At sea, it wasn’t always practical to transport the bodies of fallen sailors and combat casualties were sometimes buried at sea, following a set of protocols whenever possible. 

After the suffering man died, the crew placed a five-inch .38 shell between his legs, and then sewed his body into a blue shroud so as not to be visible in the water. Commonly, an American flag covered the corpse with the union placed near the head and left shoulder. 

All officers and men who were not on duty were called to services with these words broadcast – “all hands bury the dead”. A Chaplain spoke words in his honor. As the body tumbled off the board feet first into the water, the ship made a slight curve to avoid the body being caught in any of the ship's propellers. 

A crewmember then played “Taps” followed by a volley of three shots into the air in honor of the fallen man.

For a brief moment, the ship’s flag was lowered and then quickly raised back up. A crewmember recorded the longitude and latitude, and along with the flag that had draped the body, this notation was sent to the next of kin.

This photograph shows the burial at sea for the officers and men of the USS Intrepid (CV-11) who lost their lives when the carrier was hit by Japanese bombs during operations in the Philippines on November 26, 1944.   

U.S. National Archives Identifier 80-G-468912