U.S.S. Enterprise fire, January 19, 1969 Orrin says, "I was on the Big E when it caught fire in '69 and almost sank outside of Hawaii. VF-96 lost all their air craft in that fire as well as a lot of good men." "I was a Plane Captain with Fighter Squadron VF-96, from 1966 to 1969. We flew the F-4 Phantom. We deployed on the USS Enterprise 6 to 8 months out of the year. I did that for 3 tours. All three tours were to Vietnam. We were stationed at Miramar Air Station out side San Diego when we were not deployed on the USS Enterprise." Orrin and his family (May 29, 2011) Orrin and my correction