The Spanish Peaks can be seen for many miles and have been used for for hundreds of years as a landmark by those passing through the area. The Ute and Comanche Indians called the mountains Wahatoya which means Breasts of the Earth or Breasts of the World.
A third was destroyed on the deck of the carrier USS Forrestal when a missile fired accidentally from another plane hit either the plane next to McCain's or, less likely, his own aircraft, triggering a disastrous fire that killed 134 sailors and nearly killed McCain.
Mowad was a young lieutenant aboard the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal (CV 59) on July 29, 1967, when a stray Zuni rocket from an F-4 Phantom, triggered by stray voltage, set off a chain of events that left 134 dead and more than 300 injured.