Burial at sea is not just an ancient tradition, but a practice that is carried out to this day.
Historically, during wars, ships simply had no room to keep their fallen sailors.
So their remains were sewn into weighted shrouds, usually a sailcloth, and committed
to the deep. The last time such a mass burial occurred at sea was during World War II. Today,
many service members, veterans and family members still choose this method, because burial at sea
is a dignified way to thank servicemen and women who gave their lives to their country.
But how an aircraft was once used as a casket, why the US Government played the
Soviet National anthem during one burial at sea and kept it a secret for 36 years,
why most military families choose to cremate the body prior to the ceremony,
how the Navy made an exception when burying astronaut Neil Armstrong at sea, and what
it takes for someone’s remains to be buried at Pearl Harbor … underwater, is Not What You Think!
Every year, the US Navy performs about 1,500 burials at sea with cremated remains,
and only around 15 in a casket. Since the ceremony mostly happens on deployed US Navy warships,
it could take anywhere between 12 to 18 months for families until the remains of their loved
ones could make it into water. While the burial service is free, families do have to pay for
transportation and storage of the remains in the meantime. And since storage of the body in
a freezer for over a year is costly, many choose to cremate the remains while waiting their turn.
Here’s another thing: Family members cannot be present at the burial ceremony, because the final
disposition of remains happens onboard deployed US Navy warships. Instead the commanding officer of
the warship will notify the family of the date, time, longitude and latitude of the committal
service. Additionally, a handwritten letter from the captain and any pictures or videos will be
provided to the next of kin. If a flag had been provided by the family, it would also be returned.
Sometimes 3 shell casings from the three volley salute would also be given to the family, although
this may vary from ship to ship. The thing is, the family may have to wait for months after the
ceremony to receive these items, because the ship first has to return from deployment. But like any
other rule, there are exceptions, especially when you love someone to the moon and back.
Neil Armstrong, may be the only person who was born on land, walked on the moon,
and was buried at sea. His burial ceremony was held onboard USS Philippine Sea on September 14th,
2012. Now, the exception wasn’t that an astronaut had received a burial at sea. Armstrong was also
a US Navy pilot, making him eligible for this ceremony. The exception was that Neil’s family was
allowed to be present during his burial. In fact, the astronaut's wife, Carol Armstrong, along with
US Navy Lieutenant Commander Paul Nagy, committed the ashes of Neil Armstrong to the Atlantic Ocean.
Today, almost anyone who is buried at sea is a retired or honourably discharged sailor. It's
incredibly rare for an active service member to receive this ceremony. In fact, if an active
duty personnel passes away while underway, their remains would be stored in a morgue. If there's
no morgue on the ship, the body is placed in a freezer while being transported back to shore,
or as submariners call it, an ice cream party! See, if someone dies inside a submarine,
while it’s on patrol, ideally the submarine would surface as quickly as possible, so the body could
be airlifted with a helicopter to a Naval ship nearby. But this is not always possible,
especially if a critical mission is underway. In that case, it could take days or even weeks
before the body can be transferred. This means the deceased would be placed in a body
bag and stored in the freezer to slow down the decomposition. Yes, the same freezer that stores
the frozen food for the crew, and what do they take out of the freezer to make room? Ice cream!
But back in the day, during a war, taking bodies back would have been impractical. Especially,
during a mass casualty event, where there is simply not enough room to store all the
dead on a warship. Not to mention that the deceased wouldn’t even be the primary focus,
because wounded sailors are going to be the number one priority. On top of that,
some naval historians suggest that storing the bodies would have negatively impacted the crew's
morale. As a result, when practical, the remains were wrapped in a canvas with 5-inch shells
attached to them acting as weights. Next a brief ceremony, presided over by the ship’s captain,
would have taken place and the dead were committed to the deep. As already mentioned,
such burials last time took place during World War II. That said,
this is arguably one of the most dramatic scenes of a burial at sea during the second world war.
On November 5th, 1944, a Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bomber landed safely on the deck of
aircraft carrier USS Essex. Unfortunately the gunner hadn’t made it back alive. The aircraft
was hit so badly by the anti-aircraft shells that the body couldn’t be easily removed. At
the time, it was standard operating procedure to salvage aircraft parts,
as they were in great demand. However, orders came in not to strip the Avenger, and instead
bury the 23-year old Loyce Edward Deen, inside his airplane. As the burial ceremony concluded,
sailors pushed the aircraft from the stern of the carrier. Loyce is the only known US
Navy sailor to be purposefully buried at sea, with an airplane acting as a coffin.
Today, burial at sea, the final disposition of remains that is performed on US Navy ships,
is allowed for the following individuals. Disposition of the remains includes either a
casket or cremated remains. Spreading ashes on a windy day can be tricky, so it’s not
always performed. Instead the ashes are typically disposed overboard inside biodegradable containers
or urns. Burials that involve a casket are a bit more complicated, because if precautionary
measures are not taken, the casket wouldn’t sink. For this reason, a minimum of 20 two-inch
holes have to be drilled into the casket to allow water in, to ensure the casket will sink. Also,
150 pounds of weights must be placed inside the foot of the casket for a feet-first sinking.
During the ceremony, the Officer of the deck calls for “all hands bury the dead” and the
ship is stopped whenever possible. All the flags are lowered to half mast and the participating
personnel assemble on the deck while adhering to a dress code. During military funerals,
honorary pallbearers and other mourners are positioned in reverse order of rank,
a custom derived from Ancient Romans, signifying that at death, all are equal.
The burial flag is placed on the casket, which is then carried onto the deck by either 6 or
8 casket bearers. Next the casket is placed on a stand, with feet facing the water. The
casket is always carried feet first … with one exception. The body of a chaplain is
carried head first in accordance with an old tradition that even at death,
a chaplain should always face his or her flock. During the prayers, sailors are at parade rest,
heads bowed. The national ensign is held over the casket or urn throughout the funeral service. This
tradition symbolizes that it’s the state that bears the responsibility for service members'
lives. The flag is then lifted and folded 13 times. Sailors make crisp and precise folds,
with each of the 13 folds holding a special significance. Once the reading of the committal
has commenced, and when the indicated word of the committal is read, the casket bearers tilt
up the board until the casket slides along. As the ceremony proceeds, the firing squad performs
a three volley salute which involves firing rifles into the air three times. This tradition
originates from an old superstition to scare away evil spirits, but today three volley salutes are
fired to demonstrate respect for the dead, their loyalty to shipmates and to their country. The
ceremony concludes with the playing of Taps. Taps is a bugle call that comes from the French
“L’extinction des feux” meaning “lights out”, and was first played at a civil war funeral instead
of performing the three volleys, so as to not reveal the battery’s position to the nearby enemy.
Burial at sea does not always have to be performed from a surface vessel. It can instead sometimes
take place from a Naval Aircraft as the ashes of service members are spread in flight.
Alternatively, instead of spreading the ashes, the cremated remains of an individual can be
mixed in an environmentally safe cement mixture, called a reef ball, which will initiate artificial
reef formations. In fact Eternal Reefs, which is a charitable organization, placed 67 reef balls to
honor the crews of all 65 American submarines that have never returned, and remain on Eternal Patrol
Speaking of submarines, if you were a submariner and wanted to get the
final Navy experience under your belt, a burial at sea from a submarine is also
an option. Typically the ashes would be poured overboard while the submarine is at the surface,
although a not-so-traditional option is to place the ashes inside a torpedo tube
that has been thoroughly cleaned, and then shoot them out while the boat is
moving underwater. This would be an appropriate option for those who had served as torpedomen.
It is probably obvious by now, that the US Military really does go above and below to
honor their veterans. But sometimes they do something really special. In this case,
after 70 years, a former Marine rejoined his fallen comrades when USS Arizona memorial became
his final resting place. On December 7th, 1941, during the Pearl Harbor attack, USS Arizona was
hit by several bombs that detonated the ship's magazine. 1,177 sailors lost their lives. Only
15 of the Marines assigned to the ship survived the attack, and Frank Cabiness was one of them.
The former marine wanted to be buried with his fallen comrades, so a group of divers placed his
ashes beneath the still waters of Pearl Harbor inside the hull of the sunken ship. This special
burial is reserved only for veterans who were assigned to the ship at the time of the attack.
Another unique burial at sea took place on September 4th,
1974 which was kept secret for 36 years. This burial took place as part of the top
secret Project Azorian, which was the CIA's effort to recover the sunken Soviet Submarine,
K-129. The Americans were able to successfully recover one-third of the Soviet Submarine during
the height of the Cold War. This recovery yielded, not only the capture of nuclear
tipped torpedoes and cryptographic machines, but also the bodies of six Soviet submariners. What
did the Americans do with the bodies? They played the Soviet Union’s National Anthem
and read prayers in Russian as they buried their adversaries with full military honor.