadron patches with the type of aircraft and it's mission under each patch. There are also two letters on the painting (they were hand painted, not a photocopy); one was written to the Forrestal Association Historian (Ken Killmeyer) with information about a squadron that served on Forrestal and it's duties; the second letter was from a survivor of the 1967 fire to his parents. It was brought to the attention of the artist during the painting's creation that David Ennis, a representative from the State of Delaware had a brother-in-law who was a pilot by the name of John Lee, John was killed while being launched on an intercept mission, a common occurrence during Med cruises. At the top of the painting there is a pair of F-4's escorting a Russian Bear Bomber, the number on the nose of one of the Phantoms represents John Lee's. It is a fitting tribute to someone who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our country. All the aircraft in the painting represent the same time period.

There is a destroyer in the painting and it represents the USS Power (DD839). The Power escorted Forrestal and was also involved in picking up astronauts. If you look close at the Forrestal there are four unmistakable trails from the ship's screws. There are also insignias spread around the painting representing Marines, naval officers, naval enlisted, aviation boatswain mates, and naval aviators to honor all those who served at one time or another on her decks.