Burial at sea: Encyclopedia II - Burial at sea - United States Navy

Burial at sea - United States Navy

The US Navy has done many burials at sea in its history, with wartime burials as recently as World War II, and peacetime burials still common nowadays. Most other armed forces also have burials at sea, as for example the British Royal Navy.

Burial at sea - Peacetime burial USA

If the deceased died on land or has been returned to shore after death, the remains may be brought aboard either in a coffin or in an urn after cremation. The ceremony is performed while the ship is deployed, and consequently civilians are not allowed to be present. In the USA, eligible for a free Navy burial at sea are:

• Active duty members of the uniformed services
• Honorably discharged retirees and veterans
• Military Sealift Command U.S. civilian marine personnel
• Family members of the above

In preparation, the officer calls All hands bury the dead, the ship is stopped if possible, with flags on half mast, and the crew is assembled, including a firing squad, casket bearers and bugler. The crew stands at parade rest at the beginning of the ceremony. The coffin is covered with a flag, and carried feet first on deck by the casket bearers and placed on a stand, with the feet overboard. In case of cremated remains, the urn is brought on deck and put on a stand.

The ceremony is divided into a military part and a religious part, of equal importance. The religious part is specific to the religion of the deceased, and may be performed by a chaplain, or by the commanding officer if no chaplain of the appropriate faith is available. A scripture is read and prayers are said.

After the religious ceremony, the firing party is ordered Firing party, Present Arms. The casket bearers tilt the platform with the casket, so that the casket slides off the platform into the ocean. The flag is retained on board. In case of cremated remains, there is the option to bury the remains including the urn similar to the procedure used for caskets. Alternatively, the urn can be opened, and the remains scattered in the wind. In this case, the wind direction has to be taken under consideration before burial to ensure a smooth procedure.

The firing squad fires three volleys, the bugler plays Taps, and flowers may also be dropped into the ocean. After the flag is folded, the ceremony ends. The relatives will be informed of the time and location of the burial, and given photos and video recordings if available.

Burial at sea - Wartime burial for deceased at sea

In wartime, attempts are made for burial at sea to follow the same procedure as in the peacetime burial at sea, although a ship on a combat mission may not have all the necessary resources available. Nowadays, it is usually possible to airlift the remains back to shore, and prepare a burial ceremony. However, as recently as World War II, deceased were buried at sea without returning to land. Due to the limited facilities of military ships, this procedure does usually not include a casket, but the body is sewn into a sailcloth with weights. Cremation is usually not possible on a ship.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "United States Navy", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki