Lexington (CV 16) - Naval Cruise Book

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144464 M644 We bury our dead. When the hour is set for the burial, the Captain tells the Exec to pass around the word that anyone off duty may come up on deck for the service. And they came . . . they came pouring out on deck shaved and scrubbed, each man in fresh clean dungarees. A burial at sea is a solemn impressive ceremony. The outside plane elevator brings the flag- covered bodies up to the flight deck. The Chaplain reads the burial service. The Captain says a few Words. Then a choking silence .... A squad of Marines fires the last salute. The stretchers are tilted toward the sea, from under the flags slide the White canvas-Wrapped bodies into the great anonymous impersonal sea. The buglers blow taps. The faces of the men standing by reflect their thinking and wondering . . . it might have been ' ' h h b en me next time it may be any one of us. you...1tm1gtavee Back home a mother will soon receive a telegram she will never forget. A message she will never quite adjust herself to. I Want to reach out to the fathers and mothers of all these boys, put my arms around them and ' f l b' Whisper of the lineness in their sons. ln a sense they are also my boys. I love them . . . ee a itter . . . f h burning ache for the loss of those Whose bodies we have just committed to the Waters o t e sea. Q, C139 we if ,

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